The Sailing Museum, which houses the National Sailing Hall of Fame, is in Newport, Rhode Island and occupies an old stone building on lower Thames Street that once was a National Guard armory.
Safe to say that the building was built to be a bastion of strength and tradition for the Guard and is today a bastion of American sailing history. The Hall of Fame, which was created in no small part by Gary Jobson, honors individuals past and present, who have made major contributions to the sport and sailing lifestyle.
While the Hall leans heavily on racing and racing sailors, those inducted over the years also include yacht designers, sailing school founders, sailmakers and a smattering of famous, and highly accomplished cruisers.
The twelve inductees for the Class of 2024 includes the well-known designers Carl Alberg, Gary Mull and Peter Melvin. The list also focuses on famous racing sailors. Among them is a man of rare accomplishment who you may not remember from the mid-Sixties. Richard Tillman, the 1965 Sailor of the Year, once held National, North American and World titles in the Snipe, Finn, Laser, Sunfish and Windsurfing classes. If anyone deserves to be in the Hall of Fame, Richard Tillman certainly does.
This year’s inductees will be honored because they were the very good at what they did and still do and join a pantheon of sailors who shaped the sport and the sailing lifestyle. A visit to the Sailing Museum in Newport is a day well spent.
See the official press release below.
Inductees in graphic above:
Top, Left to Right: Carl A. Alberg, Kevin Burnham, Conn Francis Findlay, Eric Robert Dudley Hall, Benjamin Staples Hall, James H “Pete” Melvin
Bottom, Left to Right: Allegra Knapp Brickell “Leggie” Mertz, Gary W. Mull, Jan Pardee Chance O’malley, Richard Lloyd “Dick” Tillman, Charles “Butch” Richard Ulmer, Franklin J. “Jerry” Wood
The National Sailing Hall of Fame Announces the 12 Class of 2024 Inductees
The Sailing Museum and National Sailing Hall of Fame has revealed the names of 12 individuals who will be inducted into its fellowship of hall of famers this year.
This diverse list includes Jan C. O’Malley, a three-time US Sailing Yachtswoman of the Year, two-time Adams Cup winner, and the first ever winner of the IYRU Women’s World Sailing Championship; Peter Melvin, a multiple-class world and national champion, as well as an innovative yacht designer; and Charles Ulmer, a national champion and race winner throughout the 1970s and 80s and proponent of the sport of sailing through the many organizations through which he has been affiliated.
The National Sailing Hall of Fame induction committee met numerous times since nominations were gathered, eventually whittling down the original list to a slate of individuals to be inducted this year. While their biographies differ, they are all accomplished and dedicated to the sport and its community. Ten fall into its modern category, while another two represent historic classification.
Honored for technical accomplishment and contribution are brothers Eric Hall and Ben Hall, the late Gary Mull, one of the most prolific and successful U.S. sailboat designers working in the latter half of the 20th century, and the late Carl Alberg, whose 56 designs resulted in more than 10,000 boats.
Others to be inducted in the modern classification in the sailing category are Kevin Burnham, an Olympic and Goodwill Games medalist in sailing; Conn Findlay, a consummate crew member for America’s Cup competitor Courageous and Maxi Ocean Racer Windward Passage, and one of the few competitors to medal in two distinct sports (Rowing and Sailing); and Richard Tillman, the 1965 Sailor of the Year who held National, North American and World titles in the Snipe, Finn, Laser, Sunfish and Windsurfing classes. Franklin Wood, who founded the Annapolis Sailing School and established the Annapolis Sailboat Show, rounds out the modern classification in the contributor category.
Allegra Mertz, one of the two women to be inducted with O’Malley, was elected through the historic classification, along with Alberg.
“The Class of 2024 has left an indelible mark on sailing. Their achievements inspire us to explore, innovate and honor the sport. From Olympic champions to boat designers, they remind us that sailing is more than a pastime; it’s a legacy of courage and possibility,” co-chair Gary Jobson notes. “Trailblazers like Allegra Mertz, whose skill, determination and love of racing continues to inspire fellow sailors and set a high standard for excellence. Innovators such as Ben and Eric Hall, whose cutting-edge materials and championship-winning rigs have pushed innovation. These inductees are a formidable group. We look forward to celebrating their accomplishments on October 5 at the 2024 Hall of Fame Induction ceremony, hosted by the Chicago Yacht Club.”
“What an honor to welcome these remarkable individuals into The Sailing Museum and National Sailing Hall of Fame,” says Executive Director Ashley Householder. “We take seriously the responsibility of preserving the legacy of our inductees for the countless ways in which each has contributed to the sport of sailing. Please join us as we embark on telling their exceptional stories.”
Each year, the induction committee of the National Sailing Hall of Fame reviews nominations and compiles a slate of those to be inducted into its hallowed fellowship of extraordinary achievement and service. Inductions have been taking place since 2011, when the Hall was in Annapolis. The Sailing Museum and National Sailing Hall of Fame has since moved to Newport, the sailing capital of the country. The number of legends in the Hall will be 135 total with this year’s class.
This year, the Induction will be held at the Chicago Yacht Club Oct. 4-5. Tickets will be available soon on the Hall of Fame website. Click here. https://thesailingmuseum.org.
More information on the inductees will be available on the Hall of Fame website, as well as on its social media sites leading up to induction.
