Pete Melvin (born January 11, 1962) is an American sailor.[1] He competed in the Tornado event at the 1988 Summer Olympics.[2] Melvin is also a noted yacht designer with his partner Gino Morrelli as Morrelli and Melvin.[3][4]

Pete Melvin
Personal information
Full nameJames Henry Melvin
NationalityAmerican
Born (1962-01-11) January 11, 1962 (age 62)
Jackson, Mississippi, United States
Sport
SportSailing

Biography edit

Melvin was born in Jackson, Mississippi in 1962.[2] He spent his early years living in Florida.[5] He gained a degree in aerospace engineering from Boston University after graduating in 1985.[2] For five years, Melvin worked in aircraft design at McDonnell Douglas.[3]

Melvin competed in trials for the 1976 Summer Olympics, 1980 Summer Olympics, and the 1984 Summer Olympics.[5] At the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, Melvin competed in the Tornado event, finishing in 14th place.[6] Between 1997 and 2005, Melvin won three World Championships,[3] and he has also won 25 national titles.[7]

In 1994, along with Gino Morrelli,[8] Melvin designed the Hobie Wave catamaran.[9][10] In 2010, they were both part of the team that built the USA-17 racing trimaran which went on to win the 2010 America's Cup.[2] Melvin was also involved in writing the AC72 and AC62 rules used in the America's Cup.[2][11]

Melvin has also competed in races with his son, James.[12][13]

References edit

  1. ^ "Spiralling benefits". Ocean Magazine. Retrieved March 19, 2022.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Pete Melvin". Olympedia. Retrieved June 21, 2020.
  3. ^ a b c "Peter Melvin". National Sailing Hall of Fame & Museum. Retrieved March 19, 2022.
  4. ^ "Pete Melvin of design powerhouse Morrelli & Melvin may be sitting out this America's Cup cycle, but he is still keeping an eye on developments while working on several go-fast designs". Sails Magazine. Retrieved March 19, 2022.
  5. ^ a b "Pete Melvin: To the Olympics and Beyond". Sailing Scuttle Butt. Retrieved March 19, 2022.
  6. ^ "Multihull (Tornado), Open". Olympedia. Retrieved March 19, 2022.
  7. ^ "Morrelli & Melvin". Retrieved March 19, 2022.
  8. ^ "Pete Melvin, designer of Rapidos, interviewed in Sails Magazine". Rapido. Retrieved March 19, 2022.
  9. ^ McArthur, Bruce (2019). "Hobie Wave sailboat specifications and details". sailboatdata.com. Archived from the original on August 3, 2019. Retrieved August 3, 2019.
  10. ^ McArthur, Bruce (2019). "Morrelli & Melvin". sailboatdata.com. Archived from the original on August 3, 2019. Retrieved July 30, 2019.
  11. ^ "Pete Melvin: Writing the new America's Cup Rule". Sailing Scuttle Butt. Retrieved March 19, 2022.
  12. ^ "Pete Melvin: The Guru and his 15 year old apprentice". Cat Sailing News. Retrieved March 19, 2022.
  13. ^ "Pete and James Melvin win Alter Cup qualifier". Sail World. Retrieved March 19, 2022.

External links edit