Yachting in History

Events in Sport

Early Yacht Race

1661-10-01 Yachting begins in England as King Charles II beats his brother James, Duke of York in a yacht race from Greenwich to Gravesend

  • 1844-07-30 1st US yacht club - NY Yacht Club organized by John Cox Stevens and 8 friends aboard the Gimcrack
  • 1848-06-06 New York Yacht Club holds its first annual regatta; won by the schooner Carnelia
  • 1851-08-22 100 Guineas Cup is raced around Isle of Wight; US schooner 'America' beats British cutter 'Aurora' by 24 minutes; first competition for the America's Cup yachting trophy

Vanderbilt's Circumnavigation

1853-09-24 Cornelius Vanderbilt circumnavigates the world aboard his private yacht North Star

  • 1866-12-11 1st yacht race across Atlantic Ocean; schooners Fleetwing, Vesta and the Henrietta, with NY playboy Gordon Bennett on board, leave Sandy Hook for the Scilly Isles (the Henrietta wins)
  • 1866-12-23 First yacht race across the Atlantic won by the schooner Henrietta owned by Gordon Bennett of New York, first to reach Bishop Rock in the Scilly Isles after racing from NY
  • 1870-08-08 1st America's Cup: New York Yacht Club’s first defense of America’s Cup; 'Magic' (NYYC) defeats 'Cambria' (Royal Thames YC, England; finishes 8th) and 16 fellow defenders from NY Harbour to Sandy Hook Light Vessel on the Atlantic and return (38 miles)
  • 1871-10-23 Replacement yacht Sappho (US) beats Livonia (UK) by 25:27 in race 5 to win 3rd America's Cup off Newport, RI 4-1; original defender Columbia damaged so misses races 4 & 5
  • 1885-09-16 5th America's Cup: Puritan (NY Yacht Club) beats Genesta (Royal Yacht Squadron, Isle of Wight, UK) by 1:38 for 2-0 series win
  • 1886-09-11 6th America's Cup: Mayflower (NY Yacht Club) beats Galatea (Royal Northern & Clyde Yacht Club, Scotland) for 2-0 series victory
  • 1887-09-30 8th America's Cup: New York Yacht Club’s cutter Volunteer beats Scottish challenger Thistle by 11:48.75 seconds on corrected time to win series, 2-0 off Newport, RI
  • 1894-02-03 1st US steel sailing vessel, Dirigo, launched at Bath, Maine
  • 1899-10-20 American yacht Columbia beats the Shamrock challenge from Royal Ulster Yacht Club in 11th America's Cup
  • 1900-05-25 Retired London fire master Eyre Massey Shaw aged 70 reputedly becomes oldest gold medalist in Olympics for sailing (disputed)
  • 1901-10-04 Charlie Barr skippered Columbia (US) beats Shamrock II (UK), 3-0 on New York City Harbour in 11th America's Cup yachting challenge series
  • 1903-09-03 American yacht Reliance (largest gaff-rigged cutter ever built) defends America's Cup for the NYYC beating UK challenger Shamrock III off the New Jersey shore for a 3-0 series win
  • 1920-11-01 American fishing schooner 'Esperanto' defeats Canadian yacht 'Delawana' in the first International Fishing Schooner Championship Races off Halifax, Nova Scotia

1st Winter Olympics

1924-02-04 Jacob Tullin Thams of Norway wins ski jumping gold at the Chamonix Winter Olympics; in 1936 he earns a silver medal in sailing at Berlin Summer Games

