1955 North American Championship - Rye, NY
Regatta Report
by Chas. E. Lucke, Jr, Courtesy of YACHTING Magazine
Young Jorge and Carlos de Cardenas, Jr., from Havana, sons of the reigning Star Class work champion, added the North American Star championship to the family trophy room in a grueling five-race series on Long Island Sound off the American Y.C. Sept 6-10. Nine points back was Pat O’Gorman, who sailed the best series of his career to take second prize back to his Central Long Island Sound Fleet. In third spot was former Comet title holder Bill Lyon of the new Atlantic Highlands Fleet.
The 54-boat fleet was the largest Star championship fleet in the 44-year history of the class. The five races were sailed without a single protest being filed. Not one race was a drifter, a record for the Sound. Despite the congestion at all marks, the seemingly inevitable collisions were averted due t the uniformly high calibre of the contestants and their sailing.
In the opener Bill Gentzlinger of Huntington Bay, L.I., opened up a lead on the first weather leg in a moderate northeaster, blew it to Owen Torrey on the run and regained the advantage upwind, to win by a length over Torrey. Bill Lyon was a close third. The entire fleet finished in less than five minutes, giving the committee a bad time getting the numbers. A sparkling 12-15 mile northwester went the fleet around the second windward-leeward course in fast time. De Cardenas came from sixth on the second beat as the breeze freshened to his liking and once out in front was never threatened seriously. Ex-world champion Bob Lippincott was a length and a half back to earn a good second. Torrey, by taking third, had a four-point lead at that point.
John Cram, from Puget Sound, had a 75-yard lead in the third race, a twice-around triangle sailed in a light and fluky northerly. By taking second, young Gary Comer of Jackson Park, Ill., assumed the series lead. Third was Dr. Florus Black, also from Jackson Park. Torrey had had it, placing 32nd, to show the nature of the competition.
For the fourth race on another twice-around triangle, the breeze hauled to south by east just before the start and freshened to 12 knots. John Todd of the Cambridge (Md.) Fleet won by nearly three minutes after a 25, a 33 and a 15 in the previous races. Comer parted his main halyard, but was in the tank anyway when it happened. Lippincott was runner-up over veteran Charlie Ulmer of City Island. Bu Lyon, placing sixth, and de Cardenas with a seventh went into a tie for the series lead.
In the finale, a steady 15-mile southwester drove the fleet around the twice around windward-leeward in fast time. With the chips down de Cardenas had what it took and nosed out a close win, his second, to clinch his Silver Star. By placing second, O’Gorman, who had ex-world champ Skip Etchells as his jibsheet tender, nailed down second series prize while John Todd was third in this race. Lyon, by placing 11th, slid into the series third by one point over Black.
The winner’s score showed that an average of fifth was the margin of victory. Harry Nye, ex-Gold Star champ, was the race committee chairman and the starting lines and the courses he set out made it possible for the record breaking fleet to get through the series without damage.
Results
