Forty Years Among the Stars

by Commodore George W. Elder

EPILOGUE

Pop Corry once said, "George, some day you'll be the old man of the Star Class." That was long ago, but he was prophetic. It's incredible how the years roll by. He is gone and I am serving my sixth term as commodore and understand that I have been nominated for a seventh. No one can ever fill Pop's shoes, so I am tackling the job from a different angle, which I hope may prove helpful.

I have been re-appointed to the judiciary board for another three years, still being chairman because of my seniority. I have lost my key man, Stan Ogilvy, who was elected executive vice president. My two associates are now Ted Clark and Owen Torry. I also have a most able alternate in Howard Walden. We do not have as many appeals and requests for interpretations as in the past. It's spasmodic, but important work, which is not very exacting. To be qualified, however, one must have a thorough knowledge of Star rules, their intent and purpose. Most appeals are the result of some words that are accidentally missing, or which were left in, due to an oversight, and never brought into accord with some more recent and basic amendment. Hence the appeals we do get are complicated.

Once again I have been named on the seven man U.S. Olympic yachting committee, in charge of Stars. It only involves a few months of concentrated work every fourth year. My real job in connection with the Olympics has been of an underground character. Most members think the Star has been automatically placed on the program each time, but that is not so. There have been powerful interests opposed to us and few realize by what a narrow squeak the Star has finally been put on the Olympic program at the very last moment. It has meant many very lengthy letters to establish contact with influential persons in various countries and to explain to them, usually through a third party how they should vote and why. All that, I believe, is behind us. I am happy to say that the Star is included for the 1956 Olympics in Australia. It should be, since of all yachting classes, it comes the nearest to conforming with Olympic principles.

I am now officially retired and have a house at Bellport. It's a little country town on the south shore of Long Island, about thirty miles east of where I spent most of my boyhood. I say officially retired, because actually I am helping my wife run a tiny store in the village, which is only a couple of hundred yards from our home. Most of the customers are of the fair sex. I can just picture myself saying, "Stow the gab kiddo and buy that red blouse, it'll look damn good on you." So I am kept in a back office and take care of the buying and the books. Between ourselves it's the hardest job I ever had.

I am thankful that we no longer live in the city. Out here one knows one's next door neighbor and, after the summer folks leave, everyone you pass on the street. They are friendly people, who speak my language. I could no longer stand the hustle and bustle of the city. It's no longer the little old New York I once knew. For all of me they can give it back to the Indians. I go there on a buying trip a couple of times a year and stay as few hours as possible. For example, on my last trip a wholesaler said to me, "I can tell that you are not a native New Yorker by the way you speak." That got my goat, so I replied, "Not only was I born on Manhattan Island, but so were all my forefathers back to the days when it was called New Amsterdam. The trouble with you, my boy, is that you probably never spoke to a genuine New Yorker before."

We have a fair sized and active Star fleet, with headquarters at a small yacht club three blocks from my house. I do not go there very often. I do not intend to race again, because I know that I would get the hell walloped out of me. Star skippers improve every year and I have been inactive since 1948. If I were a younger man I would practice what I preach, but I could never hope to catch up now. Unlike Pop Corry, I am not interested in just sailing for the fresh air. I get plenty of that anyway and besides I am too busy Saturdays and believe me I need the rest on Sundays. Although asked, local race committee work is out. Judiciary board members are ineligible. It's a good rule, because even if excused from voting, the very fact that a J.B. member was on an R.C., whose decision was appealed, would influence the others on the J.B.

All I do now is mostly by mail. I still hear from a few old timers, but their letters are becoming few and far between. It's to be expected. Time marches on. I have lived to see my dreams of 1918 come true and am content. Harold Halsted is building a house here. Ted Everitt and Reeve Bowden live here. It seems that this joint is rapidly becoming an approved spot for putting aged ex-officials of the Star class out to pasture.

If other organizations could only develop the international comradeship of the Star class, this troubled world would be a more peaceful place to live. As Stan once wrote in Starlights, "The first forty years are the hardest." The foundation has been laid. The most important thing for those at the helm to do from now on is to keep the I.S.C.Y.R.A. out of club or national politics and the Star class will rise to undreamed of magnitude. Why the surface as yet has not even been scratched. Star development on four continents is still in its infancy. There are plenty of localities in Europe and North America left where successful fleets can be developed, but those in power must keep right on pitching. I devoted the greater part of my life to the Star class. It's in just as capable hands now and I know it will continue to be - all power to its continued growth and success.

1932 OLYMPICS, Los Angeles, U.S.A

Nation	Skipper	Yacht	1sts	2nds	3rds	Pts.
United States	Gilbert Gray	Jupiter	5	1	1	46
United Kingdom	Colin Ratsey	Joy	1	1	2	35
Sweden	Gunnar Asther	Swedish Star		1	2	27*
Canada	Harry Wylie	Windor		2		27
France	Jean Herbulot	Tramontane		2	2	26
Holland	Adrian Mass	Bem				16
South Africa	Cecil Goodricke	Springbok	1			7

Winning yacht built by Joseph Parkman, Brooklyn, U.S.A. *Tie for third won by default.
Total point system.

