Bernard "Ben" Staartjes (9 December 1928,

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

– 17 March 2014, Kapellen) Bernard Staartjes 1928–2014
was a

sailor A sailor, seaman, mariner, or seafarer is a person who works aboard a watercraft as part of its crew, and may work in any one of a number of different fields that are related to the operation and maintenance of a ship. The profession of the s ...

from the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, who represented his country at the

1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich 1972 (german: München 1972), was an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. ...

Kiel Kiel () is the capital and most populous city in the northern Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 246,243 (2021). Kiel lies approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the southeast of the J ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. With crew

Cees Kurpershoek Cornelis "Cees" Kurpershoek (born 30 June 1943 in Amersfoort) is a sailor from the Netherlands, who represented his native country at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Kiel, Germany. With helmsman Ben Staartjes Kurpershoek took the 5th place in the Tem ...

he took the 5th place in the

Tempest Tempest is a synonym for a storm. '' The Tempest'' is a play by William Shakespeare. Tempest or The Tempest may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Films * ''The Tempest'' (1908 film), a British silent film * ''The Tempest'' (1911 film), a ...

. In

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...

Staartjes represent the Netherlands again in the Tempest. This time with crew

Ab Ekels Albert Sybrandus "Ab" Ekels (born 5 December 1950, in Hilversum) is a sailor from the Netherlands, who represented his country at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Kingston, Canada. With helmsman Ben Staartjes Ekels took the 8th place in the Tempest. ...

They took 8th place. Later Staartjes specialized in the

Star A star is an astronomical object comprising a luminous spheroid of plasma (physics), plasma held together by its gravity. The List of nearest stars and brown dwarfs, nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked ...

. In 1980 Staartjes was Chef de Equipe of the

Dutch Olympic Sailing Team The Dutch were in most of the Olympic sailing competitions represented by the Dutch Olympic Sailing Team. The selection of the members of the team was done by the Koninklijk Nederlands Watersport Verbond (KNWV) or its predecessor. With the except ...

at the

1980 Summer Olympics The 1980 Summer Olympics (russian: Летние Олимпийские игры 1980, Letniye Olimpiyskiye igry 1980), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad (russian: Игры XXII Олимпиады, Igry XXII Olimpiady) and commo ...

Tallinn Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju ' ...

. This was the first time, and so far the only time, the Netherlands was represented at all Olympic Sailing events.

Controversy

Several countries did

boycott A boycott is an act of nonviolent, voluntary abstention from a product, person, organization, or country as an expression of protest. It is usually for moral, social, political, or environmental reasons. The purpose of a boycott is to inflict som ...

the

, others like

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

did not go since they found the competition devaluated. As result only half of the expected fleet was present during the Olympic regattas. It was the effort of Staartjes and

Geert Bakker Geert Alle Bakker (15 January 1921 in Appingedam – 7 August 1993 in Warmond) was a sailor from the Netherlands, who represented his country at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. With crew Pieter Keijzer and Harald de Vla ...

that the

went to

Sources

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Staartjes, Ben 1928 births 2014 deaths Sportspeople from Amsterdam Dutch male sailors (sport) Star class sailors Soling class sailors Sailors at the 1972 Summer Olympics – Tempest Sailors at the 1976 Summer Olympics – Tempest Olympic sailors of the Netherlands Dutch referees and umpires 20th-century Dutch people