Roderick Stephens, Jr. (August 7, 1909 – January 10, 1995) was one of America's best known and respected sailors. In 1933 he became Associate Designer, later promoted to President, of Sparkman & Stephens naval architecture and yacht design firm, a company founded in 1929 by his brother

Olin Stephens Olin James Stephens II (April 13, 1908 – September 13, 2008) was an American yacht designer. Stephens was born in New York City, but spent his summers with his brother Rod, learning to sail on the New England coast. He also attended the Massa ...

and Drake Sparkman.

Biography

Born in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

in 1909 Stephens and his family moved to

Scarsdale, New York Scarsdale is a town and village in Westchester County, New York, United States. The Town of Scarsdale is coextensive with the Village of Scarsdale, but the community has opted to operate solely with a village government, one of several village ...

. He graduated

Scarsdale High School Scarsdale High School (SHS) is a public high school in Scarsdale, New York, United States, a coterminous town and village in Westchester County, New York. It is a part of the Scarsdale Union Free School District. The school was founded in 1917. ...

and attended

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...

. In 1928 Stephens left Cornell University to join the well-respected Henry Nevins boatyard in

City Island, New York City Island is a neighborhood in the northeastern Bronx in New York City, located on an island of the same name approximately long by wide. City Island is located at the extreme western end of Long Island Sound, south of Pelham Bay and east ...

. He held an honorary

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

postgraduate degree, awarded jointly to his brother Olin in 1958 by

Brown University Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...

to "a rare team of designers of yachts, ships and amphibious vehicles." He was a member of the

Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers The Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers (SNAME) is a global professional society that provides a forum for the advancement of the engineering profession as applied to the marine field. Although it particularly names the naval archit ...

, the

New York Yacht Club The New York Yacht Club (NYYC) is a private social club and yacht club based in New York City and Newport, Rhode Island. It was founded in 1844 by nine prominent sportsmen. The members have contributed to the sport of yachting and yacht design. ...

, the American Yacht Club, a former Commodore of the

Cruising Club of America The Cruising Club of America (CCA) is an international organization of cruisers whose objects are to promote cruising and racing by amateurs, to encourage the development of suitable types of cruising craft, to stimulate interest in seamanship, navi ...

and a winner of its

Blue Water Medal The Blue Water Medal is an honor awarded annually by the Cruising Club of America for a remarkable sailing feat. The first award was issued in 1923. Winners *Webb Chiles (2017) *Michael J Johnson (2016) *Tom and Vicky Jackson (2015) * Skip Novak ...

, a member of the

Royal Ocean Racing Club The Royal Ocean Racing Club is a club in London with a further clubhouse and office in Cowes, Isle of Wight. It was established in 1925 as the Ocean Racing Club, as a result of a race to the Fastnet Rock from Cowes, finishing in Plymouth. It rece ...

(U.K.), a former Commodore of the Storm Trysail Club, a former Commodore of the Off Soundings Club—North American Station, a former Post Captain of the

Royal Swedish Yacht Club Royal Swedish Yacht Club ( sv, Kungliga Svenska Segelsällskapet, KSSS), is the largest and oldest yacht club in Sweden and one of the five oldest in the world, formed 15 May 1830. KSSS is also the oldest yacht club in Continental Europe. Acti ...

, an honorary member of the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) is a federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of the Navy. The Naval Academy ...

Fales Committee, Chairman of the New Ship Committee of the

Sea Education Association Sea Education Association (SEA) is a private, nonprofit educational organization. Founded in 1971 by Corwith Cramer, Jr. SEA operates two sailing ships traveling throughout both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. SEA is based on Cape Cod in the oce ...

, a member of

Mystic Seaport Museum Mystic Seaport Museum or Mystic Seaport: The Museum of America and the Sea in Mystic, Connecticut is the largest maritime museum in the United States. It is notable for its collection of sailing ships and boats and for the re-creation of the craf ...

, and the National Maritime Historical Society's WAVETREE Foundation. He received the

Medal of Freedom The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the highest civilian award of the United States, along with the Congressional Gold Medal. It is an award bestowed by the president of the United States to recognize people who have made "an especially merit ...

, the United States's highest civilian award, for his contributions during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

in his design and engineering of the DUKW ("duck") military amphibious vehicle. Stephens was inducted into the

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 ...

in 2012. He was the first mate aboard Dorade for her 1931 Trans-Atlantic and

Fastnet Race The Fastnet Race is a biennial offshore yacht race organised by the Royal Ocean Racing Club of the United Kingdom with the assistance of the Royal Yacht Squadron in Cowes and the City of Cherbourg in France. The race is named after the Fastnet ...

triumphs, repeating the Fastnet victory as skipper of Dorade in 1933. In 1935 he repeated in Trans-Atlantic and Fastnet victories as the skipper of Stormy Weather. In 1937 he was in the afterguard of the J-Class

Ranger A Ranger is typically someone in a military/paramilitary or law enforcement role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called “ranging”. The term most often refers to: * Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with protecting and ...

for her successful defense of the

America's Cup The America's Cup, informally known as the Auld Mug, is a trophy awarded in the sport of sailing. It is the oldest international competition still operating in any sport. America's Cup match races are held between two sailing yachts: one f ...

. In 1958 and 1964 he served in the afterguard of the Sparkman & Stephens designed

12-metre class The 12 Metre class is a rating class for racing sailboats that are designed to the International rule. It enables fair competition between boats that rate in the class whilst retaining the freedom to experiment with the details of their designs. ...

yachts COLUMBIA and CONSTELLATION for two more successful defenses of the America's Cup. In addition to the above notable racing, he cruised and raced hundreds of thousands of miles throughout the world as the chief inspector for S&S and he had the final word on numerous details during the construction and sea trials of more than 2,000 S&S-designed sailing and motor yachts. A trophy is awarded annually by the

in Stephens' honor. The Rod Stephens Trophy is awarded for an act of seamanship which significantly contributes to the safety of a yacht, or one or more individuals at sea.Rod Stephens Trophy for Outstanding Seamanship
The Cruising Club of America. 12 July 2010.

References

Bibliography

* "Roderick Stephens, 85, Sailor And Innovator in Yacht Design" New York Times 12 January 1995: B-11. * "Roderick Stephens Innovator" Cruising World. Jan. 1990. {{DEFAULTSORT:Stephens, Roderick American sailors 1909 births 1995 deaths Blue Water Medal recipients Members of the New York Yacht Club Cornell University alumni Scarsdale High School alumni American yacht designers People from Scarsdale, New York