Tips Sail

M William Langan

It is with great reverence and sorrow that we report the passing of M. William (Bill) Langan on December 31, 2010, at age 55 after a long illness.

Bill was Chief Designer at S&S for 20 years following Olin Stephens' retirement in 1980. He was handpicked by Olin to succeed him. His responsibilities included all aspects of design but most notably the aesthetic side of things as he worked alongside Chief Engineer Alan Gilbert who tended to the structural end of things. This gave Bill the freedom to focus on any aspect of a design that might make it sail better or look prettier.

He was a great pleasure to work with. I don’t think I can recall him ever being anything but kind and level headed. I suppose his pleasant demeanor was one of his greatest fortes as a large facet of his work was to liaise with the client and this he did with great aplomb. He thoroughly believed that the entire yacht design and construction process should provide a great deal of enjoyment to our clients and I believe he worked hard to ensure this was the result.

After 20 years of hard work at S&S Bill finally wished to remove himself from city life and create his own identity as a designer. I believe this he did and was well proved with yachts such as the 130’ Victoria of Strathearn and most notably the 305’ Eos. The 112’ schooner Spirit of Bermuda was a significant design with a noteworthy purpose as a sail training vessel.

Our sincere condolences go out to Bill's family.