Stuart Hodge Walker (April 19, 1923 – November 12, 2018) was an American Olympic

yachtsman A yacht is a sailing or power vessel used for pleasure, cruising, or racing. There is no standard definition, though the term generally applies to vessels with a cabin intended for overnight use. To be termed a , as opposed to a , such a pleasu ...

, writer, and a professor of pediatrics. He competed as a sailor at the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a multi ...

; won many national and international championships in different classes and wrote over ten books.

Biography.

Born in 1923 in Brooklyn, New York, Walker attended school in suburban

Hartsdale Hartsdale is a hamlet located in the town of Greenburgh, Westchester County, New York, United States. The population was 5,293 at the 2010 census. It is a suburb of New York City. History Hartsdale, a CDP/hamlet/post-office in the town of Greenb ...

and

Bronxville Bronxville is a village in Westchester County, New York, United States, located approximately north of Midtown Manhattan. It is part of the town of Eastchester. The village comprises one square mile (2.5 km2) of land in its entirety, ...

, college at

Middlebury College Middlebury College is a private liberal arts college in Middlebury, Vermont. Founded in 1800 by Congregationalists, Middlebury was the first operating college or university in Vermont. The college currently enrolls 2,858 undergraduates from all ...

, and medical school at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, ...

. He was married to Frances (née Taylor) from 1944 until her death on September 30, 2012. They have two daughters Susan (1946) and Lee (1950). Walker was assigned in 1946 as a medical officer to the Army of Occupation of Japan (

11th Airborne Division The 11th Airborne Division ("Arctic Angels") is a United States Army airborne formation, first activated on 25 February 1943, during World War II. Consisting of one parachute and two glider infantry regiments, with supporting troops, the div ...

(

Paratroops A paratrooper is a military parachutist—someone trained to parachute into a military operation, and usually functioning as part of an airborne force. Military parachutists (troops) and parachutes were first used on a large scale during Wor ...

)). After reassignment from the army, he started a pediatric practice in Annapolis in 1953. Stuart became a full-time Professor of Pediatrics at the

University of Maryland School of Medicine The University of Maryland School of Medicine (abbreviated UMSOM), located in Baltimore City, Maryland, U.S., is the medical school of the University of Maryland, Baltimore and is affiliated with the University of Maryland Medical Center and Med ...

in 1961 and was Chief of Pediatrics at Mercy Hospital in Baltimore until his retirement in 1984. After Frances' death, Stuart married Patricia (née Empey) in 2013. Sailing in the

International 14 The International 14 is a British racing sailboat, crewed by two sailors. The class was established in 1928. The boat is a developmental sailing class and so the design rules and the boats themselves have changed dramatically over time to keep ...

class, Walker was a member of every American team in international matches between 1961 and 1971 and was, in 1963, the first American to win Bermuda's Princess Elizabeth Trophy and, in 1964, England's Prince of Wales Cup. He was a member of the American Olympic Team, sailing a 5.5 Meter at the 1968 Games and the Pan-American Games, and a Soling in the 1979 Pan-American Games and the 2012 Vintage Yachting Games. Walker authored ten books on sailboat racing, sail trim, competitive behavior, and low level wind flow, and was a lecturer and contributor to sailing magazines. He helped found the

Severn Sailing Association The Severn Sailing Association is a private yacht club located in Annapolis, Maryland. History The Association was incorporated on October 28, 1954, by John J. Hopkins, Richard C. Bartlett, and Robert F. Podlich who wanted to establish a sail ...

. He published his 11th book, "Travels with Thermopylae", in 2015, which describes a year of sailing and discovery in central Europe. Walker was President of the

International Soling Class International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

from 1991 through 1994 . In this role he successfully campaigned to keep the Soling in the

1996 Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

and to continue the fleet/match format. He also established a Technical Committee that included the major builders and which has been successful in openly recognizing and solving problems before they become significant. He travelled on a yearly basis to Europe to compete in Soling regattas.

Retirement

After finishing fifth at the eighth race of the 2016 European Championship Soling at

Traunsee Traunsee () is a lake in the Salzkammergut, Upper Austria, Austria. Its surface is approximately 24.5 km2 and its maximum depth of 191 metres makes it the deepest and by volume largest lake located entirely within Austrian territory; only Lak ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

and leading the fleet to the weather mark in the ninth and last race, Walker announced his retirement from sailing on May 23, 2016, due to

macular degeneration Macular degeneration, also known as age-related macular degeneration (AMD or ARMD), is a medical condition which may result in blurred or no vision in the center of the visual field. Early on there are often no symptoms. Over time, however, som ...

