Deceased , Modern

Carl

Van Duyne III

1946 - 1983

Yes, Carl van Duyne was an Olympic competitor, an active advocate for the development of other sailors, and a junior and collegiate champion. But it was the sportsmanship that he displayed both on and off the water that has especially served as an inspiration for scores of sailors throughout the years. The “re-round the mark rule” was created as a direct result of Carl’s sailing, and the story of how it came to be serves as a reminder to all that one’s character can often be determined by how one acts “when no one is looking”.

The following was excerpted from Dave Perry’s Understanding the Racing Rules of Sailing:
In the 1968 Olympics in Mexico, the late Carl Van Duyne, sailing the Finn for the United States, saw the leech of his main touch the windward mark as he rounded it in first place. Despite the claims of the race officer at the mark who insisted that Carl did not touch the mark, Carl withdrew from the race.

Van Duyne did not win the Olympics, but the severity of the penalty for the infraction convinced the Rules Committee to change the rule to permit sailors to take a penalty when they accidentally touch a mark.

The following is excerpted from a tribute written about Carl Van Duyne when he was inducted into the Barnegat Bay Hall of Fame:
Carl started sailing at age six, either tied to a piling in the Mantoloking Yacht Club basin, or alongside his parents in another boat. He sailed in the Mantoloking program from age seven to about 12, usually winning or placing in the championship. He also won the Powell Trophy, given for “All American Sportsmanship.” Carl started crewing on E-Scows at about age 12. He learned a lot from and was very inspired by Runnie Colie and Sam Merrick. Carl sailed a Sneakbox and then a Penguin for a couple of years and won the National Junior Penguin Championship.

When Carl was 14, the United States International Sailing Association brought some Finns to the Mantoloking Yacht Club and held the Eastern Championships there. Carl borrowed a boat and came in third. At that time, he set his goal for the Olympics, and started saving his money. Two years later, he had his Finn.

He campaigned the Finn as soon as he got his driver’s license and did quite well. One summer, while a student at Princeton, he ran symposiums all across the country for the USISA, towing a huge trailer with about eight Finns from yacht club to yacht club. These were the forerunners of today’s USYRU seminars.

Carl represented the United States in the Pan American Games twice and won two silver medals. He won the National Intercollegiate Single Handed Championship while at Princeton as well as several National and North American Finn Championships. The biggest thrill of Carl’s sailing career was sailing for the United States in the 1968 Olympics in Mexico. Carl represented Yachting on the Athlete’s Advisory Council of the U.S. Olympic Committee and on the President’s Council of Sports. He was also vice president of the International Finn Association.

The first mini-Laser was designed by Carl for his little brother, Peter, who wanted to sail a Laser but only weighed 70 pounds. After writing about it and picturing it in his column in Yachting, Performance Sailcraft picked up the idea.

After his death from cancer at age 36, the U.S. Olympic Committee, U.S. Finn Association, the Fales Committee of the United States Naval Academy, and the Mantoloking Yacht Club presented a perpetual trophy in Carl’s memory for the National Finn Championship. The Naval Academy also gave a trophy for singlehanded intercollegiate sailing. The memorial which would have meant the most to him is the annual “Carl Van Duyne Memorial Advanced Racing Clinic” which is still offered at Mantoloking Yacht Club, to help kids today to enjoy and love sailing has much as he did.

Honors and Accomplishments:
• National Finn Championship Perpetual Trophy named in his memory
• Carl Van Duyne Advanced Racing Clinic named in his memory – for youth sailors, run by Olympians and World Champions
• 2004 Barnegat Bay Sailing Hall of Fame
• 2000 Honored with the Carl van Duyne Sportsmanship Memorial at the Herreshoff Marine Museum/America’s Cup Hall of Fame
• 1971 Silver Medal, PanAm Games, Finn
• 1968, 1970 1st Finn North American Championship,
• 1967 Silver Medal, PanAm Games, Finn
• ca. 1965 1st National Intercollegiate Singlehanded Championship,
• 1962 1st National Junior Penguin Championship
• 1961 Barnegat Bay YRA Powell Trophy for All American Sportsmanship
• Ran symposiums across the country that are considered to be one of the forerunners for USYRU and US Sailing symposiums

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