Thursday, April 13, 2017

Honoring J/24 Measurer Reid Stevia

Reid Stevia- J/24 class measurer(Rochester, NY)- It is with great sorrow the J/24 Class and J/Boats shares the news of Reid Stava’s passing on Saturday, March 25.

He passed away at a cancer center in Rochester, New York. Reid loved J/24s and was a well-known supporter of the Class with his willingness to assist in providing technical information, including measuring and serving as a race officer at many District 7 regattas. He most recently served as the USJCA Technical Chair. Reid was highly respected by his peers in the Class and will be greatly missed.

Reid was a native of Cleveland, OH.  He spent his formative years racing Lightning's on Lake Erie with his father, Robert, who was also Commodore of Mentor Yacht Club. He went on to earn his bachelor's degree in Math/Physics from the University of Rochester, working as an engineer at Graflex, Singer and later Xerox from where he retired in 2006.

An avid sailboat racer and Principal Club Race Officer of the Rochester Yacht Club, he also served for 28 years as Chairman of the J/24 Class Association where he developed a standardized method of training boat measurers for J/24 class one design sailboat, traveling internationally as their chief measurer. A man of varied interests, Reid was an expert ship model builder, enjoyed building train sets, photography, travel, woodworking and, of course, his custom Harley Davidson motorcycle!!   Reid’s obituary is here. Add to Flipboard Magazine.