  • 1937-08-09 Ranger (US) easily beats Endeavour II (England) in race 4 to wrap up the 17th America's Cup yachting series, 4-0; it's the final competition for 21 years
  • 1953-08-12 Ann Davison arrives in Miami in her 23 foot boat Felicity Ann, becoming the 1st woman to sail solo across the Atlantic
  • 1956-12-05 Danish yachtsman Paul Elvstrøm wins the Finn class gold medal at the Melbourne Olympics; his 2nd straight Finn gold and 3rd consecutive Olympic gold in sailing
  • 1960-09-07 Danish yachtsman Paul Elvstrøm wins the Finn class at the Rome Olympics; his 4th straight Olympic gold medal in the category
  • 1960-09-07 Future Constantine II, last King of Greece, wins Dragon class sailing gold medal at the Rome Olympics
  • 1962-09-15 Australia's 1st entry in America's Cup yacht race (US wins)
  • 1964-09-20 20th America's Cup yachting: Eric Ridder skippered Constellation beats English challenger Sovereign for a 4-0 American series sweep off Newport, RI
  • 1965-06-01 Robert Manry begins his 78 day voyage to sail a 13.5-foot yacht "Tinkerbelle" across the Atlantic Ocean
  • 1967-09-18 Intrepid (US) beats Dame Pattie (Australia) in 21st America's Cup yacht race at Newport, Rhode Island

1st Single-Handed Circumnavigation

1969-04-22 Robin Knox-Johnston ends 312 days of non-stop sailing to become the 1st person to perform a single-handed non-stop circumnavigation of the globe

  • 1983-09-26 Australia II wins America's Cup yacht race - 1st non-US winner

Olympic Gold

1984-08-08 Future 5-time America's Cup winner Russell Coutts of New Zealand wins the Finn Class sailing gold medal at the Los Angeles Olympics

  • 1987-02-04 San Diego Yacht Club's 'Stars & Stripes' captained by Dennis Conner beats Royal Perth Yacht Club of Australia's 'Kookaburra III' to capture the America's Cup at Freemantle, Western Australia
  • 1989-02-12 Thursday's Child sets sailing record, NY-Cape Horn-SF, 80 d 20 h
  • 1989-04-07 NY Supreme Court takes America's Cup away from SD Yacht Club for using a catamaran against NZ. Appeals court eventually overrules
  • 1999-10-31 Yachtsman Jesse Martin returns to Melbourne after 11 months of circumnavigating the world, solo, non-stop and unassisted.
  • 2000-03-02 America's Cup, Auckland: Team New Zealand beats Italian yacht Prada Challenge by 0.48s for a 5-0 series sweep; NZ only the 2nd country in 150 years to successfully defend the Cup
  • 2003-03-02 America's Cup, Auckland: Swiss yacht Alinghi beats Team New Zealand by 0.44s to sweep series, 5-0; Alinghi's Russell Coutts wins last 14 America's Cup races he's competed in as skipper; most in history
  • 2005-02-07 Britain's Ellen MacArthur becomes the then fastest person to sail solo around the world, taking 71 days, 14 hours, 18 minutes and 33 seconds
  • 2010-05-15 Jessica Watson at age 16 becomes the youngest person to sail solo, non-stop and unassisted around the world

Olympic Gold

2016-08-18 New Zealand's 2017 America's Cup winning helmsman Peter Burling teams with Blair Tuke to win the gold medal in the 49er class sailing at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics

  • 2021-03-17 America's Cup, Auckland: Emirates Team New Zealand beats Italian yacht Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli by 46s in race 10 for a 7-3 series victory and retain the cup

