Ben Lexcen
Personal information | |
---|---|
Birth name | Robert Clyde Miller |
Full name | Benjamin Lexcen |
Nationality | Australian |
Born | Boggabri, New South Wales, Australia | 19 March 1936
Died | 1 May 1988 Manly, New South Wales, Australia | (aged 52)
Height | 1.83 m (6.0 ft) |
Sailing career | |
Class | Soling |
Updated on 1 March 2014. |
Benjamin Lexcen AM (born Robert Clyde Miller, 19 March 1936 – 1 May 1988) was an Australian yachtsman and marine architect. He is famous for the winged keel design applied to Australia II which, in 1983, became the first non-American yacht to win the prestigious America's Cup in 132 years.
Early life
Born in the small town of
Miller competed in the Soling at the 1972 Munich Olympics representing Australia in sailing with Denis O'Neil and Ken Berkeley as fellow crew members.[5]
America's Cup
Miller was commissioned by
During the first years of his partnership with Bond, Miller withdrew his partnership from his sail-making company but the company retained its name of Miller and Whitworth. Soon after the 1974 Cup challenge, Miller changed his name to avoid confusion with his former company. Keen to prevent the possibility of there being any confusion surrounding his name and business interests in the future, he asked a friend who worked for Reader's Digest to find out the least-used surname within their membership. The result was Lexcen. "Ben" was the name of his dog.
Bond challenged for the 1977 America's Cup using the Lexcen and Johan Valentijn designed 12M Australia against media mogul Ted Turner and again with a Lexcen modified Australia in 1980 against Dennis Conner, losing both times.
After the 1980 challenge Lexcen realised that to win against the defenders, with their 100+ years of America's Cup experience, they would need a superior boat. His next design featured a host of advanced design features, not the least of which was a revolutionary winged keel, intended to lower the drag and to make the boat more stable and maneuverable in the water. The keel design reduced tip vortex, a turbulence resulting in conventional keels from the pressure differential between the windward (low pressure) and leeward (high pressure) sides. Australia II's design was to prove highly controversial, protested because some part of the design was done before and during the testing of the keel in a Dutch tank testing facility.[7]
Australia II was a revolutionary design approach with her winged keel and hull design featuring the shortest waterline length ever measured on a 12-metre. To yachtsmen accustomed to seeing racing yachts out of the water, Australia II is striking. Its conventional long slim topsides flare down to a short waterline hinting at the dramatic, minimal, slippery underwater hull shape which was fast to turn as well as easily driven and quick to accelerate. Ben often remarked that Australia II is a whole boat, not just a keel. The
The
Lexcen was commissioned by Bond once again in 1986 to design a defender for the
Death
Lexcen died suddenly in Manly, New South Wales on 1 May 1988, of a heart attack at 52 years of age. He is buried at Frenchs Forest Cemetery located in Davidson, New South Wales.[10]
Legacy
In 1989, the
In 1988 the University of New South Wales named its newly created sports scholarships the Ben Lexcen Sports Scholarships. These scholarships were the first sports scholarships to be offered by an Australian university.[11]
In 2006, Lexcen was posthumously inducted into the America's Cup Hall of Fame.
In Popular Culture
In the 1986 miniseries The Challenge, Lexcen was portrayed by John Clayton.[12] In the 2016 television series House of Bond, he was played by Paul Gleeson.[13]
In 2022, Netflix released Untold: The Race of the Century, a film about the Australian team's win in the 1983 race, including footage of Lexcen.[14]
See also
References
- ISSN 1833-7538. Retrieved 18 September 2017.
- ^ JJ Giltinan International Trophy
- ^ JJ Giltinan International Trophy
- ^ "Lexcen, Benjamin (Ben) (1936–1988)". Biography –Benjamin (Ben) Lexcen – Australian Dictionary of Biography. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University.
- ^ "Australian Olympic Committee".[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Lexcen, Benjamin (Ben) (1936–1988)". Biography - Benjamin (Ben) Lexcen – Australian Dictionary of Biography. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University.
- ^ Robinson, Blue (2 October 2009). "Ben Lexcen: A crazy, lovable rogue". Scuttlebutt News. Archived from the original on 12 December 2009.
- ^ "Scuttlebutt News: John Longley comments on Australia II, Ben Lexcen, and Peter van Oossanen". Archived from the original on 26 October 2013. Retrieved 9 May 2013.>
- ^ "The 12-Metre Class America's Cup Contenders 1958–1987". Sail World. Archived from the original on 8 July 2011. Retrieved 23 February 2008.
- ISSN 1833-7538. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
- ^ "1980s | Records & Archives – UNSW Sydney".
- ^ "The Challenge". IMDb.
- ^ "House of Bond". IMDb.
- ^ "Watch Untold: The Race of the Century | Netflix Official Site". Netflix.
Bibliography
- Stannard, Bruce (1984). Ben Lexcen: the Man, the Keel, and the Cup. London: Faber and Faber. ISBN 0571133967.