Sailor And Author John Rousmaniere Dies At 82
Noted sailor, author and historian John Pierce Rousmaniere — who took part in numerous events including nine Newport Bermuda Races — has died at the age of 82.
His obituary on the Bermuda Race website states, “Over decades of sailing, he logged more than 40,000 miles offshore, including nine Newport Bermuda Races, two Fastnet Races, and three transatlantic passages. Then, in August 1979, during the Fastnet Race, he experienced the kind of storm that can permanently alter a sailor’s understanding of the sea.
“Sailing aboard the 48-foot sloop Toscana, John survived a Force 10 storm that killed 15 sailors, sank five yachts, and forced 24 crews to abandon ship among a fleet of more than 300 boats and 2,700 sailors.
“He turned the experience into the bestseller Fastnet, Force 10 [1980], a riveting first-person narrative that brought readers into the thick of the storm and has been a must-read for sailors ever since. For John, the book was not simply an account of what had happened. It was a call to prevent it from ever happening again.
“Much of what John’s readers know about yachting history is preserved in his books, including The Golden Pastime: A New History of Yachting [1986]; The New York Yacht Club: A History, 1844–2008 [2009]; The Low Black Schooner: Yacht America [1986]; and A Berth to Bermuda: 100 Years of the World’s Classic Ocean Race [2006].
“John’s many honors included induction into the Bermuda Race Roll of Honour in 2024. He received the Cruising Club of America’s Richard S. Nye Trophy in 2009 for meritorious service, U.S. Sailing’s Timothea Larr Award in 2013 for sailor education, Mystic Seaport’s W. P. Stephens Award in 2014 for maritime history, and the New York Yacht Club’s inaugural Commodore Henry H. Anderson Jr. Award in 2014 for volunteerism.”
