Jean-Jacques Herbulot (29 March 1909 – 22 July 1997) was a French
sailor
A sailor, seaman, mariner, or seafarer is a person who works aboard a watercraft as part of its crew, and may work in any one of a number of different fields that are related to the operation and maintenance of a ship.
The profession of the s ...
and competitor in
sailing at the Summer Olympics
Sailing (also known as yachting until 2000) has been one of the Olympic sports since the Games of the I Olympiad, held in Athens, Greece, in 1896. Despite being scheduled in the first Olympic program, the races were canceled due to severe weath ...
. He was also a noted
naval architect This is the top category for all articles related to architecture and its practitioners.
{{Commons category, Architecture occupations
Design occupations
Architecture, Occupations ...
and designed many
sailboat
A sailboat or sailing boat is a boat propelled partly or entirely by sails and is smaller than a sailing ship. Distinctions in what constitutes a sailing boat and ship vary by region and maritime culture.
Types
Although sailboat terminology ...
s.
Early life and education
Herbulot was born in
Belval, Ardennes
Belval () is a commune in the Ardennes department in northern France.
Geography
The Sormonne forms most of the commune's northern border.
Population
See also
*Communes of the Ardennes department
The following is a list of the 449 communes ...
in France. His formal education was as an
architect
An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...
and he earned a Diplôme d'Ingénieur. However, he soon turned his attention to sailboat design instead.
Design career
Herbulot started designing boats in 1947, specializing in sailboats of
plywood
Plywood is a material manufactured from thin layers or "plies" of wood veneer that are glued together with adjacent layers having their wood grain rotated up to 90 degrees to one another. It is an engineered wood from the family of manufactured ...
construction for
amateur builders and for
sailing schools. He designed over 100 boat types during his design career. He is described by Bruce McArthur as "one of the best known figures in the French sailing world. As a designer, he is responsible for bringing the sport of sailing to those who had never before had the means to participate."
During the 1950s Herbulot also designed a new style of diagonal-cut
spinnaker
A spinnaker is a sail designed specifically for sailing off the wind on courses between a reach (wind at 90° to the course) to downwind (course in the same direction as the wind). Spinnakers are constructed of lightweight fabric, usually n ...
that was widely adopted by racing sailors.
Olympics
Herbulot competed in sailing in the
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
1932 Summer Olympics
The 1932 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the X Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1932) were an international multi-sport event held from July 30 to August 14, 1932 in Los Angeles, California, United States. The Games were held duri ...
and the
Kiel
Kiel () is the capital and most populous city in the northern Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 246,243 (2021).
Kiel lies approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the southeast of the J ...
1936 Summer Olympics
The 1936 Summer Olympics (German: ''Olympische Sommerspiele 1936''), officially known as the Games of the XI Olympiad (German: ''Spiele der XI. Olympiade'') and commonly known as Berlin 1936 or the Nazi Olympics, were an international multi-sp ...
in the
Star class. In the
Torquay
Torquay ( ) is a seaside town in Devon, England, part of the unitary authority area of Torbay. It lies south of the county town of Exeter and east-north-east of Plymouth, on the north of Tor Bay, adjoining the neighbouring town of Paignton ...
1948 Summer Olympics
The 1948 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XIV Olympiad and also known as London 1948) were an international multi-sport event held from 29 July to 14 August 1948 in London, England, United Kingdom. Following a twelve-year hiatus ca ...
he sailed in the
Firefly dinghy class and in the
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
1956 Summer Olympics
The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVI Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, from 22 November to 8 December 1956, with the exception of the equestrian events, whi ...
completed in the
5.5 Metre keelboat class.
Death
Herbulot died on 22 July 1997 in
Blois, Loir-et-Cher, France at age 88.
Boat designs
Some of his designs include:
References
1909 births
1997 deaths
French male sailors (sport)
Olympic sailors for France
Sailors at the 1932 Summer Olympics – Star
Sailors at the 1936 Summer Olympics – Star
Sailors at the 1948 Summer Olympics – Firefly
Sailors at the 1956 Summer Olympics – 5.5 Metre
{{France-yachtracing-bio-stub