Steve Benjamin, as of the Favourites for the 1983 470 Championship title, finished fourth overall.
 

BM: How did you get into sailing, Steve?

SB: I am now 27 years old and started sailing when aged nine growing up in a community on the north shore of Long Island, 30 miles outside New York City, called Oyster Bay. I progressed through the ranks of the junior programme racing various boats, eventually sailing the Fireball and Lightning.

BM: When did you decide to embark on a sailing career?

SB: I began at Yale University as an engineer but after a year changed to business studies which allowed me more time to devote to my sailing. My goal was to become the outstanding Collegiate sailor which I did in my final year.

In 1975 I took a year's break to prepare for the 1976 Olympic Trials in 470's, tuning up and practising in Florida over the winter. We only managed to finish seventeenth but I was not discouraged and felt I had learnt a lot.

BM: What were your next sailing plans?

SB: After the disappointment of the 470 I teamed up with Tucker Edmundson and concentrated on the Fireball class with the World Championships being in St. Margaret's Bay, Nova Scotia at the end of the summer. We bad two boats at our disposal, one built by Binks in Australia, owned by Wilmott and Cooke, and a brand new boat built by Mark Lindsay.

Techniques and ideas which I had learnt from the 470 were transferred to the Fireball. We used spinnaker bags instead of a chute to keep weight out of the bow and to make for faster sets with a 1:4 purchase on the halyard. Also a very stiff Z spar rig with a strut on the deck to the gooseneck.

This was set up extremely tight with inverted bend so the mast was almost straight whilst sailing.

The sails were also radically different, the jib being cut extremely full with a straight leech and sheeted well inboard. The main was rather flat with a large roach, made possible by very little luff curve as the class rules dictate the maximum girth measurerment.

Together with excessive kicking strap tension and Tucker's 6'4" and 200 pound frame we could plane off earlier and faster than anyone else upwind and yet still point high. We went on to win the Worlds, winning every race except for a 5th and a premature start.

I probably learnt more during that summer in the Fireball with Tucker, about boat handling and helm and crew interaction than at any other time. We both learnt each other's responsibilities and had all the manoeuvres down to step by step perfection.

Upwind I developed a conscious feel between the tiller and mainsheet in planing conditions. If you want more windward helm you pull on the mainsheet, if you want less windward helm you ease the mainsheet. Downwind we developed techniques for picking up waves and carrying them down the course. To do this we practised pumping together with the crew shifting his weight from foot to foot.

The next Worlds were in Kinsale in Ireland and we spent a hurried three weeks trying to concentrate on everything we had learnt the summer before. Lawrie Smith and Andy Barker had developed similar techniques but fortunately for us they were disqualified for starting early in one race and we went on to win the regatta.

BM: After your second Fireball success what next, back to College to finish your degree?

SB: Yes, but all the time sailing 470's and attending the major events, being crewed by Neal Fowler. In order to be able to afford the time to sail and prepare for the 1980 Olympic Trials and Games I started International Sailing Products in the Spring of 1979.

I spent the whole of that year and early 1980 preparing for the US Olympic Trials We won with Peter Melvin second and Dave Ullman third but unfortunately could not go to Russia because of the boycott.

BM: Any lessons learnt from the Olympic campaign leading up to 1980?

SB: Most of my work was connected with new rigs. In 1979 I was one of the first to use a Proctor D, being lighter than the more common Z spar and also softer sideway and stiffer fore and aft. As with the Fireball I worked with Peter Conrad from Sobstad Sails developing a mainsail with minimun luff curve and large roach and also a very full jib.

Peter would follow behind in a rubber boat when single or two boat tuning. He was responsible for the overall design but he also recut the sails from my own input.

Ken Brackwell and I later developed the Proctor Epsilon based on our experience with the D and Z spar sections.

BM: We've talked about rigs, did you make any innovations in spinnaker design?