Birthdays in Sport

  • 1848-03-18 Nathanael Greene Herreshoff, American yacht designer (6 x undefeated America's Cup campaigns 1893-1920) and naval architect (built first torpedo boat for US Navy), born in Bristol, Rhode Island (d. 1938)
  • 1848-12-12 William Kissam Vanderbilt, American businessman, born in New Dorp, Staten Island, New York (d. 1920)
  • 1850-05-10 Thomas Lipton, Scottish yachtsman (5-time America's Cup challenger) and tea merchant (Lipton Tea), born in Glasgow, Scotland (d. 1931)
  • 1878-12-25 William Starling Burgess, American yacht designer (America's Cup yachts "Enterprise", "Rainbow", "Ranger") and aviation pioneer, born in Boston Massachusetts (d. 1947)
  • 1884-07-06 Harold Vanderbilt, American yachtsman and America's Cup winner (1930, 34, 37), born in Oakdale, New York (d. 1970)
  • 1892-01-13 Paul Smart, American yachtsman (Olympic gold star class 1948), born in Yarmouth County, Nova Scotia (d. 1979)
  • 1894-05-01 Florimond Cornellie, Belgian sailor (Olympic gold 6-metre class 1920), born in Antwerp, Belgium (d. 1978)
  • 1899-01-03 Johan Hin, Dutch yachtsman (Olympic gold 12' Dinghy 1920), born in Harlem, Netherlands (d. 1957)
  • 1900-05-28 Owen Aisher, English businessman and president (Royal Yachting Association 1970-75), born in Bulford, Wiltshire (d. 1993)
  • 1905-09-28 Bill Northam, Australian yachtsman (Olympic gold 5.5m class 1964; Sport Australia HOF), born in Torquay, England (d. 1988)
  • 1906-01-29 Frans Hin, Dutch yachtsman (Olympic gold 12' Dinghy 1920; aged 14 years 163 days), born in Haarlem, Netherlands (d. 1968)
  • 1906-04-01 Sigve Lie, Norwegian sailor (Olympic gold dragon class 1948, 52), born in Haugesund, Norway (d. 1958)
  • 1907-08-13 Alfried Krupp [né von Bohlen und Halbach], German arms manufacturer, convicted war criminal, and Olympic yacht competitor (1936), born in Essen, Germany (d. 1967)
  • 1909-05-31 Thor Thorvaldsen, Norwegian yachtsman (Olympic gold dragon class 1948, 52), born in Bamble, Norway (d. 1987)
  • 1910-09-20 Jacques LeBrun, French yachtsman (Olympic gold Snowbird class 1932), born in Paris, France (d. 1996)
  • 1917-11-02 Durward Knowles, Bahamas yachtsman (Olympic gold, Star class 1968), born in Nassau, Bahamas (d. 2018)
  • 1918-05-25 Peder Lunde Sr., Norwegian yachtsman (Olympic silver 1952), born in Nordstrand, Norway (d. 2009)
  • 1922-04-01 Emil 'Bus' Mosbacher, American yachtsman (America's Cup 1962 [Weatherly], 1967 [Intrepid]), born in White Plains, New York (d. 1997)
  • 1925-04-10 Bernard Moitessier, French sailor, vagabond and author who famously led the 1st non-stop, singlehanded, round the world yacht race before sailing a 2nd lap of the world back to Tahiti, born in Saigon, French Vietnam (d. 1994) [1]
  • 1926-08-17 Hakon Barfod, Norwegian sailor (Olympic gold 1948, 52), born in Oslo, Norway (d. 2013)
  • 1926-12-12 Laurie Davidson, New Zealand yacht designer (Black Magic 1995; Team New Zealand 2000; America's Cup HOF 2007), born in Auckland, New Zealand (d. 2021)
  • 1927-06-12 Timir Pinegin, Russian sailor (Olympic gold 1960), born in Moscow, Russia (d. 2013)
  • 1928-02-25 Paul Elvstrøm, Danish yachtsman (4 Olympic gold, Finn class 1948, 52, 56, 60), born in Hellerup, Denmark (d. 2016)
  • 1928-06-16 John Cuneo, Australian sailor (Olympic gold dragon class 1972), born in Bulimba, Queensland, Australia (d. 2020)
  • 1929-11-17 Edgar White, American yachtsman (Olympic gold 1952)
  • 1929-11-17 Sumner White, US yachtsman (Olympic gold 1952), born in New York City (d. 1988)
  • 1929-12-02 Lowell North, American yachtsman (Olympic Gold 1968) and sailmaker (North Sails), born in Springfield, Massachusetts (d. 2019)
  • 1930-01-26 Buddy Melges, American sailor (Olympic gold Soling 1972; 5 x world champion; America's Cup skipper, America3 1992), born in Elkhorn, Wisconsin (d. 2023)
  • 1931-07-24 Éric Tabarly, French Navy officer and yachtsman (Ostar 1964, 76; Single-Handed Trans-Atlantic Race 1964), born in Nantes, France (d. 1998)

