Olin Stephens

Olin James Stephens II ( born April 13, 1908 in New York City, New York, † September 13, 2008 in Hanover, New Hampshire) was an American yacht designer with a special fondness for wooden ships.

Life

Olin Stephens was the second most successful yacht designer of the America 's Cup by Nathanael Herreshoff. He designed five victorious AC boats: Columbia ( 1958), Constellation ( 1964), Intrepid (1967 ) Courageous (1974) and Freedom ( 1980). Together with his brother Rod Stephens and yacht broker Drake Sparkman, he founded and led the firm Sparkman & Stephens (S & S ), the leading yacht design company in the years 1920-1980. Legendary are his yacht designs Dorade, with the 1931 transatlantic race and was won in the same year, the Fastnet Race, as well as Stormy Weather, with whom he won the tragic transatlantic race 1935. The mid-thirties he had with Starling Burgess, a scientific nature in the yacht design. Towing tank experiments optimized the J- Yacht Ranger who defended the America 's Cup against Endeavour in 1937. In the sixties they started cooperation with the Finn Pekka Koskenkyla who founded the boatyard Nautor 's Swan.

Honors

  • Because of his outstanding achievements as a designer for the America 's Cup, he was accepted in 1993 as Inductee ( honorary member ) in the America's Cup Hall of Fame.
  • 2007 First Honorary Member ( Inductee ) in the newly created ISAF Sailing Hall of Fame
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