Sailing at the 1932 Summer Olympics

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Sailing
at the Games of the X Olympiad
Xth Olympiad Los Angeles Bronze tablet Yachting.png
Xth Olympiad Los Angeles Bronze tablet Yachting
Venues Los Angeles Harbor
Dates First race: 5 August 1932 (1932-08-05)
Last race: 12 August 1932 (1932-08-12)
Sailors 57 from 11 countries
Boats 23
Top ranked countries
 United States: 1st  2nd  3rd  
 Sweden: 1st  2nd  3rd  
 France: 1st  2nd  3rd  
← 1928
1936 →

Sailing/Yachting is an Olympic sport starting from the Games of the 1st Olympiad (1896 Olympics in Athens Greece). With the exception of 1904 and possible 1916 sailing was always a part of the Olympic program. The Sailing program of 1932 consisted of a total of four sailing classes (disciplines). For each class races were scheduled from 5–12 August directly off the Los Angeles Harbor on the Pacific Ocean.

Venue [1]

Los Angeles Harbor
Angels Gate light
Angels Gate light.jpg
Entrance to the Los Angeles Harbor.
On the right the courses of the Snowbird were laid. To the left those of the other three classes.
Sailing at the 1932 Summer Olympics is located in California
Sailing at the 1932 Summer Olympics
Location within California
General information
Status Complete
Type Olympic harbor
Location San Pedro Breakwater
Town or city Los Angeles, California
Country  United States
Coordinates Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
Elevation Sealevel
Construction started 1910
Opened 1913
Cost $36,000
Owner US Coast Guard
Design and construction
Architect Unknown

Los Angeles Harbor

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The Xth Olympiad Yachting events were raced in the Pacific Ocean directly off the Port of Los Angeles, over a course used for the past eight years in local yachting. This course was selected because of its suitability for wind conditions, its freedom from tides and swift currents, and the clearness of its waters, with the added advantage of offering spectators a full view from the Point Fermin headlands. Constant winds were assured as in this locality the trade wind comes up about mid-day, bringing with it a true westerly wind varying from eight to fifteen knots in velocity.

— Xth Olympiade Committee of the Games of Los Angeles, Official Report of the Games of the X Olympiad[1]

Sea breeze

Due to the predicted Sea breeze in Los Angeles Harbor it was decided to race the Snowbirds in the lighter morning breezes. However, during the mornings there was virtually no wind at all. Therefore some races of the Snowbird were sailed in the afternoon in heavy conditions. Luckily no capsizing took place. It also gave issues for those sailors who were competing no only in the Snowbird but also in one of the other classes.

Course areas [1]

The courses had been well prepared. The marks were laid by the United States Lighthouse Service in the form of large Government buoys, and kelp beds under the lee of Point Fermin were marked by the United States Navy Department as restricted area. Visiting yachts were kept at a safe distance from the racing boats by the US Coast Guard. Tows were arranged by the US Navy to and from Los Angeles Harbor to the race area's. On the Pacific side of the San Pedro Breakwater the Star, 6 Metre and 8 Metre yachts had their races. Those classes had to pass the Angels Gate light in order to reach the course area. The Snowbird stayed inside the breakwater to protect them from the ocean swell.

1932 Olympic Course Areas
Open street map view of the current map of Los Angeles. Projected are the 1932 Olympic courses of the Snowbird (Red Area) and the Star, 6 Metre and 8 Metre (blue area).

Competition [1]

Overview

Continents Countries Classes Boats Male Female
3 11 4 23 57 0
  • However all events were gender independent it turned out to be a male only event.

Continents

Map of Participating Sailing Continents at the 1932 Summer Olympics
Green = Participating for the first time
Blue = Participating
Light Blue = Have previously participated
● Africa
● Europe
● North America

Countries

Map of Participating Sailing Countries at the 1932 Summer Olympics
Green = Participating for the first time
Blue = Participating
Light Blue = Have previously participated
 Austria (AUT) Canada Canada (CAN) Spain Spain (ESP)  France (FRA)
 Germany (GER)  Great Britain (GBR)  Italy (ITA)  Netherlands (NED)
South Africa South Africa (RSA)  Sweden (SWE)  United States (USA)
  • This time no new countries participated in the Sailing event of this Olympic.

