Kingston Worlds
- Thread starter nptlaser
- Start date
Sitting here on a snowy Saturday, saw your post about the '80 Worlds, and decided to reach into the memory bank a little.
Much like those who try to remember if they were actually at Woodstock in the ‘60’s, I think I was at the 1980 Laser Worlds. I remember once having the T-shirt to prove it, but it’s long gone. Luckily I discovered a 1980 Beam Reach (Laser newsletter) in an old box in my basement, and it confirms I was there.
I believe it ranks to this day as the largest one design sailing regatta ever. There were 350 competitors, and the event took about a month to complete. Jeff Martin from the ILCA, Performance Sailcraft (Laser builders at the time) and an army of volunteers did a great job of running the regatta and keeping the boats together. Each competitor’s schedule included several lay days. I remember good buddy Clarkie actually going home for a couple days when his schedule gave him the “weekend off". “See you Monday”, he said as he drove off. It’s no wonder the regatta’s nickname soon became the “Leisure” Worlds, where the onshore activities and stories became even more legendary then the racing. This included a Kingston pub-crawl, where a few guys got acquainted with the local constabulary, and a “pass the boot” beer drinking game at the old Manor Hotel next to the Olympic Harbour. What became scary about that game was that a few contestants had previously overindulged in the bar’s 25-cent hot dog special (I won’t go into any more of the gory details).
There was also an absolutely unbelievable go-carting escapade. A group of us arrived at the deserted (save for the lone kid on duty) track, and essentially took it over. It was wild. I recall watching Dave Perry, who had got out of his cart to try to push it back on the track, leaping in the air to avoid Boner’s cart spinning out of control on a hairpin turn that someone (I think Boner) had intentionally spilled oil on for a little added excitement. The kid on-duty seemed to be enjoying the action as much as we were. Amazingly, no ambulances were needed.
There were many full-time Laser maniacs at the time, with a bunch of Aussies, Kiwis and Euros racing the NA circuit leading up to the Worlds. The racing was very tight, with the breeze not always a typical Kingston “go-left” Sou’West thermal. The final race that would decide the championship was a wildly shifty Nor’Wester. Terry had a good lead going into the race, and with I think a final beat to go he was still placed to win. The last leg, however, saw a crazy auto-tack shift hit the course, and Terry was on the wrong side of it (as was I). That shift moved him from winning the Worlds back to 9th. Ed Baird sailed a great regatta to take the title. Terry did make up for it by winning the next Laser Worlds. Russell Coutts finished one ahead of me in 18th overall, as the big shift only pushed him back into the 30’s, while I ended up twice as deep that final race.
What was most remarkable about the regatta is the list of sailors, both men and women, who went on to win numerous world championships, Olympic medals and Americas Cups. Here’s a sampling:
Ed Baird (AC helmsman, numerous racing titles)
Russell Coutts (Olympic gold Finn, 3-time AC winning skipper)
Cam Lewis (2-time Finn world champ, renowned ocean racer)
Torben Grael (5 Olympic medals)
Terry Neilson (Laser world champ, Olympic Finn medal, AC skipper)
John Cutler (AC tactician, Olympic Finn medal)
Dave Perry (no introduction needed)
Colin Beashel (numerous AC’s, including main on Aust II when they beat Liberty in ’83)
Flavio Favini (AC helmsman, M24 and J24 champ)
Thomas Schmid (Finn world champ)
Eric Mergenthaler (Finn world champ)
Jim Brady (Olympic medal, AC navigator)
Larry Lemieux (legendary Finn sailor)
Dirk Kneulman (2-time Etchell world champ)
Marit Soderstrom (top female in ’80 worlds, won numerous Women’s Laser Worlds, Olympic medal)
Lynne Jewell (Olympic gold 470)
And a few great sailors who still race Lasers Masters: Andy Pimental, Bill Fuller, Mark Brink, Al Clark
I’ll close this out with a story that occurred during one of the regatta’s lay days. About 20 guys and girls piled aboard Boner’s Dad’s 40 footer for a little cruise. It was a perfect Kingston summer day, with an 18-knot thermal rolling in on schedule. The beers were flowing, and the party was in full swing when someone spotted a lone Laser sailor in full-hike mode well out past Snake Island (maybe 4-5 miles from shore?). We sailed over to see just whom this nut might be, who would use a lay day to go out alone to beat himself up. It was Russell. Maybe that’s an example of why he has since gone on to become one of the greatest sailors of all time.
I’ll try to get around to scanning the article and pictures from the ’80 Worlds if anyone is interested.
Much like those who try to remember if they were actually at Woodstock in the ‘60’s, I think I was at the 1980 Laser Worlds. I remember once having the T-shirt to prove it, but it’s long gone. Luckily I discovered a 1980 Beam Reach (Laser newsletter) in an old box in my basement, and it confirms I was there.
