John Rousmaniere (b. March 10, 1944) is an American writer, sailor and author of 28 books on sailing, yachting history, New York history, business history, and clubs.
John Pierce Rousmaniere (pronounced "Room-an-ear") was born in Louisville, Kentucky on March 10, 1944. He 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. He is a descendant of a French soldier who fought for the American side in the American Revolution and the Easton family that co-founded Newport, Rhode Island. 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 (B.S. 1967, M.A. 1968); and Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York (M.Div., 1988).
After U.S. Army service, during which he taught 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 home in Stamford, Conn., where he was a single parent caring for his sons, William and Dana, before moving to Manhattan in 2005.
Rousmaniere writes on a wide range of topics but is best known for his books on storms at sea, yachting history, and sailing instruction, particularly The Annapolis Book of Seamanship, which has gone through three editions since its initial publication in 1983. A video series of the same title is based on the book. Fastnet, Force 10 (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 2010, 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, led Rousmaniere to speak at or moderate more than 100 safety at sea, seamanship, or Suddenly Alone seminars under the aegis of the U.S. Sailing Association and North U (the educational arm of North Sails). 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 U.S. Sailing.
Besides safety at sea, Rousmaniere frequently lectures on maritime history and New York history.
Rousmaniere has written a number of history books. Topics include the America's Cup (three books), the Newport Bermuda Race, the New York Yacht Club (founded in 1844), the Fishers Island Yacht Club, the Shelter Island Yacht Club (forthcoming), the classic yacht Bolero, and a history of international yachting titled The Golden Pastime. 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 Sea History, Cruising World, and other publications.
His non-boating books include histories of Davis Polk & Wardwell (a law firm), the Equitable Life Assurance Society, and the Piping Rock country club (forthcoming). 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 has edited several books, including All This and Sailing, Too, the autobiography of the yacht designer Olin J. Stephens II, (Mystic Seaport, 1999); 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 run-up 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 historical documentaries and was co-writer of a documentary on the Beatles, The Compleat Beatles.
Rousmaniere was media chair for the 47th Newport Bermuda Race in 2010, writing and editing daily coverage of the race for its website, http://bermudarace.com/, and the international press. He has written columns on seamanship for Sailing World magazine and the online publication SailNet, http://www.sailnet.com. He regularly contributes to Cruising World,Scuttlebutt,Sail World, and other web and print publications (SEE "ARTICLES, ETC." BELOW) 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, the Cruising Club of America, the New York Yacht Club, and the Authors Guild. He serves on the Bermuda Race Organizing Committee, the Selection Committee of the America's Cup Hall of Fame (which he has chaired), and the Safety at Sea Committee of U.S. Sailing. A member of the U.S. Olympic Yachting Committee from 1977—84, he chaired the 1980 Sailing Olympic Trials. In 2010 the Cruising Club of America awarded Rousmaniere its Richard S. Nye Trophy for meritorious service. Rousmaniere has taught writing at the College of New Rochelle and Union Theological Seminary. In the 1990s he worked in the business development office of the law firm Davis Polk & Wardwell.
Rousmaniere resides 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.
John Rousmaniere may be contacted through Facebook or Linkedin.
1976 — A Glossary of Modern Sailing Terms. New York: Dodd, Mead. ISBN 039607006X.
1978 — Conner, Dennis, and John Rousmaniere. No Excuse to Lose: Winning Yacht Races with Dennis Conner. New York: Norton. ISBN 0393032124.
1979 — The Enduring Great Lakes. John Rousmaniere, ed. New York: Norton. ISBN 0393011941.
1980s
1980 — Fastnet, Force 10. New York: Norton. ISBN 0393032566.
1981 — The Luxury Yachts. Alexandria, Va.: Time-Life Books. ISBN 0809427427.
1983 — America's Cup Book, 1851—1983. New York: Norton. ISBN 0393032930.
1983 — The Annapolis Book of Seamanship. New York: Simon and Schuster. ISBN 0671246879.
1985 — The Sailing Lifestyle: A Guide to Sailing and Cruising for Pleasure. New York: Simon and Schuster. ISBN 0671508873.
1986 — The Golden Pastime: A New History of Yachting. New York: Norton. ISBN 0393033171.
1986 — The Low Black Schooner: Yacht America, 1851—1945: A New History of the Yacht America Based on the Exhibit Held at Mystic Seaport Museum, November 1986 through March 1987, Cosponsored by the New York Yacht Club. Mystic, Conn.: Mystic Seaport. ISBN 0939510049.
1987 — Desirable and Undesirable Characteristics of Offshore Yachts. John Rousmaniere, ed. New York: Norton. ISBN 0393033112.
1987 — The Norton Sailor's Log. New York: Norton. ISBN 0393304299.
1989 — The Annapolis Book of Seamanship. 2nd rev. ed. New York: Simon and Schuster. ISBN 0671674471.
1989 — A Glossary of Modern Sailing Terms. Rev. and updated. New York: Putnam. ISBN 0399150056.
1989 — A Picture History of the America's Cup. New York: Norton. ISBN 9780393028195.
1990s
1991 — A Bridge to Dialogue: A Story of Jewish-Christian Relations. New York: Paulist Press. ISBN 0809132842.
1995 — The Life and Times of the Equitable. New York: Equitable Companies, Inc. ISBN 0964876124.
1997 — The Norton Boater's Log: An Innovative Log, Boat's Data Manual, & Guest Register: With Quick-reference Guides to Safety, Regulations, & Flag Etiquette. Rev. 2nd ed. New York: Norton. ISBN 0393316602.
