Carl Eichenlaub
Carl Eichenlaub
Joining the Hall of Fame at age 75, Carl Eichenlaub not only merited inclusion because he was an outstanding racer in his day
- winning Snipe, Star, and Lightning championships, including the 1960
Lightning Internationals (the top Lightning event before the first
class Worlds in 1961). He also made a career of building boats for
these classes, and his boats have been among the best, winning
countless championships. In 1963, for instance, Eichenlaub won the
Lighting NAs, finished second at the Snipe Nationals, and his boats
swept the top three places at the Star Worlds. That same year, after a
windy day decimated a portion of the Snipe fleet, he helped put
everybody back together again so they could race the next day.
It has been this willingness to help others get back on the water that
added an extraordinary dimension to Eichenlaub's career in sailboat
racing. Living and working in San Diego, the boatbuilder's reputation
continued to grow over the years as he served every couple years as the
U.S. Sailing Team shipwright at every Pan Am and Olympic Games since
1979. Not only has Eichenlaub been able to repair the U.S. fleet in a
competent, creative, and timely way at each of these high-profile
events, but his generosity and skill have been apparent to foreign
competitors who have frequently been welcomed to his well-equipped
portable boat shop.
