Rod Stephens
Roderick "Rod" Stephens, Jr. (born August 7, 1909 in New York City , New York , † January 10, 1995 in Scarsdale , New York) was an American sailor and yacht engineer.
In 1929, he founded the yacht design office Sparkman & Stephens (S&S) in New York together with his brother Olin Stephens , who was one year older than him, and the yacht broker Drake Sparkman .
Life path
Rod Stephens began his sailing career in Cape Cod when he was ten . In 1928 he finished his education with a degree from Cornell University and a one-year job at the Henry Nevins Shipyard in City Island. In the joint company S&S he took on the role of engineer and supervised the implementation of the yacht constructions designed by brother Olin Stephens. During the Second World War he took over the management of the S&S company and played a leading role in the development of the amphibious military vehicle DUKW .
Sailing successes
His successes in sailing were legendary. Probably the most noted regatta victory was winning the transantlantic regatta in 1931 with the 50-foot yawl sea bream , the first design by the still young company S&S. He and his brother Olin won the race by a margin of 48 hours. New York celebrated the two brothers and their team on their return with a confetti parade . With the yacht Dorade he won many other important regattas such as B. the Fastnet Race in the same year.
Rod Stephens supported the American America's Cup defenders RANGER (1937), COLUMBIA (1958) and CONSTELLATION (1964) through his involvement in yacht construction and his sailing performance .
He was a member of many yacht clubs on the US East Coast, in particular the New York Yacht Club (NYYC) and a member of the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers . Rod Stephens was a commodore of the Cruising Club of America , an honorary member of the United States Naval Academy Fales Committee, and chairman of the New Ship Committee of the Sea Education Association .
Honors
- Rod Stephens received the United States Medal of Freedom for the DUKW construction .
- Because of his special merits as a sailor and designer for the America's Cup, he was inducted into the America's Cup Hall of Fame in 1993.
literature
- Barbara Lloyd: Roderick Stephens, 85, Sailor And Innovator in Yacht Design. in: The New York Times . January 12, 1995. HJ Raymond & Co., New-York, NY, 1995
Web links
- Homepage: Sparkman & Stephens
- Dorade: Photos ( Memento from March 12, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
Individual evidence
- ↑ Roderick Stephens in the US Social Security Death Directory (SSDI), accessed July 25, 2016
- ↑ America's Cup Hall of Fame: Rod Stevens.Retrieved July 22, 2009
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Stephens, Rod |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Stephens, Roderick junior (full name); Stephens, Rod junior (nickname) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American sailor and yacht engineer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | August 7, 1909 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | New York City , New York |
| DATE OF DEATH | January 10, 1995 |
| Place of death | Scarsdale , New York |