Thomas William Schnackenberg (born 11 May 1945) is a New Zealand

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 ...

and yacht designer best known for his involvement with 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 ...

. He was inducted into the

America's Cup Hall of Fame The America's Cup Hall of Fame, located at the Herreshoff Marine Museum of Bristol, Rhode Island, USA, honors individuals for outstanding achievement in the America's Cup sailing competition. Candidates eligible for consideration include skippers ...

in 2000. Schnackenberg attended

Auckland Grammar School Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about It ...

before gaining a masters in physics from the

University of Auckland , mottoeng = By natural ability and hard work , established = 1883; years ago , endowment = NZD $293 million (31 December 2021) , budget = NZD $1.281 billion (31 December 2021) , chancellor = Cecilia Tarrant , vice_chancellor = Dawn ...

and enrolling for a Ph.D. at the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university, public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks a ...

. Having served in the Auckland Grammar School Sea Cadets, Schnackenberg joined the RNZNVR, later acquiring a commission as a Reserve officer at HMNZS Ngapona. Schnackenberg joined North Sails in 1974, and was first involved with the

1977 America's Cup The 1977 America's Cup was held in September 1977 at Newport, Rhode Island. The US defender, '' Courageous'', skippered by Ted Turner, defeated the Australian challenger, '' Australia'', skippered by Noel Robins, in a four-race sweep. ''Courageou ...

as a sailmaker for US-27 "Enterprise", skippered by Lowell North. He returned to NZ in 1978 to start a branch of North Sails there. He designed a number of sails for '' Australia'' in the

1980 America's Cup The 1980 America's Cup was held in September 1980 at Newport, Rhode Island. The US defender, '' Freedom'', skippered by Dennis Conner, defeated the Australian challenger, ''Australia'', skippered by James Hardy, four races to one. This was the l ...

before being promoted to sail co-ordinator for ''

Australia II ''Australia II'' (KA 6) is an Australian 12-metre-class America's Cup challenge racing yacht that was launched in 1982 and won the 1983 America's Cup for the Royal Perth Yacht Club. Skippered by John Bertrand, she was the first successful Cu ...

'' in the

1983 America's Cup The 1983 America's Cup was a 12-metre class yacht race which pitted the defending New York Yacht Club's ''Liberty'' against the Royal Perth Yacht Club's challenger, ''Australia II''. The September 1983 match race was won by ''Australia II'' ...

. ''Australia II'' won the cup, becoming the first team to defeat the New York Yacht Club. Schnackenberg was again the sail co-ordinator for ''Australia III'' and '' Australia IV's'' unsuccessful defence of the America's Cup in

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airpor ...

before joining

New Zealand Challenge New Zealand Challenge was a sailing team funded by Michael Fay that challenged for the America's Cup three times between 1987 and 1992. New Zealand Challenge was the first team from New Zealand to enter the competition. 1987: KZ 7 ''Kiwi Magic' ...

to help design '' KZ1'' for the

1988 America's Cup The 1988 America's Cup was the 27th America's Cup regatta, and was contested between the defender, San Diego Yacht Club represented by ''Stars & Stripes H3'', and the challenger, the Mercury Bay Boating Club represented by New Zealand Challeng ...

. He was a part of the Spirit of Australia challenge in the

1992 Louis Vuitton Cup The 3rd Louis Vuitton Cup was held in San Diego, United States in 1992. The winner, Il Moro di Venezia, went on to challenge for the 1992 America's Cup. The teams Eight challengers from seven nations contested the 1992 Louis Vuitton Cup. Toge ...

before joining

Team New Zealand Team New Zealand or TNZ is a sailing team based in Auckland, New Zealand representing the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron. Team New Zealand became a household name in their home country following their consecutive wins in the America's Cup i ...

as the design co-ordinator and navigator for their victory at the

1995 America's Cup The 29th America's Cup was contested between the winner of the 1995 Citizen Cup, Team Stars & Stripes, which switched to the yacht ''Young America'' (USA 36) for the competition, and the winner of the 1995 Louis Vuitton Cup, Team New Zealand, ...

. 1995 was his first on-board role at an America's Cup. During this period, he also coached the New Zealand yachting team for the Olympic Games in 1992, 1996 and 2000. He remained with Team New Zealand for their defence at the

2000 America's Cup The 30th America's Cup was won by Team New Zealand, who swept the 2000 Louis Vuitton Cup winner Prada Challenge in all five races. It was the first America's Cup without an American challenger or defender. Races Crew Team New Zealand * Sai ...

and was promoted to syndicate head for the unsuccessful

2003 America's Cup The 31st America's Cup was contested between the holder, Team New Zealand, and the winner of the 2003 Louis Vuitton Cup, Alinghi. Build Up The 2002–2003 Louis Vuitton Cup, held in the Hauraki Gulf in Auckland, New Zealand saw nine teams fr ...

defence, where he helped in the design of '' NZL 82''. He remained with the team through 2004 and then joined Luna Rossa challenge for the

2007 America's Cup The 2007 America's Cup was the thirty-second challenge for the America's Cup and was won by Alinghi in the 7th race. The Cup is the most famous and most prestigious regatta and '' Match Race'' in the sport of sailing. As per the Deed of Gift ...

, working as a performance data analyst. He worked for Americas Cup Management and was part of the Alinghi team in their 2010 catamaran defence, and then joined

Artemis Racing Artemis Racing is a professional sailing team founded in 2006 by businessman and sailor Torbjörn Törnqvist, named after Artemis, the ancient Greek goddess. Timeline * 2007: won the MedCup circuit, then called Breitling Medcup, and the TP52 ...

in the lead up to the

2013 America's Cup The 34th America's Cup was a series of yacht races held in San Francisco Bay on September 2013. The series was contested between the defender Oracle Team USA representing the Golden Gate Yacht Club, and the challenger Emirates Team New Zealand ...

as a data analyst Schnackenberg received an honorary

Medal of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Go ...

, for service as sail co-ordinator for the successful 1983 America's Cup challenge, in the 1984 Australia Day Honours. In the 1995 New Zealand Queen's Birthday Honours, he was appointed an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

, for services to yachting, and in 2001 he was awarded an honorary

Doctor of Engineering The Doctor of Engineering, or Engineering Doctorate, (abbreviated DEng, EngD, or Dr-Ing) is a degree awarded on the basis of advanced study and a practical project in the engineering and applied science for solving problems in the industry. In the ...

by the

, and an honorary

Doctor of Laws A Doctor of Law is a degree in law. The application of the term varies from country to country and includes degrees such as the Doctor of Juridical Science (J.S.D. or S.J.D), Juris Doctor (J.D.), Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), and Legum Doctor ( ...

by the

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schnackenberg, Tom 1945 births New Zealand male sailors (sport) New Zealand Officers of the Order of the British Empire Honorary Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia Team New Zealand sailors People educated at Auckland Grammar School University of British Columbia Faculty of Science alumni University of Auckland alumni Living people 2003 America's Cup sailors 2000 America's Cup sailors 1995 America's Cup sailors New Zealand yacht designers America's Cup yacht designers Artemis Racing sailors 1988 America's Cup sailors