1981 Sunfish Worlds report

1981 Sunfish Worlds report

Dave Chapin of Springfield, Illinois, U.S.A., won his second Sunfish World Championship in three years against a field of 75 competitors from fourteen countries. This Twelfth Annual World Championship was sailed in light-to-medium air in the tiny resort village of Baia Sardinia near Arzachena on the north coast of Sardinia. Baia Sardinia is nestled in the cove formed by two steep rock hills and over-looks the crystal clear water of the Mediterranean.

perfect score of 0 points under the Olympic low-point scoring system.
Alan Scharfe of Newbury, Massachusetts, U.S.A., placed second, with 43.7 points, just one point ahead of the defending World and European Champion, Cor van Aanholt from Groningen, The Netherlands. Van Aanholt won his first Sunfish World Championship a year ago against 103 competitors in heavy air in Aruba


Gary Ross from Houston, Texas, U.S.A., placed fourth and current North American Champion Joe Blouin from New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.A., was fifth. Both Ross and Blouin placed in the top five in spite of disqualifications in one race each.

Rounding out the top ten were Emile Westrate from Aruba in sixth, former World Champion Ted Moore (the only competitor other than Chapin to win a race) from Marblehead, Massachusetts, U.S.A. seventh; Mark May from Yorktown Heights, New York, U.S.A. eighth; Paul Odegard from Vernon, Connecticut, U.S.A. ninth; and Leslie Ann Weatherly from Gulfport, Mississippi, U.S.A. in tenth.
The Championship was organized and co-sponsored by the Travel & Tourist Bureau of Arzachena and the European Sunfish manufacturer, Ten Cate Sports BV of Almelo, The Netherlands. Additional sponsors were area real estate development agencies, Investimenti Immobiliari Italia s.p.a. and Eurogest s.p.a.

All boats used for the championship were brand new and supplied by Ten Cate Sports. This guaranteed a true one-design championship, an excellent test of the relative sailing ability of the competitors.
Competitors were housed in three separate first-class resort hotels, each with its own beach and/or pool. The week’s events began with a practice race and opening cocktail party on Sunday, May 17, followed by two days of racing with one race in the morning and the second after lunch each day. Wednesday was a free day for relaxing and sightseeing. A bus tour was arranged of the Arzachena area with a stop in the famous Costa Smeralda (Emerald Coast) seaside resort of Porto Cervo. The final two races were held in light and fluky air on Thursday. Competitors returned their equipment and did more area sightseeing during the day on Friday awaiting the promised prize-giving and feast to follow.


Both the award ceremony and banquet were held in the great halls of Fort Cappellini built in and around a huge rock formation overlooking the race course. The fort and the bungalows next door make up the Hotel Bagaglino, a sun and sports resort frequented by Northern Europeans and Italians from the mainland.
The banquet was a multi-course feast including champagne and orange juice, cocktails, hot and cold antipasto, 2 pasta dishes, a seafood salad, wine, breads, roast pork, marinated beef, several vegetables, fruit, cheese and pie. Many competitors commented that this was the finest meal they had ever had.
Most competitors departed very early the next morning, some to head directly home and others to spend a few days in Rome.

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