Hall of Fame
D
uring the October FCA luncheon we were privileged and honored to have Randy Smyth tell us all about being inducted
into the US Sailing Hall of Fame on September. Randy related how his life of sailing began and then the highlights of
the induction ceremony held on September 24, 2017.
He has graciously loaned his framed certificate, medal and book from the ceremony for display in the club’s trophy case. Take
a moment and view these impressive items and when you see Randy give him a well deserved pat on the back. Congratulations
to an extremely talented and humble sailor from all of us here at the club. Following is the write up from the official Induction
Book.
H
Speed King
ow many Americans can say they have been on
a winning America’s Cup crew and have won an
Olympic medal in sailing? Randy Smyth is a member
of that elite club. (For the record there are nine). Soon
after Dennis Conner on Stars & Stripes defeated the
Australians to take the America’s Cup to his home,
San Diego Yacht Club in 1987, he received an unex-
pected challenge from New Zealand’s Cup challenge
in 1988. Conner defended
the Cup with a catamaran
and got a huge assist from his
wing trimmer, catamaran ace
and Olympic silver medalist
Randy Smyth. And, for good
measure, Smyth won a second
silver in 1992 in Barcelona.
Smyth’s list of achievements includes both inshore
racing and long-distance contests. In the 1980s a gru-
eling 1000-mile multihull race was sailed between
Daytona Beach, Florida and Virginia Beach, Virginia.
Smyth won the contest in a record 75 hours. No one
ever sailed the course faster. His resume includes 55
national, continental and world championship victo-
ries in a variety of multihulls. Today he is a highly
regarded coach and advisor.
Randy Smyth has also had fun
with the media. He consulted
on two Hollywood films and
sailed different catamarans
for Kevin Costner in Water
World, and Pierce Brosnan
in The Thomas Crown Affair.
In 2010 he commentated on
the America’s Cup for ESPN,
and in 2016 covered the Rio
Olympic Games for NBC.
His multihull prowess started
at a young age. Along with
his 9-year-old brother, David,
Randy won his first catama-
ran race at the age of 11. The
brothers raced an Aqua Cat
As an aside the other eight
25 miles from Long Beach,
Americans with both Olym-
California out to Catalina
pic medals and America’s Cup
Island. Like most Southern
victories on the resume in-
Californian sailors, young Randy had a singlehanded
clude:
George
O’Day,
Eric Ridder, Dennis Conner,
Sabot, but the Aqua Cat was faster, and he says, “I
could take friends along.” Later in 1968 he crewed for Conn Findlay, John Marshall, Carl Buchan, Buddy
Rick Taylor in Germany in the first Tornado World Melges, and John Kostecki.
Championship. In 1981 and again in 1982, Smyth
~ Gary Jobson
and his crew Jay Glazer won back to back Worlds.
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