National Sailing Hall of Fame welcomes eleven legends to its ranks

by National Sailing Hall of Fame 18 Oct 2021 18:38 NZDT October 16, 2021

The National Sailing Hall of Fame (NSHOF) announced today the induction of eleven sailors during its 11th ceremony, held on Saturday, October 16th, 2021, in Newport, Rhode Island.

The Class of 2021 includes:

• Alexander "Red" Bryan and Cortlandt "Bud" Heyniger - founders of Alcort, Inc. and designers and producers of the iconic Sunfish.
• William "Carl" Buchan - championship sailor, Olympic gold medal winner and 1988 defender of the America's Cup.
• Agustin "Augie" Diaz - Rolex Yachtsman of the Year; Star, Snipe and Laser World Champion; and 505 North American Champion.
• Gilbert T. Gray - Olympic gold medalist in the Star Class debut Olympiad, race official and chief measurer.
• Lynne Jewell Shore - one of the first women to win an Olympic gold medal in sailing, Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year and former Executive Director of Sail Newport.
• Rear Admiral Stephen B. Luce - the founder of the U.S. Naval War College (1884) and leading educator on seamanship and training for the Navy.
• Jane Wiswell Pegel - a three-time Martini & Rossi (now Rolex) Yachtswoman of the Year and winner of several National and North American Championships in sailing and iceboating.
• Dawn Riley - the first woman ever to manage an America's Cup syndicate and the first American to sail in three America's Cups and two Whitbread Round the World (now The Ocean Race) races.
• Richard "Dick" Rose - a thirty-year member of World Sailing's Racing Rules of Sailing Committee, he is considered "the" international authority on the Racing Rules of Sailing.
• The Lifetime Achievement Award recipient for 2021 is Captain William D. "Bill" Pinkney, the first African American to solo-circumnavigate the world via the Capes.

"The men and women we recognize today do not live in a world of make believe," said Gus Carlson, president of the National Sailing Hall of Fame, as the induction commenced. "They do not hide and hope for someone to save them. They change things themselves. When it comes to measuring their lives, they do so by testing them... and there is no question they have passed those tests."

The members of the Class of 2021 joined 90 current Hall of Famers, all of whom will be featured in the Legends of Sailing exhibition at The Sailing Museum, which is scheduled to open in May of 2022. Induction was held in the newly renovated Armory Building and future home of The Sailing Museum, which also served as the former site of the international press corps during the 12 Metre America's Cup era. The Ceremony also honored members of the Class of 2020 who were recognized in a virtual ceremony last year.

The Induction Weekend was a reunion of sailing's Who's Who as previous inductees joined the celebrations to welcome their peers into the Hall of Fame. Existing Hall of Famers in attendance included: Betsy Alison, Ed Baird, Stephen Colgate, Robbie Doyle, Robbie Haines, Peter Harken, Stan Honey, Gary Jobson, Bob Johnston, Allison Jolly, Dave Perry, Mark Reynolds, John Rousmaniere and Tom Whidden.

Providing introductory and congratulatory remarks, US Sailing President Cory Sertl welcomed inductees and guests. As they took the podium to accept their honors, each of the inductees expressed their gratitude, thanked those who inspired and supported them throughout their careers, recognized the achievements of those who came before them and illustrated what it means to be part of the great sport of sailing.

"I cannot express accurately the emotions today that I feel, it's really overwhelming," said Lifetime Achievement Award recipient, Captain Pinkney. "The sea provides the most level playing field of any sport. It cares nothing about your age, your sex, your color, your religion, your nationality. And your ability, or lack thereof, will be extracted in a short period of time by a stiff breeze, a squall or a storm."

Inductees were nominated by sailors from across the United States. Nominations were reviewed by a selection committee comprised of representatives from the NSHOF Board, previous inductees, the sailing media, the sailing industry, community sailing, a maritime museum, the cruising community and US Sailing. Nominations are accepted year-round at nshof.org/nominations. The deadline for Class of 2022 nominees is January 31.

For more information, please visit nshof.org.