Elwood Widmer (E. W.) "Skip" Etchells (July 5, 1911 – December 20, 1998) was an American

naval architect This is the top category for all articles related to architecture and its practitioners. {{Commons category, Architecture by occupation Design occupations Occupations Occupation commonly refers to: *Occupation (human activity), or job, one's rol ...

, boat builder and world championship

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. While the term ''sailor'' ...

. He is best remembered now for the one-design racing boat that bears his name, the International

Etchells The International Etchells Class is one-design sailboat racing class, designed by American Skip Etchells. Production The first 36 boats were built by Skip Etchells and the Old Greenwich Boat Company between 1967 and 1969. In the early 1970s ...

class, a keelboat that he designed in 1966. One of the most competitive classes in sailboat racing, the Etchells is often the boat of choice for the world's top sailors, including

America's Cup The America's Cup is a sailing competition and the oldest international competition still operating in any sport. America's Cup match races are held between two sailing yachts: one from the yacht club that currently holds the trophy (known ...

veteran

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 ...

, a three-time world champion in the class. A graduate of the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

with a degree in naval architecture, Skip Etchells worked for the Navy in shipyards on the West Coast during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. After the war, he got a job in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

with

Sparkman & Stephens Sparkman & Stephens is a naval architecture and yacht brokerage firm with offices in Newport, Rhode Island and Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA. The firm performs design and engineering of new and existing vessels for pleasure, commercial, and milit ...

, the yacht design firm, before establishing his own boatbuilding company, Old Greenwich Boat Co., based in

Old Greenwich, Connecticut Old Greenwich is a coastal village in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 6,611. The town of Greenwich is one political and taxing body, but consists of several distinct sections or neig ...

. For more than 30 years beginning in the 1940s, Etchells built some of the fastest Star-class sailboats ever. He and his wife, Mary O'Toole Etchells, also campaigned in Stars for many years, traveling the world and winning regattas in the U.S., Europe, the Caribbean, and South America. In 1951, they won the Star world championship at

Gibson Island, Maryland Gibson Island is an island and unincorporated community on the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay. It is part of Anne Arundel County, Maryland, United States and is the eastern terminus of Maryland Route 177. It is connected by a causeway to ...

. Mary Etchells remains the only woman ever to have won the worlds in the Star class. In 1958, they won the Star North American Championships at the Tred Avon Yacht Club. The International Etchells Class, originally called the Etchells 22 because it had a 22-foot waterline length, was designed as part of a competition to select a new three-man keelboat for the Olympics. Despite emerging as clearly the fastest boat in two sets of selection trials in Germany, in 1966 and 1967, the boat was not picked for the Olympics. However it has become a tremendously popular racing class, with about 1,500 boats built, sailing in more than 50 fleets around the world.

References

Encyclopædia BritannicaYachting.orgEtchells International Association
{{DEFAULTSORT:Etchells, Elwood Etchells, E.W. Etchells, E.W. American boat builders American yacht designers Etchells, E.W. Star class world champions Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning alumni 20th-century American architects World champions in sailing for the United States University of Michigan alumni 20th-century American sportsmen