SB: The biggest lesson we learnt was from French 470 sailor Laurent Delage. His spinnakers were extremely flat in the head with wide shoulders and fairly full in the bottom. Using a low spinnaker pole this powerful sail could not only reach extremely high but also more than hold its own on the broader reaches.
We developed a similar spinnaker that year and have used it ever since.

BM: What were your next plans after the disappointment of winning the Trials yet not being allowed to go to the Games?

SB: Tucker and I teamed up again only this time in the 505. We went to the Worlds in South Africa and made a serious effort towards the 1980 Worlds in Hayling Island. We practised in the States and for a month at Hayling to get used to the unusual conditions there.
The boat was again built by Mark Lindsay using a Proctor D and Sobstad Sails. We had very good speed, especially offwind and we went on to win.
In the 505 we had the opportunity to experiment with new ideas such as the shroud travellers. In the 470 we found that the upper mast bend could be changed by altering the spreader angle with screw adjusters. The fore and aft shroud traveller on the 505 meant we could precisely adjust the upper mast bend while sailing, moving the cars aft increased the bend.
There was also a trend in the class to have the shrouds a foot higher than the jib halyard which gave excessive fore and aft bend as soon as any rig tension was applied, I lowered the shrouds but kept the trapeze wires high to stop the tip falling off sideways. The shrouds and forestay were all adjustable leading to a very stiff mast set up when desired.

BM: Do you think the expensive Lindsay boats, which only a small minority of the fleet can afford but which are obviously better, has damaged the 505 class?

SB: The boat I used was expensive, being a Kevlar Nomex Honeycomb combination with a plywood deck. I can understand that because only a minority of the fleet can afford the expense that the class has been damaged but surely the blame must lie with be committees who decide the class rules, not with Mark Lindsay who was only doing his best.

BM: What happened after your success at Hayling Island in the 505's?

SB: After the disappointment of 1980 I am even more determined to succeed in the 470 class. My new crew is Chris Steinfeld who is 136 lbs and 6 feet 1 inch tall.
Our present boat is from Parker using a Proctor Epsilon which has the same fore and aft bend characteristics as the Proctor D but is 14% stiffer sideways, very similar to the Z spar but much lighter. I am now using Ullman Sails mainly because Dave Ullman is putting in more time to the development of 470 sails than anyone else.
Our method of preparation during the last year and a half has been to attend all the major regattas at least two weeks early to tune up and practise. I also feel it's important to iron out all the problems and do a lot of basic training at home.

BM: In this country most of our sailors embarking on an Olympic Campaign have sponsorship of one form or another. Who's paying for your 470 sailing?

SB: The campaign is budgeted at 50,000 Dollars. So far the United States Sailing Federation has contributed a small share which we had to qualify for at two US regattas. The remainder of the funds come from private sources and personal resources.

BM: One thing that intrigues me about 470's is that the boats are healed to windward in heavy airs. Can you tell me about this technique?

SB: A Japanese sailor called Miyuki Kai brought this to the attention of the Western world at the 1979 Worlds in Medemblik. He won sailing the boat healed 5-10 degrees to windward, which gives better pointing ability.

BM: Is International Sailing Products still a thriving business?

SB: Yes, more than ever. I started in 1979 selling specialised fittings by mail order to performance sailors. The catalogue now consists of 32 pages and is distributed to sailors primarily in the US but also throughout the world. We are the importers for Proctor masts and have a complete rigging and spar service on the premises.
We have also recently opened the East Coast loft for Ullman Sails.

BM: Have you ever been coached or had any great influences in your life?

SB: I learnt a lot early on by crewing in a Thistle for a local boat shop owner called Jim Miller. Peter Conrad from Sobstad Sails has also helped me a great deal.
I have never bad any formal coaching, with it being left up to me to sort my own sailing out. I'm not opposed to that.
I like challenges and I think sailing is a remarkable challenge. There are so many aspects of the sport which have to be overcome and mastered and that's what really intrigues me.

• From the Experts; The Benjamin 505 by Steve Benjamin