. With his retirement, he completed a period of 47 years of Soling sailing. After his retirement, Stuart continued sailing local races at th
Severn Sailing Association
in Annapolis. He died on November 12, 2018, in Annapolis from

stomach cancer Stomach cancer, also known as gastric cancer, is a cancer that develops from the Gastric mucosa, lining of the stomach. Most cases of stomach cancers are gastric carcinomas, which can be divided into a number of subtypes, including gastric adenoca ...

at the age of 95.

Palmarès

; Honours : Sailing World Hall of Fame:Member 1982 – selected as one of the world’s twenty outstanding yachtsmen. : Stuart was inducted into the United States National Sailing Hall of Fame in 2013. ;

1968 Olympics 1968 Olympics may refer to: * 1968 Summer Olympics, which were held in Mexico City, Mexico * 1968 Winter Olympics The 1968 Winter Olympics, officially known as the X Olympic Winter Games (french: Les Xes Jeux olympiques d'hiver), were a winter ...

: 8th U.S. Olympic Team – 5.5 Meter. : Team Meteorologist ;

Vintage Yachting Games The Vintage Yachting Games are an international Quadrennial multi class sailing event for former Olympic classes and the former Classes of the Paralympic Games. The Vintage Games is held every four years. The idea behind the Vintage is to Org ...

: 5th

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

– Soling. ;

1979 Pan American Games The 1979 Pan American Games (Spanish: ''Juegos Panamericanos de 1979''), officially the VIII Pan American Games were a multi-sport event governed by the Panam Sports Organization, and were held in San Juan, Puerto Rico, from July 1 to July 15 ...

: Gold 1979 U.S. Pan-American Team – Soling. ; European Championship Soling : 2nd 2011 . ; National Championships in Soling : Winner 1973 : Winner 1983 : Winner 1987 : Winner 1988 : Winner 1988 : Winner 2003 : Winner 2003 : Winner 2007 ;

: Member U.S. International Teams 1961, 1963, 1965, 1967, 1969 and 1971 : Winner 1961 Princess Elizabeth Trophy (1st American ever) – : Winner 1962 Buzzard's Bay Bowl : Winner 1964 Prince of Wales Cup (1st American ever) –

Lowestoft Lowestoft ( ) is a coastal town and civil parish in the East Suffolk district of Suffolk, England.OS Explorer Map OL40: The Broads: (1:25 000) : . As the most easterly UK settlement, it is north-east of London, north-east of Ipswich and so ...

, : Winner 1966 Yachting Magazine's One-of-a-Kind Regatta ;

Soling The Soling is an open keelboat that holds the World Sailing " International class" status. The class was used from the 1972 Olympics (Kiel) until the 2000 Olympics (Sydney) as " Open Three Person Keelboat". Besides the Olympic career of the So ...

: Winner 1973 Great Lakes Championship : Winner 1973 Maritime Provinces Championship : Winner 1974 Atlantic Coast Championship : Winner 1982 Australian Gold Cup : Winner 1984 Erich Hirt Trophy : Winner 1984 Jungfrau Trophy : Winner 1985 Jungfrau Trophy : Winner 1988 European Lakes Cup : Winner 1992 Erich Hirt Trophy ; Ice Bowl (Annapolis) : Winner 1955–2011 – (32 times out of 58)

Bibliography

Walker contributed to the sailing world by writing over ten books on sports in general and on sailing specifically: * The Techniques of Small Boat Racing OCLC 8003492 * The Tactics of Small Boat Racing * Performance Advances in Small Boat Racing OCLC 10881 * Wind and Strategy * Advanced Racing Tactics * Winning: The Psychology of Competition * A Manual of Sailtrim * Positioning: The Logic of Sailboat Racing * The Sailors's Wind * The Code of Competition * Travels with Thermopylae

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Walker, Stuart H. 1923 births 2018 deaths American male sailors (sport) American pediatricians Middlebury College alumni Military personnel from New York City Olympic sailors for the United States Writers from Brooklyn People from Hartsdale, New York People from Bronxville, New York Sportspeople from Westchester County, New York Physicians from New York City Sailors at the 1968 Summer Olympics – 5.5 Metre Soling class sailors Sportspeople from Brooklyn United States Army Medical Corps officers