Pair from Port in Hall of Fame

Two Port Washington residents were among the 19 people recognized for their “outstanding achievements in sailing and the commercial marine industry” with their inductions into the newly created Wisconsin Sailing and Maritime Hall of Fame at the Wisconsin Maritime Museum in Manitowoc last weekend.

Bill Schanen III, publisher of SAILING Magazine and a longtime sailor, was honored for a lifetime spent “celebrating and advancing sailing through journalism, publishing and his passion for life on the water,” according to a plaque commemorating his contributions to the sport and industry unveiled during a Friday, Sept. 18, ceremony at the museum.

Bill Prince, a yacht designer who owns Bill Prince Yacht Design, was recognized for his “international reputation as one of America’s most accomplished yacht designers.”

Both SAILING Magazine and Bill Prince Yacht Design are headquartered in Port Washington.

The Wisconsin Sailing and Maritime Hall of Fame was created this year in partnership with the Wisconsin Maritime Museum to highlight the state’s contributions to sailing and the maritime industry. 

Those contributions are significant, Schanen noted in his acceptance speech: “With this new institution, the Wisconsin Maritime Museum is not just honoring individuals, it is making an enduring public statement that says, ‘Look at the amazing contributions Wisconsin sailors, boatbuilders, marine innovators and designers have made to the world of sailing and the maritime industry.’” 

As publisher of SAILING Magazine, which was founded by his father Bill Schanen Jr. in 1966 five years before his death, Schanen transformed the modest regional publication into one of the most respected voices in the sailing world. SAILING Magazine became the longest continuously published sailing magazine in America under his leadership. 

In his acceptance speech, Schanen, who is also publisher of Ozaukee Press, the newspaper founded by his father in 1940, recounted that as SAILING Magazine grew and covered events throughout the country and world, he told the people at these famous yachting events the story of how the magazine was founded by a weekly newspaper owner and printed in his local print shop on the shores not of a coastal sailing mecca but Lake Michigan — a story some of them thought was too quaint to be true.

“Well, it’s true,” he said. “That small-town newspaperman was my father, who in 1966 combined his love of sailing with his photojournalism skills to create SAILING Magazine. He died only a few years later and never saw it become the big, glossy, full-color magazine mirroring the joys, beauty, challenges and drama of sailing that I have been proud to lead for 55 years. That’s part of my Wisconsin story.”

The Wisconsin Sailing and Maritime Hall of Fame Committee noted that Schanen “championed the idea that sailing was not reserved for elite racers or the wealthy, but was a lifelong pursuit that families and individuals could enjoy together,” a concept reflected in his accomplished sailing career. Today, Schanen and his wife Jean race their sailboat with their son and daughter and their spouses and their grandsons.

Prince’s career began with early recognition when, as a mechanical engineering student, he won the National Marine Manufacturers Association Yacht Design Competition. 

Prince refined his talents under some of the most respected yacht designers and builders and led the design and engineering efforts of Island Packet Yachts before founding his own yacht design firm in 2008.

The Hall of Fame Committee praised Prince for his “extraordinary versatility,” noting that his designs range from elegant wooden commuter yachts to sailing yachts and superyachts designed to cross oceans — boats that “exemplify his commitment to preserving the grace of classic yacht design while incorporating modern engineering and performance.”

Other members of the inaugural class of Wisconsin Sailing and Maritime Hall of Fame inductees are “sailing legends” Peter Barrett, William Bentsen, Dean Cady, William Mattison, Harry “Buddy” Melges Jr., Jane Pegel and John Strassman.

Inducted as “marine industry pioneers” were Ellsworth Peterson of Peterson Builders; Arthur “Art” Mitchell and Peter and Olaf Harken of Harken Inc.; Martin “Mike” Kelsey, Edward “Shuff” Willman and William Parsons of Palmer Johnson Yachts; William R. Kahlenberg of Kahlenberg Marine; Don O’Keeffe of Burger Boat Co.; and Carl Kiekhaefer of Mercury Marine.