John Rousmaniere

Early life and education

John Pierce Rousmaniere (pronounced "Room-an-ear") is the oldest of the eight children of James Ayer Rousmaniere, of Boston and New York, and of Jessie Broaddus Pierce Rousmaniere, of Louisville and Brownsville, Texas, the daughter of a U.S. Army general and of Mayor Andrew Broaddus, who integrated Louisville's parks in the 1950s. He is a descendant of a Frenchman who fought for the American side in the American Revolution, of the Easton family that co-founded Newport, Rhode Island, and of pioneer settlers in Brownville, Texas. He spent his early years in Cincinnati, Ohio, and at age 11 moved with his family to Oyster Bay, on Long Island, New York. He is an alumnus of St. Paul's School, Concord, New Hampshire (1962); Columbia University (BS 1967, M.A. 1968); and Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York (M.Div., 1988).

Professional career

After U.S. Army service as an Infantry OCS-trained, Arborne-qualified officer and Assistant Professor of History at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, Rousmaniere was an editor at Yachting and Natural History magazines before becoming a freelance writer in 1978. He worked out of his homes in Stamford, Conn., where he was a single parent caring for his sons before moving to Manhattan full-time in 2005.

Rousmaniere writes on a wide range of topics, including New York history, but may be best known for his books on storms at sea, boating safety, yachting history, and sailing instruction. His sailing manual, The Annapolis Book of Seamanship (Simon & Schuster), has gone through four editions since its initial publication in 1983. The considerably revised and updated fourth edition was published in January 2014. A video series of the same title is based on the book. Fastnet, Force 10 (W.W. Norton, 1980) is the account of the tragic 1979 Fastnet Race in which he sailed and 15 sailors died. Published in several languages and still in print in 2013, this was the first of his storm books. It was followed in 2002 by After the Storm: True Stories of Disaster and Recovery at Sea, about the causes and consequences of storms at sea as seen through biographies of sailors and seamen, stories of gales and wrecks, and Rousmaniere's own experiences. These concerns had led him to attend Union Theological Seminary, where he earned the Master of Divinity degree in 1988.

Rousmaniere has sailed more than 40,000 miles, including nine Newport Bermuda Races (two in the second-place boat), two Fastnet Races, three transatlantic races or cruises, other long races or cruises, and extensive day racing that included winning championships. His sailing experience, and his writing about the 1979 Fastnet storm, has led Rousmaniere to organize or participate in more than 100 safety at sea or seamanship events, including tests of equipment and studies of accidents, as well as safety-at-sea seminars under the aegis of the U.S. Sailing Association (US SAILING) or North U (the educational arm of North Sails). In 2011–15, he has spoken at or moderated safety seminars or related events: for the Transpac Race, Marion Bermuda Cruising Yacht Race, Isla Mujeres Race, U.S. Naval Academy Safety at Sea Seminar, Sailing Foundation in Seattle Safety at Sea Seminar, Chicago Strictly Sail Boat Show, Newport Bermuda Race, and other venues.

Rousmaniere co-organized the Crew Overboard Rescue Seminar at Sausalito, Cal., in 2005 and wrote its final report recommending rescue equipment and skills. He is the coordinator of the Hanson Rescue Medal Award presented by US SAILING.

In 2011 he served on Independent Review Panels in US Sailing Association inquiries into two fatal sailing accidents, one involving the death of a young sailor in a 420 dinghy at Annapolis, Md., and the other the deaths of two sailors in the Chicago Yacht Club's race to Mackinac Island, on Lake Michigan. Rousmaniere was the sole panelist in the first inquiry, and served on the four-member panel concerning the second. The reports were released at US Sailing's annual meeting on October 29, 2011 and are available on the US Sailing website. In 2012 he conducted a review of an incident in the 2012 Newport Bermuda Race, and wrote the report on tests of sailor retrieval, capsize recovery, and entrapment that were held in California and New York.

Rousmaniere has written a number of history books on a broad range of topics that include the America's Cup, ocean racing, yacht clubs and other clubs, New York history, businesses, yachts, and the history of yachting. He has also written about maritime photography (Sleek and A Picture History of the America's Cup). For many years he was Consulting Editor of The Dolphin Book Club, the maritime division of the Book of the Month Club. His book reviews appear in WoodenBoat, Cruising World, and other publications. He frequently lectures on maritime history and New York history at libraries, historical associations, yacht clubs, and other venues.

