Harry Robert Sindle (14 October 1929 – 24 April 2020) was an American sailor, sailboat designer, and sailboat builder. He was a six-time national champion in the Flying Dutchman class, won a gold medal at the 1959 Pan American Games, competed in the 1960 Summer Olympics, and designed many types of sailboats.[1][2]

Harry Sindle
Personal information
Full nameHarry Robert Sindle
NationalityAmerican
Born14 October 1929 (1929-10-14)
Little Falls, New Jersey, U.S.
Died24 April 2020 (2020-04-25) (aged 90)
Gloucester, Virginia, U.S.
Height173 cm (5 ft 8 in)
Weight74 kg (163 lb)
Sailing career
ClassFlying Dutchman
ClubLavallette Yacht Club
Medal record
Sailing
Representing  United States
Pan American Games
Gold medal – first place 1959 Chicago Flying Dutchman

Life and career

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Sindle was born in 1929.[1] He was raised in New Jersey.[2] He graduated from Rutgers University, where he studied mechanical engineering.[2]

Sindle competed in international boat races with sailboats including Lightnings, Thistles, Comets, and Flying Dutchmen (all one-design dinghies).[2] He was a six-time national champion in the Flying Dutchman class.[2] Sindle competed for the United states at the 1959 Pan American Games, where he won a gold medal in the Flying Dutchman class.[2] He went on to compete at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, Italy.[2] Sindle sailed in the two-person Flying Dutchman event alongside Robert Wood and placed nineteenth.[1]

In 1963, Sindle moved to Gloucester, Virginia, to work with Roger Moorman. Moorman designed and built the Mobjack sailboat design.[2] Sindle designed several sailboat classes for the Mobjack Manufacturing Company.[2] Mobjack Manufacturing Company was purchased by Browning Arms Company, where it was renamed Newport Boats and later Gloucester Yachts.[2] Sindle designed sailboat classes such as the Blue Crab 11, Skipjack 15, Newport 17, and Holiday 20. He later built the Buccaneer 18.[2]

Sindle died in April 2020 at the age of 91 and had Parkinson's disease.[2]

Sailboats designed

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References

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  1. ^ a b c "Harry Robert Sindle". International Olympic Committee. Retrieved March 13, 2022.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Williams, John Page (May 12, 2020). "Longtime Gloucester, VA. Sailboat Builder Passes Away". Chesapeake Bay Magazine. Retrieved March 13, 2022.
  3. ^ "Nomad 20". SailboatData.com. Retrieved March 13, 2022.
  4. ^ "Skipjack 15". SailboatData.com. Retrieved March 13, 2022.
  5. ^ "Surprise 15". SailboatData.com. Retrieved March 13, 2022.
  6. ^ "Blue Crab 11". SailboatData.com. Retrieved March 13, 2022.
  7. ^ "Scout 11". SailboatData.com. Retrieved March 13, 2022.
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