Ben Lexcen was the Australian boat designer whose winged keel sailboat took the America's Cup away from the US back in 1983. An article in this month'sWooden Boat Magazine tells a bit of Ben's tale and a brief but interesting history of the boats he designed and the craftsmen who struggled to put his ideas to work:

Ben Lexcen often said he was glad he had never been formally trained, because it gave him the freedom to be creative. He was undisciplined, impulsive, never afraid to push the boundaries. He challenged the traditionally trained boat builders of his day to adapt to his vision. Master craftsmen that they were, they met that challenge and made his great ideas work.