YachtForums.Com - View Single Post - Olin Stephens Celebrates 100th Birthday in April

brian eiland · 03-09-2008, 12:57 PM

Sparkman & Stephens is celebrating its storied past and looking ahead to its future with in a series of milestone events this summer.

The company, founded in 1929, has been a veritable breeding ground for some of the best-known yacht designers and naval architects in the world. None among them though, holds the stature of company co-founder Olin J. Stephens II. Stephens, who turns 100 in April, is the subject of several celebrations in his honor.

By any measure, a man who has lived a hundred years has lived a full life. But some centenarians live fuller lives than others. Stephens is a case in point. The soon-to-be-centenarian is still building on a legacy that began in the 1920s with seminal early offshore racing yachts such as Dorade and Stormy Weather, and carried through countless small-boat designs, the influential J-Class America's Cup yacht Ranger and a number of the most revered early 12-Meters including Columbia, Constellation and Intrepid.

S&S, the New York Yacht Club and several other entities have planned a number of events this summer on the East Coast and in Europe to recognize the man whose life and work has so deeply impacted the worlds of yacht racing and cruising for eight decades. The first of these events will be in Holland May 30-June 2 with the Annual General Meeting of the Sparkman & Stephens Association. The group, which comprises owners of S&S boats, will compete in the Olin Stephens Regatta and participate in a long weekend of festivities saluting the designer's centennial birthday.

The New York Yacht Club, which has weighed so heavily in Stephens's success and that of S&S, is hosting a classic yacht regatta in his honor in Newport, Rhode Island, July 19-20. The club is planning an elaborate birthday party celebration for him at its Harbour Court facility. In another tribute to Stephens, S&S in conjunction with Doyle Sailmakers and the Castine Yacht Club will host a birthday party for Stephens at Eastern Yacht Club in Marblehead, Massachusetts. Following the party, a number of S&S designs will join the fleet racing from Marblehead to Castine, Maine. The race will lead into Down East Race Week in August. Last year, the S&S-designed Anna - an updated version of Stephens's famous Stormy Weather - won her class and placed first in elapsed time in the Eggemoggin Reach Regatta, which is part of the Down East event.

Given Olin's centennial celebration, more S&S yachts are expected to participate in the Down East Race Week this year than ever before.

03-09-2008, 12:57 PM	#1
brian eiland Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Washington DC, Annapolis MD, Thailand Posts: 622	Olin Stephens Celebrates 100th Birthday in April Sparkman & Stephens is celebrating its storied past and looking ahead to its future with in a series of milestone events this summer. The company, founded in 1929, has been a veritable breeding ground for some of the best-known yacht designers and naval architects in the world. None among them though, holds the stature of company co-founder Olin J. Stephens II. Stephens, who turns 100 in April, is the subject of several celebrations in his honor. By any measure, a man who has lived a hundred years has lived a full life. But some centenarians live fuller lives than others. Stephens is a case in point. The soon-to-be-centenarian is still building on a legacy that began in the 1920s with seminal early offshore racing yachts such as Dorade and Stormy Weather, and carried through countless small-boat designs, the influential J-Class America's Cup yacht Ranger and a number of the most revered early 12-Meters including Columbia, Constellation and Intrepid. S&S, the New York Yacht Club and several other entities have planned a number of events this summer on the East Coast and in Europe to recognize the man whose life and work has so deeply impacted the worlds of yacht racing and cruising for eight decades. The first of these events will be in Holland May 30-June 2 with the Annual General Meeting of the Sparkman & Stephens Association. The group, which comprises owners of S&S boats, will compete in the Olin Stephens Regatta and participate in a long weekend of festivities saluting the designer's centennial birthday. The New York Yacht Club, which has weighed so heavily in Stephens's success and that of S&S, is hosting a classic yacht regatta in his honor in Newport, Rhode Island, July 19-20. The club is planning an elaborate birthday party celebration for him at its Harbour Court facility. In another tribute to Stephens, S&S in conjunction with Doyle Sailmakers and the Castine Yacht Club will host a birthday party for Stephens at Eastern Yacht Club in Marblehead, Massachusetts. Following the party, a number of S&S designs will join the fleet racing from Marblehead to Castine, Maine. The race will lead into Down East Race Week in August. Last year, the S&S-designed Anna - an updated version of Stephens's famous Stormy Weather - won her class and placed first in elapsed time in the Eggemoggin Reach Regatta, which is part of the Down East event. Given Olin's centennial celebration, more S&S yachts are expected to participate in the Down East Race Week this year than ever before.