Dick Tillman Explained

Dick Tillman
Fullname:	Richard L. Tillman
Birth Date:	November 27, 1936
Show-Medals:	yes
Death Place:	Syracuse, Indiana, United States

Richard L. Tillman, known as Dick Tillman, (November 27, 1936 – October 15, 2020)^[1] was an American sailor. He was a member of the United States sailing team at the 1976 Summer Olympics as an alternate and was named US Sailor of the Year in 1965.^[2]

He is a class of 2024 National Sailing Hall of Fame inductee.^[3]

He started sailing as a teenager at Wawasee Yacht Club crewing for Alan (Buzz) Levinson, his older brother Frank and his younger brother, Harry, in their Snipes.

College

Dick Tillman was National Intercollegiate Sailing Champion with the U.S. Naval Academy in 1957,^[4] and became a member of the ICSA Hall of Fame for Competitive Achievement after graduation in 1958.^[5]

Sailing career

Dick Tillman holds national, north American and world titles in the Snipe, Finn, Laser and Sunfish classes:

• U.S. National Champion in Snipe (1959),^[6] Finn (1965),^[7]
• North American Champion in Laser (1971, 1972 and 1973),^[8] and Finn (1965).^[9]

He also won a bronze medal at the 1959 Pan American Games in Snipe.^[10]

In the Masters category, he also holds several championships:

• International Sunfish Masters Champion in 1995, 1996, 1998 and 2002.^[11]
• World Great Grand Masters Laser radial Champion in 2002.^[12]
• North American Laser Masters Champion in 1981 and 1982.^[13]
• World Masters Games
  • Silver Medalist at the 1998 Nike World Masters in Windsurfing
  • Bronze Medalist at the 1998 Nike World Masters in Laser

Organizational activities

Dick Tillman has been a member of the United States Sailing Association for over 30 years and director for 3 years (1999-2002), chair of National Single-handed Championship Committee for 7 years, commodore of the Snipe Class International Racing Association (1971), sailing representative to USOC Athletes Advisory Council (1976-1980), Executive Director of the International J/24 Class Association (1981-1991), and president of the US Windsurfing Association, president of the International Sunfish Class Association (2002-2006).^[14]

Books

He wrote The Complete Book of Laser Sailing, published by McGraw Hill in 2005.^[15]

External links

• Interview with Dick Tillman - Snipe Sailor

Notes and References

1. Web site: Tillman, Richard . 2024-01-06 . National Sailing Hall of Fame . en-US.
2. Web site: DICK TILLMAN - SAILING BIOGRAPHY. D19Laser . 2016-12-23 . https://web.archive.org/web/20161224030734/http://www.d19laser.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=107:dick-tillman-laser-clinic-in-muskegon&catid=1:latest-news&Itemid=62 . 2016-12-24 . dead .
3. https://thesailingmuseum.org/hall-of-fame/2024/ The Sailing Museum and National Sailing Hall of Fame
4. http://collegesailing.org/championships/coed Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association
5. http://collegesailing.org/hall-of-fame/individuals/competitive-achievement Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association
6. Web site: Snipe Bulletin September 1959 . 2016-12-23 . 2016-12-23 . https://web.archive.org/web/20161223072339/https://www.snipe.org/bulletin/snipe-bulletin-archive/snipe-bulletin/1950s-bulletins/291-snipe-bulletin-sept-1959/file . dead .
7. https://www.finnclass.org/racing/results-archive/europeans/62-results/europeans/324-history-of-the-european-championship-1956-to-1975 International Finn Association
8. Web site: International Finn Association . 2016-12-23 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160607141034/http://www.laserinternational.org/OLD%20WEBSITE/archives/arcna.htm . 2016-06-07 . dead .
9. https://www.finnclass.org/racing/results-archive/other-regattas International Finn Association
10. https://snipe.org/images/stories/pdf/pan%20am%20games_snipe%20results%2051_71.pdf Snipe Pan Am Games
11. https://www.sunfishclass.org/about/archive/international-masters-championship/ International Sunfish Class Association
12. Web site: International Laser Class Association . 2016-12-25 . https://web.archive.org/web/20111230184416/http://www.laserinternational.org/OLD%20WEBSITE/archives/arcwmas.htm . 2011-12-30 . dead .
13. http://lasersailingtips.com/learning-to-sail-2/the-top-books-on-sailing-lasers/ Laser Sailing Tips
14. Web site: DICK TILLMAN - SAILING BIOGRAPHY. D19Laser . 2016-12-23 . https://web.archive.org/web/20161224030734/http://www.d19laser.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=107:dick-tillman-laser-clinic-in-muskegon&catid=1:latest-news&Itemid=62 . 2016-12-24 . dead .
15. https://www.mhprofessional.com/9780071452199-usa-the-complete-book-of-laser-sailing-group The Complete Book of Laser Sailing