Edward K. Adams, known as Ed Adams, is an American sailor in the

Star A star is an astronomical object comprising a luminous spheroid of plasma (physics), plasma held together by its gravity. The List of nearest stars and brown dwarfs, nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked ...

, Snipe, and Laser classes. He was named US Sailor of the Year in 1987 and 1991. In the

Laser class Laser radiation safety is the safe design, use and implementation of lasers to minimize the risk of laser accidents, especially those involving eye injuries. Since even relatively small amounts of laser light can lead to permanent eye injuries, t ...

, 1975 US national champion, and 1976 bronze medal at the

Laser World Championship The Laser World Championship have been held every year since 1974, organized by the International Sailing Federation. Laser is an Olympic sailing class. Editions Medalists Multiple medallist See also *ISAF Sailing World Championships *Men' ...

. At college, he won in 1977 the ICSA Coed Dinghy National Championship with the University of Rhode Island, and was named All-American. Adams won the North American Championship five times (1981, 1983, 1985, 1987 and 1993) and the United States National Championship twice (1986 and 1991) in the Snipe class. He became world champion of the

class at the 1987 Star World Championships in Chicago, and won the bronze medal at the 1986 Worlds. He also won the Star European Championships in 1988 and the

Bacardi Cup The Bacardi Cup is one of the oldest and most traditional sailing events in the world. What started out as a three-day event with less than 10 boats in 1927, now attracts more than 200 sailors each year from some 23 countries and the attention of ...

in 1988 and 1991. After leaving the Star, he was appointed coach of the US Olympic Sailing team of 2000 and 2004, while also participating at the

2000 Louis Vuitton Cup The 5th Louis Vuitton Cup was held in Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in t ...

as navigator onboard of Young America with Ed Baird. Two years later, in 2002, he won the Laser Master Worlds. He joined the Delta Lloyd's coaching team for the Boston in-port race of the 2008–09 Volvo Ocean Race. Previously, he sailed the final two legs of Illbruck Challenge's victorious campaign in the 2001-02 event. He was inducted into the National Sailing Hall of Fame in 2022.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Adams, Ed American male sailors (sport) Living people Rhode Island Rams sailors Snipe class sailors Star class world champions US Sailor of the Year Volvo Ocean Race sailors 2000 America's Cup sailors World champions in sailing for the United States Year of birth missing (living people) Place of birth missing (living people)