Hobart "Hobie" Alter (1933-2014)

1933-10-31 American surf and sailing entrepreneur who created the Hobie Cat catamaran, born in Ontario, California

  • 1935-09-15 Bill Pinkney, American National Sailing HOF yachtsman (first African American to sail around the world solo via Cape of Good Hope and Cape Horn), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 2023)
  • 1936-03-19 Ben Lexcen, Australian yacht designer (Australia II 1983 America's Cup), born in Boggabri, Australia (d. 1988)
  • 1937-06-28 Georgios Zaimis, Greek sailor (Olympic gold dragon class 1960), born in Piraeus, Attiki, Greece (d. 2020)
  • 1938-04-22 Alan Bond, Australian businessman and yachting syndicate owner (America's Cup 1983), born in London, England (d. 2015)
  • 1938-08-19 Valentin Mankin, Ukrainian yachtsman (Olympic gold, USSR, Finn class 1968), born in Kyiv, Ukraine (d. 2014)
  • 1938-09-08 Kenichi Horie, Japanese adventurer and solo yachtsman, born in Osaka, Japan
  • 1939-01-15 Tony Bullimore, British yachtsman (1997 solo around-the-world yacht race, dramatic rescue), born in Southend-on-Sea, England (d. 2018) [1]

Robin Knox-Johnston (85 years old)

1939-03-17 British yachtsman who completed the 1st single non-stop circumnavigation of the globe in 1969, born in London, England

  • 1942-02-09 Peder Lunde Jr, Norwegian yachtsman (Olympic gold 1960), born in Oslo, Norway
  • 1943-08-04 Rodney Stuart Pattison, British yachtsman (Olympics)
  • 1943-08-26 Ulf Sundelin, Swedish yachtsmen (Olympic gold 5.5m class 1968; World C'ship gold Dragon class 1971, 5.5m class 1986), born in Nacka, Sweden
  • 1944-06-02 Poul Jensen, Danish sailor (Olympic gold 1976, 80)
  • 1945-03-15 Jörgen Sundelin, Swedish yachtsmen (Olympic gold 5.5m class 1968; World C'ship gold Dragon class 1971), born in Stockholm, Sweden
  • 1945-07-03 Iain MacDonald-Smith, English yachtsman (Olympic gold Flying Dutchman 1968), born in Oxford, England
  • 1946-02-17 Valdemar Bandolowski, Danish sailor (Olympic gold Soling class 1976, 80), born in Esbønderup, Denmark
  • 1946-04-17 Clare Francis, British yachtswoman and novelist (Come Hell or High Water), born in Thames Ditton, Surrey
  • 1947-01-13 Peter Sundelin, Swedish yachtsmen (Olympic gold 5-5m class 1968; World C'ship gold Dragon class 1971), Nacka, Sweden

Peter Blake (1948-2001)

1948-10-01 New Zealand yachtsman (Whitbread Round the World Race 1989-90; America's Cup 1995, 2000) and Special Envoy UN Environment Program, born in Auckland, New Zealand

