SUMMER 2019SW067National Sailing Hall of Famer
Augie Diaz is one the best
dinghy sailors of his genera-
tion. The eloquent caption of
this undated image with crew
Mark Albury Jr., reads: “At 15,
the athletic Cuban refugee
has more sailing titles to his
name than most skippers claim
in a lifetime. Augie is virtu-
ally untouchable in a regatta
these days. The handsome
teenager’s main desire is to
play football and basketball
with his Columbus High School
classmates. He once gave up
a coveted sailing title to sit on
the bench during a junior var-
sity basketball game because
he felt his presence with the
team was most important.”
PHOTO: MIAMI-METRO DEPT.
OF PUBLICITY AND TOURISM
Blondie, the Santa Cruz 70
hailing from San Francisco, sails
for Mexico during the 1985
Cabo San Lucas Race from Long
Beach, California. Blondie was
the fi rst of a generation of
ULDB 70 sleds, built by Bill Lee
and Co., in Soquel, California.
PHOTO: CALIFORNIA NEWS
SERVICE/SAILING WORLD
ARCHIVES
“San Diego Welcomes Dennis
Conner,” reads the caption
from this wire photo dated
February 7, 1987. “Conner
made San Diego his fi rst stop
on American shores following
his success in regaining the
America’s Cup for the United
States and the San Diego Yacht
Club, in Fremantle, Australia...
Conner paraded the solid silver
America’s Cup trophy from
an open top car while wav-
ing a stars and stripes fl ag.
At a press conference later
Conner said, ‘This is a great
day for America, for the city of
San Diego, and for Dennis.’”
PHOTO: S.P. BARNETT/
SAILING WORLD ARCHIVES
Hotspur starts the 1979
Chicago Yacht Club Race
to Mackinac.
PHOTO: SAILING WORLD
ARCHIVES
Bruno Peyron, with crew-
mates Marc Vallin, Jacques
Vincent and Cam Lewis,
took the unwieldy 85-foot
catamaran Commodore
Explorer on a record-break-
ing crewed circumnavigation
in 1993 (79 days) to claim the
Jules Verne Trophy. Peyron
then launched The Race, a
non-stop, no-help lap with
no size restrictions. In 2000,
six 100-foot G-Class cats,
including Peyron’s Explorer,
with his brother Loick as skip-
per, embarked in the fi rst and
only edition. Grant Dalton led
the catamaran Club Med to a
62-day victory, fi nishing two
days ahead of Explorer.
PHOTO: GILES MARTIN-RAGETE