1959 Flying Dutchman World Championship at Whitstable Yacht Club - Event Video
by Whitstable YC 3 May 2020 02:25 PDT
1959 Flying Dutchman Worlds at Whitstable © Douglas West
In the 1950's, Whitstable Yacht Club Rear Commodore 'Slotty' Dawes introduced the first of the new Olympic trapeze dinghies, the Flying Dutchman, into the United Kingdom. Whitstable became the racing centre for the new boats and in 1959 the FD World Championship was held in the UK for the first time.
It was the year before the Rome Olympics and was a dress-rehearsal with all the top international crews attending. There was a large contingent from Russia and the communist Eastern Block.
In the same year the club hosted the FD Nationals. This put Whitstable on the international yachting map. 'Slotty' Dawes sailed in the Rome Olympics and was the first of many local sailors to race at world class level.
Watch the video here: (no sound)
Overall Results: (top three)
1st Mario Capio & Tullio Pizzorno (Italy)
2nd Adrian Jardine & Angus Fryer (Great Britain)
3rd Rolf Mulka & Ingo von Bredow (West Germany)
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