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W. Starling Burgess, Yacht Designer |
W. Starling Burgess was already in young age predicted to become a succesfull yacht designer. His father was no one else then the successful yacht designer Edward Burgess, and W. Starling Burgess had with out doubt inherited his fathers idees for form and shape development. He was also a very good at analyzing thoughts and idees at an early stage.
When his father died, W. Starling Burgess was only 12 at the time, the training and mentoring of young Burgess was taken over by such yacht designing legends as Herreshoff and George Lawely. It came as no surprise that W. Starling Burgess decided to withdraw from Harvard University at his senior year even if he was the head of his class, his quest for designing fast and beautifull was so strong.
W. Starling Burgess soon got the opertunity to design J-Class yachts and with the uniqe ENTERPRISE he set the standards. Enterprise was a very modern yacht for her time, with aluminum spars and Tru-Lock fittings. She got to prove her superiority in a race against the J-Class yacht Shamrock V in 1930.
Another J-Class yacht designed by W. Starling Burgess was the RAINBOW that managed to give the defending Americas Cup team “New York Yacht Club” a real scare. It lost its two first races against Endeavour, but then succesed with winning four straight races!
In 1937 W. Starling Burgess employeed a newly graduated young naval designer by the name of Olin Stephens. Togheter they would design what is still today called “The fastest J-class yacht ever”, RANGER.
W. Starling Burgess also designed other yachts and was the first American yacht designer to design a 12 meter class yachts.
W. Starling Burgess is also known for his aircraft manufacturing and has written books of poetry.
Some of the yachts designed by W. Starling Burgess:
Ranger
Enterprise |
Yacht Designers 