Sailing at the 1956 Summer Olympics

1956 was the first time in history that several countries decided to boycott the Olympics. The boycott that influenced the sailing the most was probably that of The Netherlands, Spain, and Switzerland. They withdrew to protest against the Soviet Union invasion of Hungary during the 1956 Hungarian Revolution and Soviet presence at the Games. At that time The Netherlands dominated at the International competition in the 12m² Sharpie.

• This Olympic sailing event was gender independent, but turned out to be a Men-only event. This was one of the triggers to create gender specific events. This however had to wait until 1988.
• Classes were hosted by several local yacht clubs:
  • Sandringham Yacht Club: Finn
  • Elwood Sailing Club: 12m² Sharpie
  • Royal St. Kilda Yacht Club: Star
  • Royal Brighton Yacht Club: Dragon
  • Royal Yacht Club of Victoria: 5.5 Metre
• The Royal St. Kilda Yacht Club was also the Sailing Headquarters
• Thirty-five Finn boats were built by a Melbourne firm of yacht builders. Other than in Helsinki, they were cold moulded shells of Queensland maple veneer. The mast and boom were of sitka spruce.
• The weather, throughout the series, was fine, with moderate sea breezes and pleasant sunshine. Except on 29 November ^th when the races in the Finn were postponed, several 12m² Meter Sharpies capsized, only 5 out of 13 Sharpies could finish and the 5.5 Metre's of the Soviet Union and South Africa were dismasted.
• The courses were set by the Royal Australian Navy. The vessels: H.M.A.S. Warramunga, H.M.A.S. Swan and H.M.A.S. Sprightly acted as starting vessels.

During the sailing regattas at the 1956 Summer Olympics among others the following persons were competing in the various classes:

•  Denmark, Paul Elvstrøm in the Finn won his third consecutive Gold medal
•  Canada, Bruce Kirby in the Finn, yacht designer of the Olympic Laser.
•  New Zealand, Peter Mander won the first New Zealand Olympic gold medal in the 12m² Sharpie, became later president of the New Zealand Yachting Federation.
•  Great Britain, Graham Hargrave Mann helmed the dragon Bluebottle the wedding gift to Her Majesty the Queen.
•  Australia, Jock Sturrock in the 5.5 Metres, won Australia's first medal in Olympic sailing. Later skipper of "Gretel" and "Dame Pattie", the first two Australian challengers for the America's Cup.
•  Thailand, Prince of Thailand, Prinz Bhanubanda Bira in the Star

• World Sailing 1956 Olympic Microsite
• Olympics Sailing at the 1956 Summer Olympics at World Sailing

• The Organizing Committee of the XVI Olympiad, Melbourne, 1956 (1958). The Official Report of the Organizing Committee for the Games XVI Olympiad Melbourne 1956 (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 February 2012. Retrieved 1 July 2010.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
• Hugh Drake & Paul Henderson (2009). Canada's Olympic Sailing Legacy, Paris 1924 – Beijing 2008. Toronto: CYA.
• "Melbourne - Stockholm 1956". Olympics.com. International Olympic Committee.