1998 — The Illustrated Dictionary of Boating Terms: 2,000 Essential Terms for Sailors & Powerboaters. New York: Norton. ISBN 0393046494.
1999 — The Annapolis Book of Seamanship. 3rd rev. ed. New York: Simon and Schuster. ISBN 0684854201.
2000s
2000 — Fastnet, Force 10 (with new introduction). New York: Norton. ISBN 0393308650.
2001 — The Clubhouse at Sea. New York: New York Yacht Club.
2002 — After the Storm: True Stories of Disaster and Recovery at Sea. Camden, Maine: International Marine/McGraw-Hill. ISBN 0071377956.
2003 — Sleek: Classic Images from the Rosenfeld Collection. Mystic, Conn.: Mystic Seaport. ISBN 0939510901.
2004 — Sailing at Fishers: A History of the Fishers Island Yacht Club. Mystic, Conn.: Mystic Seaport. ISBN 9780939510931.
2006 — A Berth to Bermuda: 100 Years of the World's Classic Ocean Race. Mystic, Conn.: Mystic Seaport and the Cruising Club of America. ISBN 9780939511174.
2006 — In a Class by Herself: The Yawl Bolero and the Passion for Craftsmanship. Mystic, Conn.: Mystic Seaport. ISBN 9780939511136.
2008 — Green Oasis in Brooklyn: The Evergreens Cemetery, 1849—2008. Kittery Point, Maine: Seapoint Books. ISBN 978-0-9786899-4-0.
2008 — The New York Yacht Club: A History, 1844—2008. Kittery Point, Maine: Seapoint Books. ISBN 978-0-9706-442-2-0 and ISBN 978-0-9706-442-3-7 (limited edition).
Articles, etc.
John Rousmaniere's articles, book introductions, and other shorter writing include the following:
1974 - Introduction, Alfred F. Loomis, Yachts Under Sail, revised edition (John de Graff, 1974).
1979 - "Two Days of Misery on the Toscana; Sailing Through Storm," New York Times, Aug. 16, 1979.
2006 - "The Rediscovery of the Sea," Sea History, Summer 2006.
2006 - "The Nevins Yacht Yard," Maritime Life and Traditions, #31.
2006 - "Carleton Mitchell," Sail, Mar. 2006.
2006 - "Olin J. Stephens," "Bruce Kirby," "Kenneth S.M. Davidson," "George Steers," and five other essays, The Encyclopedia of Yacht Designers (Norton, 2006).
2006 - "The Birth of the Bermuda Race," WoodenBoat #190.
2007 - "Biblical Archetypes," "Yachting," "Cruising Literature," "America's Cup," and five other essays, The Oxford Encyclopedia of Maritime History (Oxford University Press, 2007).
2007 - Introduction, Rob Mundle, Fatal Storm (International Marine, 2007).
2007 - "Rousmaniere on Killer Storms at Sea," Ocean Navigator Online, Mar. 27, 2007. http://www.oceannavigator.com/content/rousmaniere-killer-storms-sea-0
2007 - "100 Years of Thrashing to the Onion Patch." Newport Bermuda Race website. http://www.bermudarace.com/Portals/0/Uploads/Documents/Public/history_rousmaniere.pdf
2008 - "Formula for Disaster," "Heavy-Air Reminders," Safety at Sea: Official Program of the U.S. Sailing Safety at Sea Seminars.
2008 - "Olin J. Stephens." New York Yacht Club website. http://www.nyyc.org/home/article_193.
2009 - "Australia II: John Rousmaniere Reflects on that Winged Keel." Sail World. http://www.sail-world.com/USA/Australia-II---John-Rousmaniere-reflects-on-that-winged-keel/62280
2009 - "Fastnet 30 Years Later," SailNet. http://www.sailnet.com/forums/general-discussion-sailing-related/56080-fastnet-disaster-30-years-later.html
2010 - Sails and Nationality in America's Cup History (Declaration, Supreme Court of the State of New York). http://multimedia.alinghi.com/multimedia/docs/2010/01/100121_Declaration_John_Rousmaniere.pdf
2010 - Official Race Program, 2010 Newport Bermuda Race (editor and writer). http://bermudarace.com/Portals/0/Uploads/Documents/Public/race_program_2010.pdf
2010 - Introduction, Benjamin Mendlowitz and Maynard Bray, The Book of Wooden Boats, vol. III (Norton, 2010).
2010 - "Geographical Features," "Cemeteries," "Sailing," "Marine Pollution," "Dylan Thomas," and 35 other essays. The Encyclopedia of New York City, 2nd edition (Yale University Press, 2010).
Film and videos
1982 — The Compleat Beatles. ASIN 6301966376.
1987 — The Annapolis Book of Seamanship: Volume One: Cruising Under Sail. ISBN 0924819006.
1987 — The Annapolis Book of Seamanship: Volume Two: Heavy Weather Sailing. ISBN 0924819014.
1987 — The Annapolis Book of Seamanship: Volume Three: Safety at Sea. ISBN 0924819022.
1988 — The Annapolis Book of Seamanship: Volume Four: Sailboat Navigation. ISBN 0924819030.
1988 — The Annapolis Book of Seamanship: Volume Five: Daysailers-Sailing and Racing. ISBN 0924819049.
1988 — Powerboat Navigation. ISBN 0924819502.
Other
2005 — Emergencies on Board (Captain's Quick Guides). Camden, Maine: International Marine/Ragged Mountain Press. ISBN 9780071452205.
2005 — Heavy Weather Sailing (Captain's Quick Guides). Camden, Maine: International Marine/Ragged Mountain Press. ISBN 9780071452212.