His non-boating books include histories of the law firm of Davis Polk & Wardwell, the Equitable Life Assurance Society, and Piping Rock country club. Rousmaniere's writings about New York City include a history of settlement houses (his Columbia M.A. thesis). His recent Green Oasis in Brooklyn is an illustrated history of a large, classic 160-year-old cemetery on the Brooklyn-Queens border. He has contributed 40 essays to the 2nd edition (2010) edition of The Encyclopedia of New York City. He is a trustee of The Evergreens Cemetery Preservation Foundation.

Books he has edited include All This and Sailing, Too, the autobiography of the yacht designer Olin J. Stephens II, (Mystic Seaport, 1999);, as well as Dennis Conner's autobiography No Excuse to Lose; The Enduring Great Lakes, on the ecology of the Great Lakes; Desirable and Undesirable Characteristics of Offshore Yachts; and Michael Levitt, Herding Tigers: The North Sails Story (North Sails, 2009).

In television and video, Rousmaniere has written the scripts for several sailing shows produced by Gary Jobson for ESPN and other outlets. In 2002–03 he was the writer for the Outdoor Life Network's coverage of the Louis Vuitton Cup runup to the America's Cup match in Auckland, New Zealand. In 2007 he was a commentator on the America's Cup match at Valencia, Spain, on a Silversea Cruise Line ship. He has been interviewed for several historical documentaries and was co-writer of a documentary on the Beatles, The Compleat Beatles.

Rousmaniere has been or is media chair for the 2010, 2012, 2014, and 2016 Newport Bermuda Races, writing and editing daily coverage of the race for its website, www.BermudaRace.com/, and the international press.

He has written monthly columns on seamanship for Sailing World magazine and the online publication SailNet, http://www.sailnet.com. He regularly contributes to Cruising World, Sail, Scuttlebutt, Sail World, and other web and print publications and has been interviewed on NPR and in print publications.

Encyclopedias to which he has contributed (also serving as an editor) include The Oxford Encyclopedia of Maritime History, The Encyclopedia of Yacht Designers, The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea, and The Encyclopedia of New York City.

His memberships include the Century Association, Cruising Club of America, New York Yacht Club, Storm Trysail Club, Authors Guild, and PEN. He serves on the Bermuda Race Organizing Committee and has served on numerous other committees, including the Selection Committees of the National Sailing Hall of Fame and the America's Cup Hall of Fame, and the Safety at Sea Committees of the Cruising Club of America and U.S. Sailing. As a member of the executive committee of the U.S. Olympic Yachting Committee from 1977–84, he chaired the 1980 Sailing Olympic Trials.

Besides teaching history at the U.S. Military Academy, Rousmaniere has taught writing at the College of New Rochelle, Union Theological Seminary, and the Davis Polk & Wardwell law firm, where he also wrote the firm's history and brochures.

Rousmaniere lives in Manhattan with his wife, Leah Ruth Robinson Rousmaniere, a development officer, mystery novelist, historian of tea, and the author of the history of the Seamen's Church Institute of New York and New Jersey.

Awards

In April 2009 the Cruising Club of America awarded John Rousmaniere its Richard S. Nye Trophy for meritorious service: "His books have been a source of information and inspiration to sailors around the world. He has also served the sport of sailing as a moderator at Safety at Sea Seminars, as a lecturer, and researcher on man overboard recovery techniques."

In October 2013 the United States Sailing Association (US Sailing) presented John Rousmaniere its Timothea Larr Award, which recognizes "a person whose vision and guidance have made an outstanding contribution to the advancement of sailor education in the United States." The citation highlighted his Annapolis Book of Seamanship and other books, the many safety and seamanship seminars and related events he has moderated or spoken at, and his reviews of boating accidents.

In January 2014 Mystic Seaport presented John Rousmaniere its W.P. Stephens Award, which recognizes "a significant and enduring contribution to the history, preservation, progress, understanding, or appreciation of American yachting and boating." Said Mystic Seaport President Steve White, "We are deeply honored to present this award to John Rousmaniere to recognize his life's work. There are very few people with even a passing interest in boating or yachting who have not picked up a book written by John. His intuitive sense and passion for the subject matter makes sailing come alive on the page because he has lived that life."

In November 2014 the New York Yacht Club presented John Rousmaniere its first Henry H. Anderson Award for Volunteerism.

Articles

John Rousmaniere's articles and other shorter writing include the following:

Public speaking

Rousmaniere presents a dozen or more talks on sailing history and safe boating annually.

Film and videos

Other