(Photo: 1945 Log)

 

THE NASH MEMORIAL TROPHY

and the

LONG ISLAND SOUND FALL CIRCUIT

 

The James Starr Nash Memorial Trophy is a memorial to James Starr Nash who died in a boating accident at the age of 20 in 1939. It was originally the CLIS fleet’s season's junior trophy. Here is a picture of the trophy which appeared in the 1945 Log with its winners for 1944, Bill Hastings and Tony Widmann.

The purpose of the trophy was changed from being a junior trophy for the CLIS fleet to being the trophy for the Fall Sound Circuit in 1954. The January, 1956 Starlights commented that this trophy is to be awarded to the skipper with the highest total point score in the four weekend series of the September Long Island Sound Fall circuit. The four regattas which counted towards the trophy were Nathan Hale (HB), Iselin (SLIS), Nutmeg (Mid) and Bedford Pitcher (CLIS).

The May, 1939 issue of Starlights carried the story of the boating accident.

 

 

PHILIP UPTON AND JAMES NASH DROWNED IN HUDSON RIVER

FREAK SNOWSQUALL CAUSE OF DINGHY CAPSIZAL

Starlights, May, 1939

In the most shocking and tragic accident the Class has ever suffered, two of its younger but most promising skippers were taken from our midst on the night of April 12th when Philip Q. Upton and James Starr Nash were lost in the icy waters of the Hudson River. While our reports on the tragedy have not been official, the sympathies of the Association are extended to the parents of these two boys, who in the few years we have been privileged to know them, had won universal popularity and esteem.

Piecing together data received from President George W. Elder's office and from an Associated Press news item published in the New York Evening Sun the details seem to be as follows. Phil Upton and James Nash in company with Carlyle W. Jones, all students at Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, New York, went out about dusk in a brand new Frostbite Dinghy, which had just arrived from its builder. Shortly after they went out for their trial spin a bad snow squall came up quite suddenly. Subsequently the dinghy was found by a searching party headed by Sergeant Harold Quinn of the New York State Police and more than fifty members of the faculty and student body of the college, which is a branch of Columbia University. The dingy was found washed ashore overturned with the seats and oars missing but up to this writing no trace of the three boys has been reported to Starlights.

Philip Upton, 20 years of age, of St. Joseph, Michigan, had competed in two World Championships and last year won the Great Lakes Championship. He was Secretary of the St. Joseph-Paw Paw Lake Fleet and one of the most enthusiastic skippers and workers in the Class. During the 1937 World Championship on Long Island Sound, when Woody Pirie, a series leader broke his rudder post just before one of the starts, Phil immediately offered him Ibis, his own boat, for the race, sacrificing his own points in a manner so generous as to indicate his high level of sportsmanship. To save a few seconds he even jumped overboard to help Pirie make a quick start, as to have delivered him aboard a spectator boat might have cost precious seconds…

James Starr Nash, 20 years old, of Norwalk Connecticut, was the son of Harold L. Nash, Commodore of the Noroton Yacht Club, former Mayor of Norwalk, and Secretary of the Central Long Island Sound Fleet, as well as one of the veteran skippers of the pioneer days of the Class. Jimmy was one of the coming skippers on Long Island Sound and was showing the same touch with the tiller and the same uncanny ability at windhunting which has made his father a respected competitor for many years. He sailed with his father at Nassau last Spring, skippering one of the boats in the series. In recognition of his sustained interest and real ability with not quite modern equipment against some of the Sound's best, his father had just presented him with a new Star but two months ago.

 

 


 (Photo: 1941 Log)

 

THE CUP OF CUBA

 

The Cup of Cuba was the trophy awarded to the winner of the Mid-Winter Silver Star Championship held in Havana, Cuba, from 1926 to 1957. A nickname for this series was “Les Petite Internationals”.

Shown here, from the 1941 Log, are Harry Nye and Bill Etzbach of Chicago receiving the cup from Havana Y.C.’s commodore Rafael Posso, a long time fixture of the Mid-Winter’s and rear commodore of the Star Class. Nye and Etzbach won the series the year before as well.

Some of the stories about the goings-on at the Mid-Winter’s are very colorful and at times hard to believe, but then when the series began the U.S. was in the midst of Prohibition, so perhaps there is something in these stories, especially the ones in which sailors would come back with rum stashed in some of the most unlikely places.

 

(Photo: Ogilvy Collection)

 

Dr. Carlos de Cardenas

Wins the Mid-Winter Silver Star in 1942

 

In 1942 Dr. Carlos de Cardenas had his first major win by winning the Mid-Winter Silver Star Championship in Havana. Here we see him and his crew Gabriel Aurioles being presented the Cup of Cuba by Commodore Rafael Posso. Several years later, in 1954 Dr. de Cardenas won the World’s with the best record to that time, four first and a second. Carlos Jr. crewed for him at this event. At the 1955 World’s Dr. de Cardenas was still at the top of his game and won again, again with Carlos Jr. crewing. This time his son Jorge de Cardenas took second in the series for a 1 – 2 win for the de Cardenas family. There was also another son who also was an excellent skipper in his own right, Alvaro.

