10:26 AM Wed 6 May 2009 GMT
On the night of April 30, 2009 the Herreshoff Marine Museum / America's Cup Hall of Fame inducted John Biddle, Thomas Ratsey, and John Longley AM into the America's Cup Hall of Fame at a spectacular evening at the New York Yacht Club in Manhattan, presented by Rolex Watch USA. The evening's keynote speaker, Sir Keith Mills, provided a challenger's perspective on the current status of the Cup, and discussed the history of British challengers.
Presentations by Gary Jobson included a reel of Cup highlights, as well as vignettes on each inductee. John Rousmaniere spoke about the Cup's history, particularly as recorded at the New York Yacht Club and its collection of models and artwork.
The late John Biddle's son and daughter, Scott and Sophie, accepted his award on his behalf, and his wife Amy acknowledged how pleased John had been to be nominated.
Thomas Ratsey, founder of Ratsey & Lapthorn sailmakers, providers of sails to many of the classic America's Cup yachts, was next inducted; his award was accepted by his descendant Cynthia Ratsey Young and her husband Tom.
The third inductee, John Longley, AM, was introduced by Tom Schnackenberg. John regaled the crowd with stories of his Cup experiences on Southern Cross, Australia, and Australia II, as well as his work towards the creation of the IACC rule.
Guests included Brad Butterworth and Murray Jones of Alinghi, Stephen Barclay and Tom Ehman of BMW ORACLE Racing, Allen Brill, President of Rolex Watch USA, Alessandra Pandarese and Margherita Botini of Mascalzone Latino, Sotiris Buseas of Greek Challenge, Bruno Trouble and America's Cup Hall of Fame Selection Committee chair, Dyer Jones.
President of the Herreshoff Marine Museum / America's Cup Hall of Fame, Halsey Herreshoff, served as master of ceremonies for the evening.
www.alinghi.comsaw it this way:
Alinghi team skipper and 2004 America's Cup Hall of Fame inductee, Brad Butterworth, strategist Murray Jones and designer Tom Schnackenberg flew to New York this week to attend the America's Cup Hall of Fame induction ceremony of John Longley and the late Thomas Ratsey during a black-tie dinner on Thursday evening. The 16th Induction Ceremony, hosted at the New York Yacht Club in New York City, also honoured the late John Biddle for his 2008 induction. America's Cup Hall of Fame President Halsey C. Herreshoff presided over the ceremony while Tom Schnackenberg, himself inducted in 2000, welcomed his friend and ex-Australia II colleague John Longley to the Hall of Fame.
John Longley, AM (born July 20, 1945)
John Longley is a veteran of five Australian campaigns for the America's Cup, including four straight Cup Matches, winning the Cup in 1983. After his career as a 12-Metre Class sailor and team manager, he contributed to the America's Cup by participating in the development of the America's Cup Class.
John Longley's involvement in the 1983 Australia II campaign marked the high point of his career as a yachtsman. Longley helped Skipper John Bertrand select the crew for Australia II; he choreographed the team's actions for tacking, jibing and other manoeuvres via detailed step-by-step instructions; and served in the crew as a grinder.
In addition to his contributions on the water, Longley served as Australia II's Project Manager, managing the campaign's day-to-day operations from January 1981 until Executive Director Warren Jones took over in the summer of 1983, to allow Longley to focus on racing the boat. As manager Longley was responsible, among other things, for coordinating the building of Australia II and the construction of her keel. He leveraged his experience in the grinder pit and foredeck to co-design the boat's deck layout with yacht designer Ben Lexcen.
At 41, Longley retired from Cup sailing after completing one final stint as manager and grinder for Australia IV in the 1986 Cup defence trials in Australia. But his contributions to the Cup did not end there. Following the contentious 1988 Match, Longley co-authored the 'San Diego Protocol', which established the challengers' rights and their method of challenging the defender in an orderly manner. This document was significant for three reasons: first, it made possible a smooth transition from the 1988 match to the 1992 match; second, it ushered in the International America's Cup Class (IACC) which replaced the 12-Metre class; and, finally, it was a prototype for future protocols. Longley, while serving as the watchdog of the Protocol, was the chair and convener of the conference of designers who developed the IACC rule.
In 1984, Longley was made a member of the Order of Australia (AM) for his services to yachting. He is currently serving as the Event Director for the ISAF Sailing World Championships to be held in Fremantle in 2011.
John Biddle (1936 - 2008)
Spanning more than 40 years as the foremost yachting cinematographer-lecturer, John Biddle sailed with Ted Turner, Dennis Conner, Ted Hood and dozens of other skippers on the U.S. east coast, Great Lakes, and west coast. He raced to Bermuda 11 times, was aboard the winning yacht to Halifax in 1957, cruised among the icebergs off the coasts of Labrador and Greenland, sailed the SORC several times, and crewed aboard square-riggers in the North Sea.
Biddle pursued a life of sailing, travel and adventure, while at the same time making a living as a film-lecturer. Lean and fast moving, he was proficient at all things nautical including one-design racing and offshore cruising and racing. He was thus able to combine his love for the sea and knowledge of sailing with a talent for film-making, resulting in 40 shows in 40 years, often highlighting the America's Cup.
John Biddle's 40-year film archives are capped by comprehensive coverage of each America's Cup event from 1958 to 1987 in 10 season-long episodes from early trials to the final races, during the 12-Metre boat years. Excerpts from these films will be featured in the Induction Program in New York City on April 30.
Thomas W. Ratsey (1851-1935)
Thomas Ratsey's career spans the classic era of the America's Cup. His entry into the family business at 15 heralded one of the most important contributions to America's Cup sailmaking made by a single individual. He was directly involved in seven challenges and the firm he controlled supplied sails for 10 challengers and four defenders during his lifetime.
At first, Ratsey's firm was in the shadow of the Lapthorn loft, but such was his promise that the latter initiated an 1882 merger to form the long-lived firm of Ratsey & Lapthorn. Tom Ratsey was then personally responsible for the sails of every challenger until Shamrock IV after his first involvement crewing on Livonia at age 20. His continuous involvement with the Cup began with the Thistle challenge of 1887 when his close friend G. L. Watson involved him in his designs at an early stage; his presence in New York during that challenge laid the foundations of many lifelong friendships and Ratsey & Lapthorn's US expansion.
Ratsey's attendance at the 1895, 1899 and 1901 Cup races became more than the now expected attendance of the challenger's sailmaker. On all these occasions he took home significant orders from American yachtsmen who recognized his unique talent. By 1901 many these were lobbying him to establish a loft in the US which he did within Robert Jacob's City Island boatyard in 1902. What resistance there was to the English invasion was effectively overcome with his firm's production of a near perfect mainsail for Cornelius Vanderbilt's New York 70, Rainbow.
by .
Click on thumbnails to enlarge and find more photos:
   |
Flinders Reef, QLD
Kitesurfing - Twintips
Windsurfing - Sails
Stand Up Paddle - Wave & Cruising Boards