NOTE - All daily positions not obtainable. Hereafter official results were copied from bulletin board by a Star member.

1936 OLYMPICS, Kiel, Germany

Nation	Skipper	Yacht	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	Pts.
Germany	Bischoff	Wannsee	12	9	12	12	11	12	12	80
Sweden	Laurin	Sunshine	11	12	10	11	1	10	9	64
Holland	Mass	Bem II	0	11	9	10	12	11	10	63
United Kingdom	Girogono	Poka	9	10	11	6	5	8	7	56
United States	Waterhouse	Three Star Too	10	8	1	4	10	9	5	47
Norway	No Record	K N S	8	3	6	7	9	7	4	44
France	Herbulot	Fada	3	0	4	9	8	6	11	38
Turkey	Ulmann	Marmara	6	7	7	1	7	2	8	38
Italy	de Sangro	Pegasos	5	6	8	2	4	3	6	34
Portugal	Fiuza	Vicking	7	0	0	8	6	5	2	28
Japan	Takarbe	Mayolu	4	5	0	3	2	4	1	19
Belgium	Godts	Freddy	2	4	0	1	3	1	3	18

Winning yacht No. 1287, built by Caesar Fuhlendorf, Hamburg, Germany, 1936. Total point system.

1948 OLYMPICS, Torquay, England

Nation	Skipper	Yacht	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	Pts.
United States	H Smart	Hilarius	4	1	2	1	3	dq	6	5828
Cuba	de Cardenas	Kurush	7	dq	7	2	7	1	2	4849
Holland	Mass	Starits	3	1	1	3	4	2	7	4731
United Kingdom	Knowles	Gem II	2	2	6	4	2	dq	dm	4372
Italy	Straulino	Legioario	1	3	3	dq	1	dq	dm	4370
Portugal	Fiuza	Espadarte	11	6	1	5	12	5	3	4292
Australia	Sturrock	Moorina	0	4	15	6	10	4	1	3828
Canada	Gooderham	Ariel	9	14	4	14	8	6	10	2631
Spain	Allende	Galerna	15	7	16	10	5	7	8	2164
Greece	Calambokidis	NephronI	8	12	9	12	11	9	4	2132
France	Lorion	Aloha II	12	5	8	8	6	3	dm	2515
Finland	Nyman	Lucky Star	13	11	13	13	9	11	5	2058
Austria	Obermuller	Donar III	10	15	14	15	15	8	9	1661
Brazil	Bracony	BuscapeII	16	13	11	11	1	10	11	1644
Switzerland	Bryner	Ali Baba II	6	9	12	9	dq	dm	dm	1610
Argentina	Piscentini	Acturua	14	10	10	7	13	dm	ds	1551
Sweden	Melin	Lotta IV	5	da	17	16	dq	0	ds	888

Winning yacht No. 2570, built by Old Greenwich Boat Co., Old Greenwich, U.S.A., 1947
NOTE - Premium point and throw out system.

1952 OLYMPICS, Helsinki, Finland

Country	Name	Yacht	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	Pts.
Italy	Straulino	Merope	2	1	2	2	1	2	1	7635
United States	Price	Comanche	1	7	1	1	3	1	8	7216
Portugal	Fiuza	Espadarte	4	8	3	3	5	6	3	4902
Cuba	de Cardenas	Kurush IV	5	12	4	4	6	3	7	4535
Bahamas	Knowles	GemIII	3	6	6	10	2	8	9	4405
France	Chabert	Eissero	6	11	7	7	4	4	10	3866
Sweden	Melin	Lotts IV	7	9	5	5	9	10	4	3785
Holland	Mass	BemII	9	3	9	11	8	5	11	3510
Switzerland	Bryner	Ali Babe IV	13	2	14	9	7	7	18	3400
Canada	Woodward	Whirlaway	12	13	11	16	10	14	2	2889
WestGermany	Fischer	Paka	8	10	nf	14	21	11	5	2367
Brazil	de Paula	BuIII	11	4	13	19	12	16	15	2350
United Kingdom	Banks	Fortuna	15	5	nf	20	15	18	6	2178
Austria	Musil	30Februar	16	15	18	8	13	9	14	2092
Greece	Timoleon	Marie-Tim	19	16	10	6	18	17	13	1983
Argentina	Vrilebona	Arcturus	10	19	nf	13	11	12	17	1833
U.S.S.R.	Chumakov	Uragan	18	14	16	12	16	15	12	1660
Australia	Flarvey	Hornet	14	20	8	18	20	13	20	1571
Finland	Nyman	Lucky Star	17	17	15	17	14	19	16	1522
Yugoslavia	Fafanceli	Primorka	20	18	12	15	17	20	21	1218
Monaco	de Sigaldi	Hirondelle	nf	nf	17	21	19	21	19	560

Winning yacht, No. 2958 built by Old Greenwich Boat Co. Old Greenwich, U.S.A., 1949
NOTE - Premium point and throw out system.

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Forty Years Among the Stars

EPILOGUE

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