It is not known what might have happened to the Cup of Cuba after the revolution. Hopefully the Castro government has kept it safe awaiting the time when Star sailors will be once again active and welcomed to Cuba.

 


 (Photo: Ogilvy Collection)

 

1939 MID-WINTER’S IN HAVANA

 

Some of the luminaries of the Star Class gathered at the 1939 Mid-Winter’s in Havana. The recognizable people, standing only, from right to left are Harry Nye, Rafael Posso, George Corry, Harold Halsted, Carlos de Cardenas, with sons Carlos Jr. and Alvaro, unknown, Paul Smart, Adrian Iselin II, and unknown. Below are many of the same, with Mrs. Luisa de Cardenas standing between Paul Smart and Rafael Posso. Commodore Corry is demonstrating his blood-circulation exercise, much to the amusement of one and all.

 

(Photo: Ogilvy Collection)

 

 


 (Photo: 1941 Log)

Commodore George Corry and President George Elder. Photograph probably taken in 1940.

 

Commodore George Corry

And

President George Elder

 

Commodore George A. Corry continued to serve the Star Class almost to the very end of his life. He is frequently listed as the Chairman of the International Race Committee for the World’s Championships, the last time for his being so listed was in 1942. President George Elder was chairman of many of the annual meetings, and also at times, especially after Commodore Corry died, of the International Race Committee. Finally, after 22 years of being the president of the Star Class, George Elder stepped down in 1948 and Harold Halsted became Class President. Mr. Elder became Commodore, a position he held until his death in 1954.

 

(Photo: “Forty Years…”)

 

Mr. & Mrs. George Elder

 at the 1942 World’s

 

At the 1942 World’s Championship held on Lake Michigan George Elder and his wife Juanita participated, representing the Gravesend Bay Fleet. However, perhaps due to wind conditions, they only sailed the first and fourth races.

 


(Photo: Ogilvy Collection)

 

GEORGE FLEITZ

And his Wenches

 

George Fleitz of the Los Angeles Harbor Fleet won two Gold Stars, in 1941 at Los Angeles with Bill Severance crewing, and in 1946 at Havana with Walter Krug up front. Here we see him finishing first in the third race of the 1946 series. The series was noted for the monstrous swells, and this picture illustrates something about the nature of the conditions. At this time lightening the spars had reach a fairly high degree, definitely beyond reason. There were a great number of wdr’s,  dns’s, dsa’s and other such in this series, mostly because of rigging failures. Afterwards the Class began to look at the question of spar dimension limitations, but it took a many more years and many more masts and booms before minimum dimensions were voted into the Class rules in 1972. Check out the really thin pole for a boom on Wench II. In the mid-1950’s people started to go to heavier booms again, in part because of the introduction of boom vangs. There was no way these bean-poles for booms were going to stand the load of a boom vang.

 


(Photo: “A History…”)

 

MALIN BURNHAM AND LOWELL NORTH

World’s Champions, 1945

 

The youngest skipper and the youngest crew to ever win the World’s were Malin Burnham (right) with Lowell North crewing. Malin was 17 and Lowell was 15 at the time. Malin went on to sail a number of World’s Championships. His best showings were a 3rd in the 1964 World’s and a 2nd in 1965 with Jim Reynolds, Mark Reynolds’ father, crewing. And of course Lowell went on to win four Gold Stars; 1957, 1959, 1960 and 1973.

Malin served as Class President from 1979 through 1983 and oversaw many changes in the Class governing structure.

 

(Photo: Ogilvy Collection)

 

PAUL & HILARY SMART

1948 Olympic Champions

 

Hilary Smart won the 1948 Olympic Gold with his father Paul crewing. At the time Paul Smart was on the Advisory Council of the Star Class, but later in 1953 he became the President of the Star Class. Paul Smart served as Class President until 1964.

Paul was one of the founding members of the Noroton Yacht Club in 1929. They choose the Star as their fleet racer. When George Elder heard of this new fleet he informed Paul by letter that his fleet was obliged to join the Star Class in order to race. Paul shot back that they were not obliged to do anything. Somehow things got smoothed over and Paul became a well-known person not just in the Star Class but in yachting in general.

 


 

LEAPING STAR

 

Probably the most famous picture of all time in the Star Class is this one of Star # 1678, Nashira, taken in 1946 at the Havana World’s Championship. Willard Hodges was the skipper. He represented the Lake Sunapee Fleet at the Star Class World’s four times, from 1946 in Havana, when this famous picture of a Star boat being launched off a wave was taken, to 1964 in Boston. Willard’s crew at Havana was John Mc Crillis. Due to the way people used to hike in those days, laying down on the edge of the deck, Willard broke some ribs from the impact of the boat coming off the wave.