  • 1950-11-11 Rex Sellers, New Zealand yachtsman (Olympic gold Tornado class 1984), born in Nelson, New Zealand
  • 1953-04-07 Everard Endt, American sailor (Olympic gold 1952)
  • 1955-08-27 Rod Davis, New Zealand sailor (Olympic gold USA soling class 1994; silver NZ star class 1992), born in Key West, Florida
  • 1955-11-02 Mark Reynolds, American yachtsman (Olympic gold, Star class 1992, 2000), born in San Diego, California
  • 1956-12-21 Kevin Burnham, American sailor (Olympic gold 470 class 2004; silver 1992), born in New York City (d. 2020)
  • 1958-05-09 Esko Rechardt, Finnish yachtsman (Olympic gold 1980)
  • 1958-10-18 Hal Haenel, American sailor (Olympic 8th 1988, 92, 96), born in St Louis, Missouri
  • 1959-11-21 Colin Beashel, Australian sailor (World C'ship gold Star class 1998; America's Cup 1983; Olympic bronze Star class 1996), born in Sydney, Australia
  • 1960-07-06 Caroll-Ann Alie, Canadian sailor (Olympics-14-92, 96), born in Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1960-12-30 Addy Bucek, Australian 470 class sailor (Olympics-9-92, 96)
  • 1961-10-18 Eric Jespersen, Port Alberni BC, star sailor (Olympic bronze 1992, 96)

Russell Coutts (62 years old)

1962-03-01 New Zealand yachtsman (Olympic gold Finn Class 1984, America's Cup 5 x winner), born in Wellington, New Zealand

  • 1962-11-14 Morgan Reeser, American 470 sailor (Olympics-8th-1992, 96), born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida
  • 1964-09-15 Andrew Landenberger, Australian tornado sailor (Olympic bronze 1992, 96)
  • 1965-04-27 Courtenay Becker-Dey, American Europe class sailor (Olympic bronze 1996), born in Greenwich, Connecticut
  • 1965-11-25 Mike Gebhardt, mistral sailor (Olympic 6th 1996), born in Columbus, Ohio
  • 1967-05-23 Craig Monk, New Zealand sailor (Olympic Finn class bronze 1992; America's Cup), born in Auckland, New Zealand
  • 1967-08-30 Barbara Kendall, New Zealand mistral sailor (Olympic gold 1992, silver 1996, bronze 2000), born in Auckland, New Zealand
  • 1967-10-11 Charles Ogletree, American tornado sailor (Olympic 8th 1996), born in Greenville, North Carolina
  • 1969-04-25 Nir Shental, Israeli Men's 470 sailor (Olympic 15th-1996), born in Jaffa, Israel
  • 1969-06-30 Kristina Farrar Stookey, American 470 sailor (Olympic 4th 1996), born in Martha Vineyard, Massachusetts
  • 1970-04-29 William Martin III, American finn sailor (Olympics 23rd-1996), born in Charleston, South Carolina
  • 1970-05-27 Michael Blackburn, Australian laser sailor (Olympic bronze 2000), born in Sydney, New South Wales
  • 1970-07-04 Louise Van Voorhis, American 470 sailor (Olympic 4th 1992, 96), born in Rochester, New York
  • 1973-02-08 Tom King, Australian sailor (Olympic gold 470 class [Mark Turnbull] 2000), born in Melbourne, Australia
  • 1976-12-17 Andrew Simpson, British sailor (Olympic gold Star class 2008; World C'ship gold 2010), Chertsey, England (d. 2013)
  • 1981-08-26 Jesse Martin, German- Australian yachtsman (youngest person to solo circumnavigate the globe at 18), born in Dachau, Germany

Peter Burling (33 years old)

1991-01-01 New Zealand sailor (Olympic gold 49er class 2016, silver 2012, 20; helmsman America's Cup 2017, 21; ISAF World Sailor of the Year 2015, 17), born in Tauranga, New Zealand