I believe it ranks to this day as the largest one design sailing regatta ever. There were 350 competitors, and the event took about a month to complete. Jeff Martin from the ILCA, Performance Sailcraft (Laser builders at the time) and an army of volunteers did a great job of running the regatta and keeping the boats together. Each competitor’s schedule included several lay days. I remember good buddy Clarkie actually going home for a couple days when his schedule gave him the “weekend off". “See you Monday”, he said as he drove off. It’s no wonder the regatta’s nickname soon became the “Leisure” Worlds, where the onshore activities and stories became even more legendary then the racing. This included a Kingston pub-crawl, where a few guys got acquainted with the local constabulary, and a “pass the boot” beer drinking game at the old Manor Hotel next to the Olympic Harbour. What became scary about that game was that a few contestants had previously overindulged in the bar’s 25-cent hot dog special (I won’t go into any more of the gory details).
There was also an absolutely unbelievable go-carting escapade. A group of us arrived at the deserted (save for the lone kid on duty) track, and essentially took it over. It was wild. I recall watching Dave Perry, who had got out of his cart to try to push it back on the track, leaping in the air to avoid Boner’s cart spinning out of control on a hairpin turn that someone (I think Boner) had intentionally spilled oil on for a little added excitement. The kid on-duty seemed to be enjoying the action as much as we were. Amazingly, no ambulances were needed.
There were many full-time Laser maniacs at the time, with a bunch of Aussies, Kiwis and Euros racing the NA circuit leading up to the Worlds. The racing was very tight, with the breeze not always a typical Kingston “go-left” Sou’West thermal. The final race that would decide the championship was a wildly shifty Nor’Wester. Terry had a good lead going into the race, and with I think a final beat to go he was still placed to win. The last leg, however, saw a crazy auto-tack shift hit the course, and Terry was on the wrong side of it (as was I). That shift moved him from winning the Worlds back to 9th. Ed Baird sailed a great regatta to take the title. Terry did make up for it by winning the next Laser Worlds. Russell Coutts finished one ahead of me in 18th overall, as the big shift only pushed him back into the 30’s, while I ended up twice as deep that final race.
What was most remarkable about the regatta is the list of sailors, both men and women, who went on to win numerous world championships, Olympic medals and Americas Cups. Here’s a sampling:
Ed Baird (AC helmsman, numerous racing titles)
Russell Coutts (Olympic gold Finn, 3-time AC winning skipper)
Cam Lewis (2-time Finn world champ, renowned ocean racer)
Torben Grael (5 Olympic medals)
Terry Neilson (Laser world champ, Olympic Finn medal, AC skipper)
John Cutler (AC tactician, Olympic Finn medal)
Dave Perry (no introduction needed)
Colin Beashel (numerous AC’s, including main on Aust II when they beat Liberty in ’83)
Flavio Favini (AC helmsman, M24 and J24 champ)
Thomas Schmid (Finn world champ)
Eric Mergenthaler (Finn world champ)
Jim Brady (Olympic medal, AC navigator)
Larry Lemieux (legendary Finn sailor)
Dirk Kneulman (2-time Etchell world champ)
Marit Soderstrom (top female in ’80 worlds, won numerous Women’s Laser Worlds, Olympic medal)
Lynne Jewell (Olympic gold 470)
And a few great sailors who still race Lasers Masters: Andy Pimental, Bill Fuller, Mark Brink, Al Clark
I’ll close this out with a story that occurred during one of the regatta’s lay days. About 20 guys and girls piled aboard Boner’s Dad’s 40 footer for a little cruise. It was a perfect Kingston summer day, with an 18-knot thermal rolling in on schedule. The beers were flowing, and the party was in full swing when someone spotted a lone Laser sailor in full-hike mode well out past Snake Island (maybe 4-5 miles from shore?). We sailed over to see just whom this nut might be, who would use a lay day to go out alone to beat himself up. It was Russell. Maybe that’s an example of why he has since gone on to become one of the greatest sailors of all time.
I’ll try to get around to scanning the article and pictures from the ’80 Worlds if anyone is interested.
Merrily
Administrator
Yes, please, and thanks for the great write-up.
maljam
New Member
wow! Thanks for the great story and memories!
Attached is the Beam Reach article from the 80 Worlds, with cover photo. Sorry about poor scan quality.
Attachments
Andrew Pimental
New Member
Lots of Canadian beer, I still have the computer print out of results.
Just stumbled across this thread after the '80 worlds came up in a conversation. Even this thread is 15 years old!
Andy, your write-up brought back so many memories from the event. The field was absolutely stacked, and the start lines were super long. Your race could be effectively over right away if you got a good start at the wrong end. And you could have a few days to think about it waiting for your next race.
I discovered that I actually have a sheet from the pub crawl, showing all the souvenirs you were supposed to find. The go-kart episode was epic. My foggy memory is telling me that the kid at the track initially needed a bit of persuasion to let us on to the track, but like you say he seemed to get into the whole thing.
Thanks!
Andy, your write-up brought back so many memories from the event. The field was absolutely stacked, and the start lines were super long. Your race could be effectively over right away if you got a good start at the wrong end. And you could have a few days to think about it waiting for your next race.
I discovered that I actually have a sheet from the pub crawl, showing all the souvenirs you were supposed to find. The go-kart episode was epic. My foggy memory is telling me that the kid at the track initially needed a bit of persuasion to let us on to the track, but like you say he seemed to get into the whole thing.
Thanks!
Glad someone revived this old thread (and thanks to Andy)
