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Westlawn graduate claims unique honor

Ocean Navigator

From Ocean Navigator #143
January / February 2005
In 1930, Thomas C. Windsor enrolled at the Westlawn School of Yacht Design, as it was then called. After nearly nine years of correspondence education, Windsor graduated with a diploma in advanced yacht design and began work as a draftsman designer for a shipyard in his native New Zealand.

Just in time for the Westlawn Institute of Marine Technology, as it is now called, 75th anniversary celebration, Windsor discovered the school’s website and reconnected with his alma mater, establishing himself as the most senior of the school’s many alumni.

“It is obvious that Westlawn has a legacy beyond what we imagined,” said Dave Gerr, Westlawn’s director. “Westlawn.org makes it easier than ever for us to keep up with our many alumni – just in time for our 75th anniversary!”

Windsor designed minesweepers and Fairmile patrol boats for the New Zealand Navy and developed a class of 114-foot supply boats for the U.S. military after Pearl Harbor. After the war he continued developing small boats for the New Zealand government until eventually moving into a career in recreational sail and powerboats.

Now affiliated with the American Boat & Yacht Council, Westlawn is the only accredited correspondence school for small-craft design.

By Ocean Navigator