Bob Garland was born Jan. 22, 1908, in Douglaston, N.Y., and was named by his grandfather, who had served in the Confederate Army of Virginia. Bob died Dec. 22, 2009, just a month prior to his 102nd birthday.
At Princeton, Bob was a prominent middle-distance runner. His life’s work was selling and designing yachts. He joined Sparkman & Stephens Inc. in 1930, following his marriage to Catherine Huston, and served initially in the brokerage department, later as a board member, and subsequently as president until he retired in 1994. His 64 years of service at Sparkman & Stephens were interrupted only by his World War II service with the Navy, where he acquired the rank of commander and worked on the design and construction of fast torpedo boats.
Bob sailed on all the famous Sparkman & Stephens boats out of Oyster Bay, N.Y., including Baruna, Windigo, Gesture, Northern Light, Argyll, and Tempest. He was a champion Shields-class sailor — virtually unbeatable for three decades — and was known locally as “the Silver Fox.”
He was a member of the New York Yacht Club, Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club, Manhasset Bay Yacht Club, the Cruising Club of America, and the Storm Trysail Club.
Bob celebrated his 100th birthday with a packed house of work colleagues, fellow sailors, and friends almost precisely two years ago at Seawanhaka Corinthian. He will be mourned by all who knew him.