Sailing out of Larchmont YC on the Western end of Long Island Sound, Bob Bavier (1918-2001) developed as one of the top sailors on the East Coast, dominating IOD, and offshore classes in the 1950s and 60s. In 1964, he took _Constellation _, a faltering 12-Meter campaign that was being thrashed by _American Eagle _ in the America’s Cup defender selection trials, and turned the program around enough to be selected.
Bavier and Constellation went on to win the Cup by soundly defeating British Challenger Sovereign. Far from being merely a racing sailor, Bavier was also a consummate blue water seaman and navigator. In 1968, he navigated one of Ted Hood’s _Robin_s to a victory in Bermuda Race.
Not content with supporting the sport by excelling at it, Bavier worked at _Yachting _ magazine, selling ads, writing a monthly column as well as articles, and eventually running the entire magazine. The influence he wielded at _Yachting _ was only surpassed by his leadership of the sport as president of the North American Yacht Racing Union (now US SAILING) and extensive involvement with the IYRU (now ISAF).
