Stan Ogilvy was a mathematician, champion sailor in the Star and Etchells classes, and the author of several highly regarded sailing-related books.

Below is an excerpt From C. Stanley Ogilvy’s Obituary, published on boats.com

LARCHMONT, N.Y. — C. Stanley Ogilvy, a champion Star and Etchells 22 sailor and author of five important books on sailboat racing and yachting history, died on June 20, 2000, at his home in Larchmont, New York. He was 87. Ogilvy will be remembered by many sailors for his racing successes and also for his three books on one-design racing: “Successful Yacht Racing,” “Thoughts on Small Boat Racing,” and “Win More Sailboat Races.” Published between 1952 and 1977, they were characteristic of their author in their affection for the sport, graceful expression, rigorous analysis, and extreme generosity with ideas for racing success that many other sailors would have regarded as proprietary.

Ogilvy knew what he was writing about. He raced Stars for more than 30 years, winning a North American Championship, and later Etchells 22s. By profession a professor of mathematics at Hamilton College, he wrote six books in that field. After retiring from racing, he was active as a judge and measurer and wrote excellent histories of two of the pastime’s oldest and most prominent institutions, the Star Class (whose newsletter he edited for 38 years) and the Larchmont Yacht Club (where he was a member for 62 years). The Etchells 22 Class created the C. Stanley Ogilvy Award for top skipper over 50 years of age at the class world championship.

Sailing Honors and Accomplishments

• 1947    Star World Championship, 2^nd, crewed for Hilary Smart
• 1949    Star World Championship, 3^rd
• 1951    Star World Championship, 3^rd
• Star Class – won over 47 regattas
• Member of Larchmont Yacht Club for 62 years and served as its historian.
• Was the first Vice President of the International Star Class Yacht Racing Association, edited its publications for many years, and also served as historian for the class.
• In 1990, was the second recipient of the Harry Nye Memorial Trophy of the International Star Class Yacht Racing Association, in recognition of his contributions to Star class sailing.
• The C. Stanley Ogilvy Masters Trophy, an antique sextant awarded to a sailor over the age of 50, was named in his honor and has been presented annually by the Etchells World Championships since 1999. Stan Ogilvy was instrumental in assisting Skip Etchells with measurement and rules when the Etchells Class was new.

Books

Ogilvy wrote many books on both mathematics and sailing, which were translated into several other languages. They include:

• Successful Yacht Racing(Norton, 1951)
• Through the Mathescope(Oxford Univ. Press, 1956). Later republished as Excursions in Mathematics.
• Tomorrow’s Math: Unsolved Problems for the Amateur(Oxford Univ. Press, 1962)
• Thoughts on Small Boat Racing(Van Nostrand, 1966)
• Excursions in Number Theory(with John T. Anderson, Oxford Univ. Press, 1966)
• Excursions in Geometry(Oxford Univ. Press, 1969)
• Win More Sailboat Races(Norton, 1976)
• A History of the Star Class: The First Eighty Years(International Star Class Yacht Racing Association, 1991)
• The Larchmont Yacht Club: A History, 1880–1990(Larchmont Yacht Club, 1993)