Thomas David Blackaller Jr. (January 6, 1940 – September 7, 1989) was a world-champion American yachtsman, America's Cup helmsman, sailmaker, and racecar competitor.

He moved with his parents to the San Francisco Bay area as a child and began sailing when he was 10 years old.

The club bought an Olin Stephens-designed 6-Meter named Toogooloowoo IV, originally owned by John Taylor of Australia.

[3] Blackaller's fame in yacht racing grew largely through sailing 12 Meters in his America's Cup campaigns of 1980, 1983 and 1986.

Blackaller came aboard as tactician for helmsman Russell Long and his defender entrant Clipper, but the boat lost out for the right to represent the New York Yacht Club in defense of the America's Cup to Dennis Conner and Freedom.

[1] In 1986, Blackaller became skipper of USA (US-61), a very fast, experimental design with fore-and-aft rudders and a ballast pod known as "the geek.

He began to campaign a Formula 40 catamaran in the $500,000 ProSail Series, which commenced August 11, 1988, in Newport, Rhode Island.

The four-day regatta in Newport was the first of three national meets that year that included San Francisco, Oct. 6–9, and Miami, Dec. 8–11.

Blackaller worked as a sailmaker for Lowell North, a position that helped to cover the costs of most of his racing as an amateur and quasi-amateur.

On September 9, 2009, occasioned by the 20th anniversary of his death, a tribute was held by his friends and colleagues at the Rolex San Francisco Big Boat Series at the St. Francis Yacht Club, recounting many of these tales.

[10] Blackaller was survived by his wife, Christine; his daughters, Lisa and Brooke, both of San Francisco; his father, Thomas Sr, and his two sisters Nancy Hardie and Lois Wolfe.

Contemporaries cited his colorful personality along with his demonstrated racing acumen as central to his impact on sailing.