Most CYCA members would have read or heard of the death last week of the great American naval architect Olin J Stephens II, at the fine old age of 100. Obituaries highlighted his role as the designer of eight America’s Cup defenders and to yachting worldwide, as a designer and technical advisor.
Little mention was made, however, of his contribution to the development of ocean racing in Australia and New Zealand, notably his success as a designer of winners of the Sydney Hobart Yacht Race.
Olin Stephens was the world’s most successful and influential yacht designers of the 20th century. His designs from the New York firm of naval architects, Sparkman & Stephens, have won all of the major ocean races of the world and his 12-metre class yachts successfully defended the America’s Cup eight times.
S&S designs have been the Overall Winner of the Rolex Sydney Hobart eight times, including the famous Love & War which first won in 1974 and did so again in 1978 and, remarkably, for a third time in 2006. The most famous Line Honours winner of the Hobart Race, of course, is Kialoa III, which set an elapsed time record in 1975 that was to stand for 21 years.
The sailing creations of Olin Stephens are distinctive and most pleasing to the eye of the beholder. With few, if any exceptions, they are beautiful boats with fine lines – and they can sail fast!
When he retired from the design business in the 1980s, Stephens had created more than 2000 boats, many of which still grace the waters today – and still win races! .
Olin’s first success was with the design of the ocean racing yacht Dorade, launched in 1930. A yawl, she won the much-publicised Trans-Atlantic Race and the Fastnet Race in 1931 outright, and gained a class win in the Bermuda Race. In 1936 she added the Transpac to her record. A new era of yacht design had begun.
In the post-World War II years, yacht owners around the world looked towards Sparkman & Stephens for their ocean racing designs. The New Zealand-owned Rainbow II was the first to win a Sydney Hobart Race, in 1967, followed by British Prime Minister Edward Heath’s Morning Cloud (1969), Pathfinder (1971), Love & War (1974, 1978), and Kialoa III (1977 – following her record-setting line honours win in 1975) and Challenge II (1983) and then, remarkably Love & War again in 2006.
Kialoa III, a 79-foot maxi ketch, was the most advanced maxi yacht of her time. In addition to the Sydney Hobart, her US owner Jim Kilroy also sailed her to victory in the TransAtlantic, Bermuda, Transpac and China Sea Races and dominated the Maxi World Championships during the early 1980s.
Edward Heath’s Morning Cloud went on to be the concept for the highly successful production line of S&S34s. West Australian Jon Sanders, sailing the S&S34 Perie Banou, was the first man to circumnavigate Antarctica, circling the world twice single-handed and non-stop in 1981-82.
Challenge II was an innovative 45-footer, with Olin Stephens creating the modern fractional rig for ocean racing yachts. Owner Lou Abrahams not only won the Hobart Race but was also in an Australian winning team at the Clipper Cup in Hawaii.
Another highly successful S&S design for an Australian owner was Stormy Petrel, designed to the International One Ton rule and winner of the 1971 One Ton Cup in New Zealand.
Condensed from an article by Peter Campbell in the June/July 2008 edition of Offshore Yachting, marking Olin Stephens’ 100th birthday in April.
