Being with Benny

Being with Benny is the story of how Bob Miller, from a shattered childhood in rural Australia and only four years of schooling, became one of the world's leading yacht designers. His creation, Australia II, won the America's Cup in 1983, ending the New York Yacht Club's 132-year hold on the world's oldest sporting trophy. Miller, who changed his name to Ben Lexcen before designing Australia II, also designed three-handed lightweight 18-footers that changed the whole course of skiff design, the Contender dinghy, and successful ocean racers such as Mercedes III, Apollo, Ginkgo, Ballyhoo and Sydney-Hobart race winner Ceil III. He was also a champion sailor and represented Australia in the Olympic Games. Being with Benny not only tells his story, some of it in his own words, but how he influenced the lives of the people around him, many of whom have helped re-sail the adventurous course of his life in this book.