Tom Blackaller
Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Full name | Thomas David Blackaller Jr. | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Born | January 6, 1940 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
|
Thomas David Blackaller Jr. (January 6, 1940 – September 7, 1989) was a world-champion American
Early life
Blackaller was born January 6, 1940, in
Sailing career
Tom Blackaller initially rose to prominence sailing
He became known among fellow competitors as
As Blackaller became more accomplished he began competing internationally, initially in the 6-Meter class. In 1969 the St. Francis Yacht Club became involved in the Australian-American Challenge, a new international 6-Meter competition. The club bought an Olin Stephens-designed 6-Meter named Toogooloowoo IV, originally owned by John Taylor of Australia. Renamed St. Francis, Blackaller helmed her to victory in the November 1970 challenge in Australia, defeating the very same John Taylor and his new Stephens Six, Toogooloowoo V. The first World Cup in 6-Meters was held in Seattle in 1973, which Blackaller also won.[3]
Blackaller's fame in yacht racing grew largely through sailing
By 1988, Blackaller turned to multihull sailing. This marked his shift from quasi-amateur status to paid professional sailor. He began to campaign a Formula 40 catamaran in the $500,000 ProSail Series, which commenced August 11, 1988, in Newport, Rhode Island. The four-day regatta in Newport was the first of three national meets that year that included San Francisco, Oct. 6–9, and Miami, Dec. 8–11. (Lloyd, 1988) In the 1989 ProSail Series, he helmed his catamaran to win two races to one against Randy Smyth, reported at the time as America's top catamaran sailor. Blackaller was preparing to compete in the San Francisco race of that series at the time of his death.[8]
Blackaller was inducted into the National Sailing Hall of Fame in 2013.[9]
Motorsports involvement
In addition to his sailing career, Tom Blackaller also raced cars.
Later in 1989, Blackaller entered a
Blackaller suffered a heart attack while practicing for that race.
Sailmaking career
Blackaller worked as a sailmaker for Lowell North, a position that helped to cover the costs of most of his racing as an amateur and quasi-amateur. He managed the North Loft in San Francisco 1973–80 and North Sails West 1980–85. He was considered one of North's most visible and audible "Tigers."[7][11]
Colorful personality
What made Blackaller so widely known was his extremely colorful, opinionated, free-wheeling, and mischievous personality. Blackaller stories were so prevalent and enjoyed that web pages sprang up following his death to share them. On September 9, 2009, occasioned by the 20th anniversary of his death, a tribute was held by his friends and colleagues at the Rolex San Francisco Big Boat Series at the St. Francis Yacht Club, recounting many of these tales. The tribute was preceded by a collection of tales at the daily sailing electronic newsfeed Sailing Scuttlebutt[12] and by posting of a dedicated website.[13]
Death
On Thursday, September 7, 1989, Blackaller was practicing for the SCCA Pro Sports 2000 race to be held on September 10 at Sears Point Raceway in Sonoma County when he suffered a heart attack at the wheel of his car. He was a guest driver for Bob Lesnett's team. The car slowed after exiting the famous high speed turn known as the carousel. Witnesses described that the car "parked itself gently" on the left side of the track prior to entering turn 7. The car sustained minimal to no damage due to Tom's efforts to pull safely off the track. Rescuers found Blackaller unconscious. He was immediately transferred by helicopter to Queen of the Valley Hospital in Napa, California, where he later was pronounced dead.[10]
Family
Blackaller was survived by his wife, Christine; his daughters, Lisa and Brooke, both of San Francisco; his father, Thomas Sr, and his two sisters Nancy Hardie and Lois Wolfe.[1]
Blackaller Buoy
Following Blackaller's death, members of the St. Francis Yacht Club decided to establish one of their permanent racing marks as the "Blackaller Buoy." It is a buoy that forms an official racecourse mark for yacht racing on San Francisco Bay. The Yacht Racing Association of San Francisco Bay lists it as mark number 16. The buoy is a yellow column-shaped buoy labeled in black letters "Blackaller," 0.2 nautical miles (0.37 km) east of San Francisco's Fort Point. Contemporaries cited his colorful personality along with his demonstrated racing acumen as central to his impact on sailing. YRA Mark 16 was designated the Thomas D. Blackaller Jr. Memorial Buoy by the YRA Board of Directors, and its maintenance is funded by the Thomas D. Blackaller Jr. Fund.[14]
References
- ^ a b c Lloyd, 1989
- ^ a b Bolles and Allen
- ^ Street
- ^ "The America's Cup Ultimate Sail.Com".
- ^ "1987 America's Cup Results". USA 61: The Revolutionary 12. Archived from the original on 2011-07-17.
- ISBN 0-947068-05-8.
- ^ a b Sailing World
- ^ Roberts
- ^ "Tom Blackaller Jr. 2013 Inductee". Nshof.org. Retrieved April 11, 2020.
- ^ a b Motorsport Memorial
- ^ Lloyd, 1988
- ^ SailingScuttlebutt.com
- ^ RememberingBlackaller.org
- ^ Latitude 38
External links
- Bolles, David and Skip Allen, "Remembering Tom Blackaller" Star Class Association Website, June 29, 2003.
- Latitude 38, Central Bay Marks.
- Lloyd, Barbara, "Tom Blackaller, 49, Competitor in America's Cup", New York Times, September 8, 1989.
- Lloyd, Barbara, "Yachting Catamarans in Racing Series", New York Times, August 8, 1988.
- Motorsport Memorial "Tom Blackaller".
- Remembering Blackaller website.
- Roberts, Rich, "Competition Was Enough For Him", Los Angeles Times, September 14, 1989.
- Scuttlebutt, Blackaller page.
- Scuttlebutt, Blackaller forum.
- Sailing World, "Tom Blackaller, Lowell North's First Rockstar Tiger"[permanent dead link], April 24, 2002.
- Street, Tim, "Modern Six-Metre’s Newsletter No. 1", International Six-Metre Association, December 13, 2005.