James Henry Hunt, nicknamed Sham, is the son of another National Sailing Hall of Fame inductee C. Raymond Hunt.  They are the first father and son to be inducted in the hall of fame.  Sham Hunt, like his father, was an active and successful racing sailor. His first sailing experiences took place on the waters around the Cohasset Yacht Club south of Boston and by the age of 13, the younger Hunt was skippering the family’s 52-foot ketch, Zara.

Sham was aboard the 12 Meter Easterner for the 1958 America’s Cup defense trials after graduating from Middlebury College and serving in the U.S Army.  In 1960, he was a crew member along with David Smith for George O’Day when they won a gold medal in the Olympic Games in Rome, Italy in the 5.5 Meter class. The American crew, sailing a boat designed by C. Raymond Hunt, finished with a 1-1-1-2-3-4-DNC (Did Not Compete) record against 19 boats in the class. Upon reflection, Hunt noted “It had a profound effect on my career and later racing.” Two years later, Hunt was back onboard Easterner for the 1962 America’s Cup trials. The father-and-son team won the 5.5 Meter World Championship in 1963. Sham, his parents and siblings won six races at Cowes Week aboard their Concordia 41, Harrier, designed by his father.

Sham joined George O’Day as the New England salesman for O’Day Yachts, which was primarily an importer of small yachts from Great Britain. Several years later, Hunt became the company’s CEO and built it into a powerhouse.  The company then acquired Bangor Punta’s portfolio.  Between 1959 and 1986, O’Day Yachts built more than 50,000 boats for O’Day, Cal, Ranger, Corsair and later Pringle catamarans. At one point, the company had 600 employees working in plants in Florida and California.  Boat manufacturing and sales were challenged in the 1970s and 1980s due to the 1973 oil embargo, followed by extremely high interest rates. Both economic factors had a serious effect on boat ownership and financing.  Sham Hunt was able to navigate the tricky economic waters during those tumultuous years and kept his company thriving.

In 1968, Sham Hunt won the Mallory Cup, the Men’s North American Sailing Championship on San Francisco Bay sailing with his brother Josh and Bourne Knowles.  Hunt won the U.S Tempest National Championship in a boat built by O’Day. The Tempest had been selected for the 1972 Olympic Games, so Hunt started building the boats. Hunt also raced another O’Day production boat, the Rhodes 19.  Adding to his resume, Hunt competed in seventeen races to Bermuda, fifteen starting in Newport, RI and two starting from Marion, Mass.  At the age of 24 he moved to Padanaram, Mass. and became a member of the New Bedford Yacht Club.

Sham and his wife, Nina, retired and went sailing.  During the next several years, the couple sailed well over 30,000 miles – including two Trans-Atlantic crossings to Turkey and back. Veteran sailor Steve Prime nominated Sham Hunt for the National Sailing Hall of Fame and wrote, “From Sham, I learned everything, from component selection to sales and marketing, to fair pricing, to dealer communications, and the importance of productive business relationships.  Knowing, being guided by, and racing against him was an opportunity to obtain a master’s degree in a lifetime of maritime effectiveness.”

~ Gary Jobson