Augie Diaz- from Optis to J/24s to Stars- sailing profile

(Miami, Florida)- James Boyd from SailingIntelligence.com wrote an interesting piece on Augie Diaz, titled “Master of the Classics”.  It is an insightful, entertaining story and perspective on how Augie evolved into one of the world’s better sailors, truly a story reminiscent of Robert Frost’s famous poem- “The Road Not Taken”.

For starters, Augie is a Cuban émigré as a child, when his father- Gonzalo “Old Man” Diaz- brought his family to Miami to escape the wrath of the communist dictator- Fidel Castro.

In his early racing days, Augie first met the Johnstone family sailing 470s in the 1973 to 1977 time frame.  At that time in college, Augie had teamed up with a buddy of his from Tulane University- Doug Bull- and sailed the USA 470 National circuit for awhile, achieving good success against the likes of David Ullman (a 4x 470 World Champion) and the two Johnstone brothers (Stu and Drake) sailing USA 600. In addition, Augie had met Bob & Mary Johnstone as well as Rod & Lucia Johnstone sailing 470s and, later, in J/24s.

By 1977, the J/24 had been created by Bob and Rod Johnstone and the first J/24 Midwinters took place in Key West, FL in 1978. Seeing that it was going to be a “hot” class and a lot of fun, Augie jumped in to race his own J/24 against famous names such as Dave Ullman, Ken Read, Mark Ploch, David Curtis, Jud Smith, the crazy Brazilian- Vince Brun, and others (all familiar to most J/Boats sailors for having won multiple J/24, Etchells 22, 470, and Star World Championships). The pinnacle of Augie’s J/24 success was winning the J/24 Midwinters in 1983 on Biscayne Bay, his home waters and hosted by his home club- Coral Reef YC.

Since that time in J/24s, Augie stopped sailing and focused on his family business in the medical supplies business in Florida.  After helping grow the business, the Diaz family sold their healthcare business and, as a result, Augie dove back into sailing his beloved Snipes and Stars.  Here is that story from James Boyd below:

Few boats reward both brains and brawn in such equal measure as the Star. It was partly this that enabled a 64-year-old ‘amateur’ to claim this year’s Star European Championship in Flensburg, Germany.

Admittedly Cuba-born American Agustín ‘Augie’ Díaz was sailing with one of the class’ top crew – in addition to his four Star World Championship titles, Brazilian Bruno Prada scored Star silver and bronze respectively at the Beijing and London Olympics with his long-term helm Robert Scheidt.

But with more than 35 years’ experience and wisdom gained from competing against the world’s best in the class, Díaz is today one of the top helms as he proved when he and Prada became Star World Champions in 2016. The European Championship trophy is the latest silverware for this successful partnership’s trophy cabinet.

Díaz comes from a sailing dynasty. His grandfather sailed and in 1959, his father Gonzalo and uncle Saul claimed silvers for Cuba in the Snipe both at the Pan American Games and at the Snipe Worlds, on the latter occasion to none other than Paul Elvstrøm.

After his parents immigrated to Florida, an eight-year-old Augie took up sailing in the Optimist. While studying mechanical engineering at Tulane University in New Orleans, in 1974 he led Tulane Green Wave sailing team to win the coveted Leonard M. Fowle Trophy for the top scoring overall collegiate team. That same year he was voted College Sailor of the Year.

Despite his success in the Star in recent years, for most of his life Augie has been known, like his father, for racing Snipes. In this 1931 vintage doublehanded dinghy, his record is exceptional. He twice won the class’ biennial World Championship (in 2003 and 2005), something that only a handful of sailors have achieved, among them Torben Grael and Santiago Lange.

He also won Snipe World Masters Championships in 2002, 2004, 2006 and 2012, along with countless US and North American titles. Fifty-two years on, he emulated his father winning silver at the 2011 Pan American Games.

So, what is it about boats from the first half of the 20th century that he prefers? “Some of the classes that are popular are more about boat handling and speed, which are also important,” explains Díaz. “But, I prefer tactical sailing where you have to do both – be good tactically, good athletically, and have good boat handling.”

Although he was never selected to go to the Olympic Games, he tried in 1976 and 1980 in the Flying Dutchman and in 1984 made as far as the trials in the Star, but was up against Bill Buchan and Stevie Erickson who went on to claim the gold at Los Angeles.

After that Díaz admits, “My time was passed. I had a fast-growing business and family. In fact I didn’t sail from 1986 to 1999.” This he describes as his “period of slavery…work and Little League coaching!”

His first Star World Championship was in 1983 in Los Angeles but he competed in them again two years later in Nassau, on the very same waters albeit some 30 years on that the Star Sailor’s League Finals are held annually.

The partnership with Bruno Prada began in 2006-7, whenever there was an event that Robert Scheidt couldn’t make – usually the ones in Miami over the winter. “I was very fortunate that I was the same weight as Robert, so Bruno didn’t have to lose any weight,” recalls Díaz. “And for Bruno it was a safe: If we did well it was because of him. If we did badly it was because of me!”

Díaz says that his partner is much more than just a crew. “He is one of the guys in the class who has extensive helming experience in the Finn and in the Snipe when he was younger. He is really a skipper on the boat. Fortunately, our tactical approaches are very similar, so there’s no great discussion.

“There are several classes that are ‘driven by the crew’ – there’s also the 505 and you even see it in the 49er. It is easy to feel the boat when you have the helm, much harder when it is just through your backside! The elite guys like Bruno can do that.”

Personally for Díaz it also coincided with his pulling out of the medical supplies business he’d built up. Retiring into some “real estate and other investment stuff” he had more time on his hands for sailing, until he agreed to sell the MJM line of 35-53 ft long motor yachts designed by Bob Johnstone of J/Boats fame, which has proved more successful (and time-consuming) than he had hoped…

Thanks to his Europeans result, Díaz is currently ninth in the Star Sailors League ranking which guarantees his invitation for the Star Sailors League Finals 2018, the annual event that determines who is the best sailor among the ‘stars’ of the sailing world and allocation of the US$200,000 prize pot. For a sixth year, the Finals will be held in the azure waters of Nassau in the Bahamas, from December 3rd to 8th.

Having been based in Miami most of his life, he knows Nassau well and has been sailing there for decades: “It is one of the world’s premier venues. They say that when ‘God decides to go sailing’ he goes there – the combination of the breeze, which is usually quite strong, plus the waves and water color and the warm climate. And the Nassau Yacht Club is very friendly. You couldn’t find better people.”

Díaz is aware that at 64 his profile doesn’t entirely fit in with that of the Star Sailors League, which aims to recognize the world’s best sailors, but more typically professionals, especially those on the ascent in their careers, but he remains a big fan.

“The reason the Star continues to grow is because the Star Sailors League started right after we were taken out of the Olympics. The way it is run, where all the elite sailors in the world can get together in one platform and have an incredible regatta – for me you can forget about the America’s Cup, the Volvo Ocean Race and all those races, at the Star Sailors League Finals you are sailing against the best.”

He is especially in awe of the next generation such as Paul Goodison and even younger talent like Sime Fantela and Ben Saxton. “It was awesome that Paul could come in and be able to do what he did (winning the 2017 SSL Finals). That was huge for the Star Sailors League. It shows that people from the outside can come and be competitive in the Finals.”

But will they once again get the better of the old timers this December? We wait to find out... Add to Flipboard Magazine.


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