Aileen Shields Bryan (April 4, 1925 – November 29, 2005) was an American sailor who won the 1948 United States' women's national sailing championship.

Sailing history

Bryan was born in New Rochelle, New York. Her mother was Josephine Shields and her father was Cornelius Shields, the sailor after whom the

Shields A shield is a piece of personal armour held in the hand, which may or may not be strapped to the wrist or forearm. Shields are used to intercept specific attacks, whether from close-ranged weaponry or projectiles such as arrows, by means of a ...

sailboat was named. She went to

Rye Country Day School Rye Country Day School, also known as Rye Country Day or RCDS, is an independent, co-educational college preparatory school located in Rye, New York. Its Upper School (grades 9–12), Middle School (5–8), and Lower School (Pre-Kindergarten-4) ...

, St. Margaret's School, and finally the Berkeley-Llewelyn Business School. The ''New York Times'' covered a successful day of sailing when she was six years old and won three races of the day with her father crewing for her, thereby winning as many races as when she crewed for him. Her father eventually named his boat ''Aileen'' after her. In 1938, Bryan sailed with Allegra Mertz during her win for the Syce Cup trophy, the women's Long Island Sound championship; she was 13 at the time and the youngest competitor of the event. Bryan won the

Mrs. Charles Francis Adams Trophy The Mrs. Charles Francis Adams Trophy, or Adams Cup for short, was the competition for the United States Women's Sailing Championship. The donor of the award was Francis Lovering Adams the wife of Charles Francis Adams III, former Secretary to the N ...

, the United States' Women's National Sailing Championship, in 1948. After this win, Margo Gotte and Bryan published an article in ''Yacht Racing'' magazine that was called “How to Win a Sailboat Race”. She also won class championships in other sailboats include the Atlantic and 210 classes. Sunfishdinghy closeup

Bryan played a key role in the design of the Sunfish. Her husband, Alexander Bryan, and Cortlandt Heyniger designed its predecessor, the

Sailfish The sailfish is one or two species of marine fish in the genus ''Istiophorus'', which belong to the family Istiophoridae (marlins). They are predominantly blue to gray in colour and have a characteristically large dorsal fin known as the sa ...

. She encouraged them to build a boat that had a cockpit where she could place her feet and allowed her to sit sideways while steering. This led to the development of the Sunfish, which was inducted into the American Sailboat Hall of Fame in 1995.

Awards and honors

Bryan is a nominee to the United States'

National Sailing Hall of Fame The National Sailing Hall of Fame is a nonprofit educational organization that promotes sailing and racing by recognizing individuals who have contributed to the sport, highlighting sailing's contribution to the American culture; and demonstrating i ...

References

External links

Bryan's nomination to National Sailing Hall of Fame
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bryan, Aileen American female sailors (sport) 1925 births 2005 deaths 21st-century American women Sportspeople from New Rochelle, New York