Classes (equipment)

The 1932 Olympic classes
 
Class Type Venue Event Sailors First OG Olympics so far
Snowbird Dinghy Los Angeles Cercle noir 100%.svg Max. 1
Max. 1 substitutes
1932 1
Star Keelboat Los Angeles Cercle noir 100%.svg Max. 2
Max. 2 substitutes
1932 1
6 Metre Keelboat Los Angeles Cercle noir 100%.svg Max. 5
Max. 5 substitutes
1908 6
8 Metre Keelboat Los Angeles Cercle noir 100%.svg Max. 6
Max. 6 substitutes
1908 6
Legend: Cercle noir 100%.svg = Mixed gender event
The 1932 Olympic Classes in action

Race schedule[1]

 ●  Opening ceremony  ●  Event competitions  ●  Event finals  ●  Closing ceremony
Date July August
30
Sat
31
Sun
1
Mon
2
Tue
3
Wed
4
Thu
5
Fri
6
Sat
7
Sun
8
Mon
9
Tue
10
Wed
11
Thu
12
Fri
13
Sat
14
Sun
Sailing (actual)

●●


●●
●●●
Total gold medals 8 Metre 6 Metre Snowbird Star
Ceremonies

Medal summary [2]

Event Gold Silver Bronze
Snowbird insigna.png

1932: Snowbird
details

 France (FRA)
Jacques Lebrun
 Netherlands (NED)
Bob Maas
 Spain (ESP)
Santiago Amat
NO Class insigna.png

1932: Star
details

 United States (USA)
Gilbert Gray
Andrew Libano
 Great Britain (GBR)
George Colin Ratsey
Peter Jaffe
 Sweden (SWE)
Gunnar Asther
Daniel Sundén-Cullberg
6 Metre insigna.png

1932: 6 Metre
details

 Sweden (SWE)
Tore Holm
Olle Åkerlund
Åke Bergqvist
Martin Hindorff
 United States (USA)
Robert Carlson
Temple Ashbrook
Frederic Conant
Emmett Davis
Donald Douglas
Charles Smith
 Canada (CAN)
Philip Rogers
Gardner Boultbee
Ken Glass
Jerry Wilson
8 Metre insigna.png

1932: 8 Metre
details

 United States (USA)
Owen Churchill
John Biby
Alphonse Burnand
Kenneth Carey
William Cooper
Pierpont Davis
Carl Dorsey
John Huettner
Richard Moore
Alan Morgan
Robert Sutton
Thomas Webster
 Canada (CAN)
Ronald Maitland
Ernest Cribb
Peter Gordon
George Gyles
Harry Jones
Hubert Wallace
No further competitors

Medal tables

Sailing 1932 [2]

 Rank  Nation Gold Silver Bronze Total
1  United States (USA) 2 1 0 3
2  Sweden (SWE) 1 0 1 2
3  France (FRA) 1 0 0 1
4 Canada Canada (CAN) 0 1 1 2
5  Great Britain (GBR) 0 1 0 1
 Netherlands (NED) 0 1 0 1
7 Spain Spain (ESP) 0 0 1 1
Total 4 4 3 11

Sailing 1896–1932 [2]

 Rank  Nation Gold Silver Bronze Total
1  Norway (NOR) 12 5 1 18
2  Great Britain (GBR) 10 4 2 16
3  France (FRA) 8 10 13 31
4  Sweden (SWE) 5 4 3 12
5  Netherlands (NED) 2 4 1 7
6  Belgium (BEL) 2 2 1 5
7  United States (USA) 2 1 2 5
8  Mixed team (ZZX) 2 0 0 2
9  Germany (GER) 1 1 0 2
 Switzerland (SUI) 1 1 0 2
11  Denmark (DEN) 0 3 0 3
12  Finland (FIN) 0 1 4 5
13  Canada (CAN) 0 1 1 2
14  Spain (ESP) 0 0 1 1
 Estonia (EST) 0 0 1 1
 Russia (RUS) 0 0 1 1
Total 16 45 37 31 113

Ranking of the countries over the years

Graphic that showed the changes in the standing of the countries over the years.

Notes

Star

The 1932 Olympics featured for the first time the Star as Olympic discipline. This turned out to be so far the longest run for a sailing discipline in the Olympics. The Star was an Olympic class from 1932 - 2012 with the exception of 1976.

Snowbird

The USOC proposed to discontinue the 12' Dinghy in favor of a small V-bottom Catboat locally known as the Snowbird as the single handed one design class. This proposal was carried by the IYRU and IOC. The locally available Snowbirds were equipped with new masts, sails and rigging.

Medical assistance

For medical incidents during the Yachting events a United States Navy boat and a US Coast Guard boat were on duty during the races. This boats were equipped with an inhalator and crew furnished by the Los Angeles Fire Department.

Seven local physicians provided voluntary service (in alphabetical order):

  • Edward G. Eisen, M.D., Head Physician
  • Stanley Boller, M.D.
  • J. Park Dougall, M.D.
  • K. E. Kretzschmar, M.D.
  • G. A. Laubersheimer, M.D.
  • Wayland A. Morrison, M.D.
  • Ewald Werner, M.D.

Other information

Sailors in multiple disciplines

Three sailors attempted to sail in the Snownbird and the Star. This was a challenge since the schedule of the Snowbird was modified due to the light air weather conditions in the mornings of the regattas.[1]

  •  George Colin Ratsey (GBR)
  •  Bob Maas (NED)
  • 22x20px Cecil Goodricke (RSA)

Sailing

During the Sailing regattas at the 1932 Summer Olympics among others the following persons were competing in the various classes:

Sailors at the 1932 Olympic Games
Bob Maas (left) 

Further reading

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References

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  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.