Olin Stephens sailed his last trip
The great Olin Stephens passed away over the weekend at the age of 100. As a yacht designer he was without equal, drawing the lines for the winners of eight of nine America’s Cup matches between 1937 and 1980.
Olin J. Stephens II is considered to be one of the most prominent naval architects of the 20th century. He master the unique art of creating very fast yachts that just looked stunning. From the 1931 Dorade over the J-Class Ranger to several 12-Meters and the best of the Swan designs, they all passed Olin’s drawing table.
His design firm, Sparkman & Stephens also designed the first two winners of the Whitbread Round the World Race: the Swan 65 Sayula II won the inaugural edition, while the ketch Flyer won the 1977/8 Whitbread with Conny van Rietschoten at the helm.
In his autobiography, ‘All This and Sailing, Too’ Stephens wrote, “I was lucky: I had a goal. As far back as I can remember I wanted to design fast boats.”
And that he did, contributing to the design of over 2,000 yachts before retiring from the firm in the early 1980s. We wish him all the best on this final trip.
Yachts said
Sep 16, 2008 @ 02:38 AM
Even before cellphones were introduced in South Africa these professionals were running day trips from the V&A Waterfront in sailing catamarans. Yachts