Deaths in Sport

  • 1909-11-14 Joshua Slocum, Canadian-American seaman and adventurer (first man to sail around the world alone), departs from Vineyard Haven, Massachusetts, sailing south for the winter, and is lost at sea, at 65
  • 1931-10-02 Thomas Lipton, Scottish yachtsman (5-time America's Cup challenger) and tea merchant (Lipton Tea), dies at 81
  • 1938-06-02 Nathanael Greene Herreshoff, American yacht designer (6 x undefeated America's Cup campaigns 1893-1920) and naval architect (built first torpedo boat for US Navy), dies at 90
  • 1947-03-19 William Starling Burgess, American yacht designer (America's Cup yachts "Enterprise", "Rainbow", "Ranger") and aviation pioneer, dies at 68
  • 1957-06-29 Johan Hin, Dutch yachtsman (Olympic gold 12' Dinghy 1920), dies at 58
  • 1958-03-18 Sigve Lie, Norwegian sailor (Olympic gold dragon class 1948, 52), dies at 51
  • 1967-07-30 Alfried Krupp [né von Bohlen und Halbach], German arms manufacturer, convicted war criminal, and Olympic yacht competitor (1936), dies at 59
  • 1970-07-04 Harold Vanderbilt, American yachtsman and America's Cup winner (1930, 34, 37), dies at 85
  • 1988-05-01 Ben Lexcen, Australian yacht designer (Australia II 1983 America's Cup), dies of heart disease at 52
  • 1988-10-24 Sumner White, American sailor (Olympic gold 1952), dies at 58
  • 1993-09-26 Owen Aisher, English businessman and president (Royal Yachting Association 1970-75), dies at 93
  • 1994-06-16 Bernard Moitessier, French sailor, vagabond and author who famously led the 1st non-stop, singlehanded, round the world yacht race before sailing a 2nd lap of the world back to Tahiti, dies of prostate cancer at 69 [1]
  • 1996-01-14 Jacques LeBrun, French yachtsman (Olympic gold Snowbird class 1932), dies at 85
  • 1997-08-13 Emil 'Bus' Mosbacher, American yachtsman (America's Cup 1962 [Weatherly], 1967 [Intrepid]), dies at 75
  • 1998-06-12 Éric Tabarly, French Navy officer and yachtsman (Ostar 1964, 76; Single-Handed Trans-Atlantic Race 1964), dies from drowning at 66

Peter Blake (1948-2001)

2001-12-05 New Zealand yachtsman (Whitbread Round the World Race 1989-90; America's Cup 1995, 2000) and Special Envoy UN Environment Program, killed by pirates on the Amazon River at 53

  • 2010-11-16 Britton Chance, American molecular biologist and yachtsman (Olympic gold 5½m Class 1952), dies at 97
  • 2013-01-31 Timir Pinegin, Russian sailor (Olympic gold 1960), dies at 85
  • 2013-05-09 Andrew Simpson, British sailor (Olympic gold Star class 2008; World C'ship gold 2010), dies after a yacht capsize at 36

Hobart "Hobie" Alter (1933-2014)

2014-03-29 American surf and sailing entrepreneur who created the Hobie Cat catamaran, dies of cancer at 80

  • 2014-06-01 Valentin Mankin, Ukrainian yachtsman (Olympic gold, USSR, Finn class 1968), dies at 75
  • 2015-06-05 Alan Bond, Australian businessman and yachting syndicate owner (America's Cup 1983), dies from heart failure at 77
  • 2016-12-07 Paul Elvstrøm, Danish yachtsman (4 Olympic gold, Finn class 1948, 52, 56, 60), dies at 88
  • 2018-02-24 Durward Knowles, Bahamas yachtsman (Olympic gold, Star class 1968), dies at 100
  • 2018-07-31 Tony Bullimore, British yachtsman (1997 solo around-the-world yacht race, dramatic rescue), dies of cancer at 79 [1]
  • 2019-06-02 Lowell North, American yachtsman (Olympic Gold 1968) and sailmaker (North Sails), dies at 89
  • 2020-05-01 Georgios Zaimis, Greek sailor (Olympic gold dragon class 1960), dies at 82
  • 2020-06-02 John Cuneo, Australian sailor (Olympic gold dragon class 1972), dies at 91
  • 2021-10-04 Laurie Davidson, New Zealand yacht designer (Black Magic 1995; Team New Zealand 2000; America's Cup HOF 2007), dies at 94
  • 2023-08-31 Bill Pinkney, American National Sailing HOF yachtsman (first African American to sail around the world solo via Cape of Good Hope and Cape Horn), dies at 87