Ben Lexcen
yacht designer (1936 - 1988)
Benjamin Lexcen (born Robert Clyde Miller) was born on March 19, 1936, in Boggabri, New South Wales, Australia. He was an Australian sailor and naval designer.
Miller had a difficult childhood: his parents abandoned him early, and for a time he lived in a boys' school called Boys' Town, before moving in with his grandfather.
He left school at 14 to become an apprentice locomotive mechanic, but soon decided to design sailboats, training himself in advanced mathematics and hydrodynamics.
Ben Lexcen was a self-taught naval designer, known for his great technical innovation and for having shaped sailing history with his groundbreaking work, particularly in the America's Cup, remaining a legendary figure in the world of design and sailing. He designed his first sailboat at just 16 years old.
Ben Lexcen competed in numerous regattas and represented Australia in the Soling class at the 1968 and 1972 Olympic Games. During his competitive career, he won numerous sailing titles, establishing himself as a highly skilled sailor.
He is known for his innovations in hull design, particularly those for 18-foot skiffs such as "Taipan" and "Venom" (winner of the 1961 World Championship). He founded a company specializing in shipbuilding, sailmaking, and nautical accessories. In 1967, he designed the famous International Contender dinghy.
Lexcen's professional career continued with innovative designs for successful ocean racing boats such as "Mercedes III," "Apollo," "Ginkgo," and "Ballyhoo," the latter winner of the Sydney to Hobart race.
His masterpiece, however, remains "Australia II," winner of the 1983 America's Cup, famous for its innovative "winged keel," which ended American dominance in the historic competition after 132 years. In the 1970s and 1980s, he designed other America's Cup challenger yachts, including "Southern Cross" (1974), "Australia" (1977), and later "Australia III" and "Australia IV" to defend the Cup in 1987.
In 1977, he changed his name to Benjamin Lexcen to resolve a problem related to confusion with the boatbuilding company he had founded with a partner, Miller & Whitworth. After a split with his partner, Miller could no longer use his professional name because the company retained it. To avoid further confusion with the name "Miller," he decided to legally change it to Benjamin Lexcen.
Lexcen died suddenly in 1988 at the age of 52 due to a heart attack.
