For
Immediate Release 05-11
Contact: Caroline Chetelat, (410) 956-1050, x22
cchetelat@abycinc.org
Westlawn Kicks Off 75th Anniversary Year
by Inducting Two Designers into
Newly Established Hall of Fame
March 10, 2005,
Edgewater, MD: The Westlawn
Institute of Marine Technology commemorated its remarkable record of supplying
talented designers and marine industry professionals for 75 years (1930 – 2005)
during its Diamond Jubilee celebration.
Sponsored by Hargrave Custom Yachts, Westlawn’s Diamond
Jubilee celebration was held in Miami, FL, on February 17. Taking the form of a gallery
opening, Westlawn highlighted the “art of yacht design” by featuring the
designs of numerous Westlawn alumni, in addition to holding an awards ceremony,
which included the induction of Philip L. Rhodes and Olin J. Stephens, as the
first two inductees of the newly established “North American Boat Designers
Hall of Fame.”

Speaking at the Jubilee,
Westlawn director Dave Gerr said, “Considering the importance and success of
many Westlawn alumni, it’s been surprising to me how few folks have really
understood what Westlawn is or what it has done. We’ve produced more
practicing small-craft designers than many of the other institutions in the
world combined. This includes Westlawn alumni on 14 different America’s
Cup campaigns that we know of, and designers such as Jack Hargrave, Bill Shaw,
Bruce King, Tom Fexas and many, many others. (A more complete list can be found
at: Success
Stories) It’s a pretty remarkable record.”
Sponsored by Westlawn, The Landing School and ABYC, the North American Boat
Designers Hall of Fame was created to permanently recognize achievement in the
field of boat design. The plan is for the hall to be housed in Mystic Seaport Museum, and to induct
two – or perhaps more – individuals every year who have demonstrated long-term
and important contributions to the art and science of boat design. The hall
will house a crystal engraved commemorative plate, in addition to a painting of
one of the more successful and representative boats designed by the Hall of
Fame winner(s). These paintings will be done by the marine artist, Jim Dewitt.

Philip L. Rhodes - Born in 1895, Rhodes not only designed the
America’s cup racer Weatherly, but his office designed sail and power yachts,
including many production boats and class racers such as the O’Day Tempest and
the Rhodes 19, as well as patrol boat and commercial vessels of every type.
His range of design was amazing - from 123' motorsailers to 7' dinghies to
hydrofoil racers to giant motor yachts. His clients ranged from the
Rockefellers to Sears and Roebuck.
He was not just an
engineer but a true artist. To produce such a huge output Phil Rhodes directed
an able design team, with his son Bodie Rhodes doing much work aided by Al
Mason, Charles Jannace, and Dick Davis, and even for a time, a young Olin
Stephens, among others. Rhodes retired in 1970 and was taken from us much too soon,
in 1974.
Philip Rhodes’ daughter
Mrs. Silvia Harrison and her son Mr. Scott Harrison were on hand to accept the
commemorative plate in memory of Philip Rhodes.

Olin J. Stephens - Olin J. Stephens was born on April 13, 1908 in
the Bronx, New York. His father was a coal merchant who moved the family
to Scarsdale, New York in 1913, where Olin and his brother Rod went to
school. It was while spending summers on the New England coast that Olin
first learned to sail.
Graduating in 1926 from Scarsdale High School,
Olin attended Massachusetts Institute of Technology for one semester and then
began his yacht design career at the age of 19. He worked for some time with
Henry J. Gielow, and then Philip Rhodes. In 1928 a partnership was arranged
with Drake Sparkman, a yacht broker, and on November 11, 1929, Sparkman & Stephens Inc. was formally created with five partners:
Drake Sparkman, James Sparkman, James Murray, Olin Stephens, and Roderick
Stephens. Mr. Stephens' first success was with the design of the ocean racing
yacht Dorade, launched in 1930, which was fast, and efficient. She won the 1936
Transpac, finishing first, first in class and first overall. In 1930, Olin also
married Susie Reynolds. Olin designed one of the J-class boats, Ranger, for the
defense of the 1937 America's Cup, and several other America's
Cup boats were designed by Sparkman & Stephens including Columbia,
Constellation, Freedom, Intrepid and Courageous. Olin Stephens retired from
the design business in the 1980's, after designing over 2,000 boats, including
eight America's Cup winners, in career lasting more than 50 years.
Mystic Seaport Museum also houses the Philip Rhodes collection and the
Sparkman & Stephens collection.

In addition to honoring
Phil Rhodes and Olin Stephens, Westlawn also honored Norman Nudelman,
Westlawn’s Provost, with a Lifetime Education Award in recognition of a
lifetime of excellence and achievement in marine education. Mr. Nudelman is a
graduate of Westlawn and holds a B.A. degree from New York University
and a B.S. Degree from Long Island University. He has over 20 years experience as a distance
educator having served Westlawn as an instructor in yacht design, Supervisor of
Instruction, and Vice President of Education. He retired in 1997 after serving
6 years as Westlawn’s President. Mr. Nudelman is a former member of the
American Society of Naval Engineers, The Royal Institution of Naval Architects
(UK), and the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers. He is the author
of several Westlawn textbooks on yacht design subjects and has served as a
member of the American Boat and Yacht Council’s Structures and Arrangements
Technical Committee. Mr. Nudelman re-joined Westlawn’s staff as Provost in
2004.
In closing, Dave Gerr
stated, “The assistance and support of both NMMA
and ABYC, and also of the
boating industry as a whole has been vital to the success of Westlawn. Even
more important was the hard work and dedication of our students and alumni, who
took Westlawn education and made it into something to be proud of time after
time after time. So, I look out at all of you and say a deep and heart felt
thank you. What you’ve accomplished makes Westlawn and the boating industry
truly proud.”
Click
here to see more photos of the Jubilee celebration.
Founded in 1930, the
Westlawn Institute of Marine Technology is the only nationally accredited and
state certified distance-learning school of small-craft design in the United States.
As the not-for-profit educational affiliate of the American Boat and Yacht
Council, Westlawn’s primary function is to assure a continual source of highly
skilled designers to the marine industry. To learn more about Westlawn, please
call (410) 956-7100 or explore the Westlawn web site at www.westlawn.edu.