Smart Navigates Star In Bid for Olympics

Investors in equine enterprise often use the term boat race to suggest certainly of outcome. In Star Class boat racing, however, the issue is always in doubt until the finish line, and that's why Hilary H. Smart '47 of Dunster House may be representing the U. S. in Olympic sailing this summer.

For several days prior to July 2, top notch Star Class sailing boats from 140 fleets all over the country will converge on Sheepshead Bay, New York, and one of these will be the brand new "Hilarius" spippered by Smart. After four days of heats and finals one boat will emerge as the Olympic entrant.

Smart is the first to admit that there will be cagier seamen than he in the competition even though he's been handling the tiller according to one Nantucket legend since the tender age of six. But "there's only so much skill in handling a boat, and from there Lady Luck takes over," he says.

Father and Son

Paul Smart '14, Hilary's father, may team up with his son in the Sheepshead trials to form the two-man crew. If they get their fair share of breaks, which include position, wind, and not being pocketed by the ballooning sail of a rival, they have a working chance at the laurel.

The Hilarius is a trim 23 foot job, and according to Smart, is one of the fastest hulls in the country, costing a cool $2, 250. His father is no stranger to top flight racing, having brought his boat "Melody" in fourth in the 1942 World Championship Star meeting. He also holds the Bacardi Cup for a victory in Havana.

Assuming the two Smarts sweep the field, they will ship their boat on the trans-Ttlantic S.S. American to meet the top representatives of all the sailing nations of the world at Tourbay, England, early in August. They would also plan to take in the World Championship Star Association races at Lisbon, later in the month.

Tough Competition

Standing between the Smarts and such projects, however, is one particularly able navigator named Lockwood Perie of Chicago, who recently won his fleet competitions at Great South Bay. Star racing men are better organized than the auto workers, with 140 fleets scattered throughout the country. The best single boat in each one of these fleets, theoretically, will be competing at Shepshead.

Perie will be difficult competition, Smart fears, because he has been working out all winter "getting the feel of his equipment." Armchair study combined with the track managership this spring hasn't been the best sort of preparation for Smart.