Thomas A. Whidden is one of the most-acclaimed sailors of all-time. He is a member of both 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 ...

and 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 ...

. Whidden joined

North Sails North Sails is an international sailmaker and sailing wear company with operations in 29 countries. The company designs, engineers and manufactures sails for racing and cruising sailboats from 8 feet (2.5m) to more-than 200 feet (60m) in length. L ...

, the world's largest sailmaker, in 1986, just before being part of the crew of the yacht ''Stars & Stripes'' in the victory over Australia in the 1987 America's Cup. He became CEO and co-owner of North Technology Group, formerly known as North Marine Group, parent company to

, when it was established several years later. Whidden, who began sailing at age ten at the Cedar Point Yacht Club in

Westport, Connecticut Westport is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, along the Long Island Sound within Connecticut's Gold Coast. It is northeast of New York City. The town had a population of 27,141 according to the 2020 U.S. Census. History ...

, is one of the most experienced sailors in the history of the sport. "When I was 16, my dream was to become a

sailmaker A sailmaker makes and repairs sails for sailboats, kites, hang gliders, wind art, architectural sails, or other structures using sails. A sailmaker typically works on shore in a sail loft; the sail loft has other sailmakers. Large ocean-going sa ...

and race in the America's Cup," said Whidden of his years as a junior sailor on Long Island Sound. He sailed with

Dennis Conner Dennis Walter Conner (born September 16, 1942) is an American yachtsman. He is noted for winning a bronze medal at the 1976 Olympics, two Star World Championships, and three wins in the America's Cup. Sailing career Conner was born September ...

in a total of eight campaigns, beginning in 1979 as Conner's trial horse skipper. He has raced as tactician in five series races and has won three times (1980, 1987, 1988). Whidden was given a key to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

from Mayor

Ed Koch Edward Irving Koch ( ; December 12, 1924February 1, 2013) was an American politician, lawyer, political commentator, film critic, and television personality. He served in the United States House of Representatives from 1969 to 1977 and was ma ...

in 1987 after bringing the America's Cup back to the United States from Australia. Whidden's leadership in the design and manufacturing of technologically advanced

sails A sail is a tensile structure—which is made from fabric or other membrane materials—that uses wind power to propel sailing craft, including sailing ships, sailboats, windsurfers, ice boats, and even sail-powered land vehicles. Sails may ...

is unparalleled. Since Whidden has led North Sails, every America's Cup winner since 1992 and every

Volvo Ocean Race The Ocean Race is a yacht race around the world, held every three or four years since 1973. Originally named the Whitbread Round the World Race after its initiating sponsor, British brewing company Whitbread, in 2001 it became the Volvo Ocean Ra ...

winner since 1993 has raced with North Sails. Emirates Team New Zealand's recent win over Oracle Team USA in the

2017 America's Cup The 2017 America's Cup was the 35th staging of the America's Cup yacht race. The challenger, Emirates Team New Zealand, won by a score of 7 to 1 over the defender, Oracle Team USA. It was held on the Great Sound in Bermuda from June 17 to June 2 ...

is largely credited to North, as the company designed and built ETNZ's boat, wings, sails, and spars. A graduate of

Colby College Colby College is a private liberal arts college in Waterville, Maine. It was founded in 1813 as the Maine Literary and Theological Institution, then renamed Waterville College after the city where it resides. The donations of Christian philant ...

in Waterville, Maine, Whidden has earned many accolades throughout his

sailing Sailing employs the wind—acting on sails, wingsails or kites—to propel a craft on the surface of the ''water'' (sailing ship, sailboat, raft, windsurfer, or kitesurfer), on ''ice'' (iceboat) or on ''land'' (land yacht) over a chosen cou ...

career including Colby's "Carl Nelson Award" for Athletic Achievement in 1989, and the University Club "Man of the Year" award in 1987. In 2006, Whidden received the prestigious "A Life for Sailing" Award at the Trofeo

Ermenegildo Zegna Ermenegildo Zegna (; born 30 September 1955), often simply known and referred to as Gildo Zegna, is an Italian entrepreneur and manager. He is Chairman and CEO of Ermenegildo Zegna Group. Early life and education Gildo is a grandson of Ermeneg ...

Regatta in Portofino, Italy, which is given biennially to a person who has devoted their life and career to sailing. Outside the America's Cup arena, Whidden has won the Newport-Bermuda Race (Class A) five times and has won his class at Miami SORC five times and twice overall. Additionally, he's had repeated wins on the European racing circuit, including the Palma Superyacht Regatta,

Loro Piana Loro Piana is an Italian company specialized in clothing and textile products. It is considered the largest cashmere manufacturer and the world's leading artisan company processing luxury fibers.Miles Socha and Luisa Zargani (28 October 2021)Loro ...

Superyacht Regatta, Maxi Yacht

Rolex Rolex SA () is a British-founded Swiss watch designer and manufacturer based in Geneva, Switzerland. Founded in 1905 as ''Wilsdorf and Davis'' by Hans Wilsdorf and Alfred Davis in London, the company registered ''Rolex'' as the brand name of ...

Cup, Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez, St Barths Bucket Regatta, and the Trofeo Zegna Regatta. In 2001, he steered

Gianni Agnelli Giovanni "Gianni" Agnelli (; 12 March 192124 January 2003), nicknamed ("The Lawyer"), was an Italian industrialist and principal shareholder of Fiat. As the head of Fiat, he controlled 4.4% of Italy's GDP, 3.1% of its industrial workforce a ...

's 92-foot yacht ''Stealth'' to victory over 200 competitors at the America's Cup Jubilee in Cowes, England. Whidden is the publisher and co-author of two best-selling books: ''The Art & Science of Sails'' and ''Championship Tactics''. He serves on the board of trustees for Colby College and the New York Yacht Club. In 2005, he was featured in an article titled CEO Sailing on Forbes.com. Tom and his wife Betsy, co-founder of

Connecticut Magazine ''Connecticut Magazine'' is an American monthly magazine covering the life, culture, politics, and style of the state of Connecticut. Founded in 1971, it was purchased in 2017 by the Hearst Corporation. It is a sister magazine of ''Connecticut Br ...

, reside in

Essex, Connecticut Essex is a town in Middlesex County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 6,733 at the 2020 census. It is made up of three villages: Essex Village, Centerbrook, and Ivoryton. History The Great Attack Essex is one of the few A ...

, and

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and northeast of New Yor ...

. They have one son, Avery, and one daughter, Holly Whidden.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Whidden, Tom Colby College alumni Living people Sailmakers 1995 America's Cup sailors 1980 America's Cup sailors 1983 America's Cup sailors 1987 America's Cup sailors 1988 America's Cup sailors Year of birth missing (living people)