Kirsten Neuschäfer, of Port Elizabeth, South Africa, is the 2022 recipient of the Rod Stephens Seamanship
Above: 2005 award winner Sea Education Association's Corwith Cramer
The Rod Stephens Seamanship Trophy was presented to the Cruising Club of America by 21 of Rod’s shipmates and other friends. It is a perpetual trophy to be awarded by the Club for an act of seamanship which significantly contributes to the safety of a yacht, or one or more individuals at sea.
Curtis Green of Coos Bay, Oregon is awarded the 2021 Rod Stephens Trophy for Outstanding Seamanship for his heroic actions after the fishing vessel Darean Rose ran aground, rolled over, and began to sink, trapping the three crew in the wheelhouse.
Christian Charalambous, of Sydney, Australia is awarded the Rod Stephen Trophy for Outstanding Seamanship for his heroic actions after the yacht Showtime inverted upon the loss of its keel, at night, in a very rough Tasman Sea. Christian has shared a first-person account of his experience.
The Cruising Club of America awards the Rod Stephens Seamanship trophy to Gregor McGuckin of Ireland, for his attempted rescue of a fellow competitor, Abhilash Tomy, in the 2018-2019 Golden Globe Race. Ninety miles apart, McGuckin and Tomy were both dismasted in the same hurricane force storm in the Southern Ocean, and Tomy was seriously injured. McGuckin jury-rigged his boat and sailed to within 25 miles of Tomy to help.
Awarded to P. Leslie Crane for the seamanlike rescue of his crew from his rapidly sinking Farr 55 Monterey during the 2017 Antigua to Bermuda Race. Les had prepared the boat well, and as the water rose rapidly, he calmly organized the crew to deal with seacocks, pumps, radio, flares, EPIRB and liferaft. After getting all crew safely into the raft, they were picked up by a nearby competitor in the race.
CCA has selected Gavin Reid (Devon, UK) to receive the Club’s 2016 Rod Stephens Trophy for Outstanding Seamanship for his selfless action in swimming over to a vessel in distress and singlehandedly rescuing one of its crew members trapped at the top of the mast. The award will be presented at the CCA’s annual Awards Dinner at the New York Yacht Club in New York on March 3, 2017. The trophy is given “for an act of seamanship that significantly contributes to the safety of a yacht or one or more individuals at sea.”
Awarded to Bruce and Jane Berriman for heroically saving the lives of two Norwegians whose boat was being sucked into giant turbines on the side of one lock in a French canal north of Avignon.
Awarded to Bruce and Jane Berriman for heroically saving the lives of two Norwegians whose boat was being sucked into giant turbines on the side of one lock in a French canal north of Avignon.
Awarded to Peter M. Passano for repairing the rig of his Sea Bear after a collision with a bergy bit near South Georgia Island. The impact had bent the bowsprit so that his mast might have carried away during his 3,000 mile solo passage across the South Atlantic Ocean. His timely action in rough conditions made the completion of this voyage possible.