1955 NORTH AMERICAN CHAMPIONSHIP - RYE, NY Place No. Name Skipper Crew Fleet Daily Places Pts. 1 3076 Kurush III J. de Cardenas de Cardenas Jr Mar 8 1 8 7 1 250 2 3354 Wahini Patrick O'GormanE. W. Etchells CLIS 5 7 12 8 2 241 3 3290 Vega C. W. Lyon Jr Owen P. Merrill AH 3 11 4 6 11 240 4 3130 October Florus Black Gene McCarthy JP 11 5 3 9 8 239 5 3188 Flower Bob Lippincott Peggy Spring WJ 7 2 20 2 7 237 6 3315 Cygnet Owen C. Torrey Wallace Ross WLIS 2 3 32 4 5 229 7 3364 Starfire Fred Scopinich Carl Picinich MorB 15 10 11 13 12 214 8 2700 Flame Stanley Ogilvy Alan MacKay WLIS 9 4 6 34 9 213 9 3331 Shadrach Gary Comer John Bennett JP 6 6 2 dsa 4 202 10 3141 White Shadow William Myers C. Paul Cox II ES 17 13 18 10 16 201 11 3079 Boomerang Jack K. Todd Jack Streeton Cam 25 33 15 1 3 198 12 3082 Scylla Charles Ulmer Herbert Hild ERF 37 8 9 3 24 194 13 3500 Surprise Jack Howie Nelson Macan AH 12 30 5 14 23 191 14 3357 Gazelle Rollin C. Whyte J. Featherstone NB 4 21 22 26 14 188 15 3590 Coquina Ed Schnabel Philip Botsolas SLM 40 16 25 12 13 169 16 2985 Sea Skate Jack Van Dyke Camp Van Dyke Mil 14 18 10 39 29 169 17 2458 Conch Basil Kelly Jerome E. PyfromN 33 14 7 23 32 166 18 3464 Citation William Parks Robert Halperin SLM 30 23 37 5 15 165 19 3085 Snallygaster Chas. F. Stein Wm. Konwenhoven CB 13 19 wdr 18 10 160 20 3375 Vengeance Wm. Gentzlinger William BlackmanHB 1 15 27 19 wdr 158 22 3298 Scram John R Cram Nils Rosenberg PS 10 31 1 24 wdr 154 23 3437 Sharen Robert C. Asher Bruce Carroll CLE 22 22 14 30 35 152 24 3300 Web Daniel W. HubersEd Lebrun NCB 34 43 13 15 19 151 25 3340 Kismet Mead Batchelor Donald Spengler Mid 24 29 35 11 26 150 26 3458 Blue Chip David Gaillard Paul H. Smart CB 28 26 24 25 30 142 27 3235 Malihini Anson W. Beard Robert Gregory GSB 16 32 45 16 27 139 28 3167 Dingo Ding SchoonmakerAlex Widmann FIS 19 34 38 17 28 139 29 3200 Independence Joseph C. HermusAdam Dobrie MorB 46 12 16 43 20 138 30 3190 Brisote A. Garcia Tunon Alfredo Maruri FdeH 41 24 42 22 17 129 31 3554 Lively Lady Robert Kirkland Thomas Murray BH 18 44 31 36 22 124 32 3540 Buzzar Albert Worthen Donald Newton Mid 45 9 36 27 34 124 33 3418 Ariadne F. H. Ferris Jr J. Titterington OAR 48 41 23 28 18 117 34 3310 Rawalpindi Henry Fullerton Peter Rankin RAR 39 25 34 32 29 116 35 2013 Lynx Ernest Hanmer James Inwin CLE 20 35 41 38 31 110 36 2459 Tackless John M. Goddard Donald Smith CO 29 52 17 35 33 109 37 2125 Shillalah Daniel Catlin JrThomas Perkins GSB 27 20 28 51 40 109 38 3339 Caber Richard Gordon Warren Hedden CLIS 31 39 39 41 21 104 39 2127 Hell's Angel Max Kuehne Robert Hawley CA 23 27 33 52 38 102 40 3257 Vim H. F. Hallock Chas. F Wiley ES 42 41 19 33 37 99 41 3400 Scherzo Andrew Lawrence Mrs. Lawrence SLIS 38 37 29 29 44 98 42 3660 Egret Stan Lippincott Jack Campion BB 32 46 44 37 36 80 43 3280 Blue Angel Paul L. Bishop Gerald Gomes BH 26 49 46 31 43 80 44 2829 Dolphin Emerson Raymond Frank Raymond WH 21 33 43 40 47 71 45 3363 Bobolink Edward Braddock S. Fortenbaugh BB 35 36 40 42 wdr 67 46 2820 Pixy II Chas. O'Connell Mrs. O'Connell RB 50 50 21 46 42 66 47 3627 Pi Yi Peter B. Ogilby Geo. Johnson FIS 49 40 49 20 dsq 62 48 2806 Twinkle Warren E. HansonEsther Rowan NB 47 38 30 48 dnf 57 49 3026 Stampede George Dewar James Dewar OAR 53 17 47 dsq dnf 48 50 2010 Rascal Rob't M. Wilson Richard Taylor ERF 43 47 50 47 41 47 51 1366 Chip Samuel Hall Jr Rudolph Carl NCB 44 42 52 44 46 47 52 3250 Mavourrneen Hartwell Moore Everett Prime HB 51 dsq 51 45 39 34 53 3282 Desiree P. A. Robin Robin SLIS 52 48 53 49 45 28 54 3545 Sea Gull III H. Lyon Day Richard Leys GL 54 51 48 50 48 24
