CORNELIUS AYER WOOD

To Cornelius Ayer Wood, a retired textile executive of Andover, Mass. who has been sailing 60 of his 63 years, yachting has always been the sport. As a token of his great enthusiasm, Wood has made one of yachting's most generous gifts: two ocean-going racers to his alma mater, St. George's School in Newport, R.I. Wood presented the first of these boats, the 46-foot sloop Sechuest, to the school in 1953 after sailing her only a season. Then last January, Wood gave St. George's the 1954-55 southern circuit champion, Hoot Mon, a 40-foot yawl, after owning her only a year. Wood, whose racing career dates back to five victories during Larchmont Race Week when he was 16, retired from active racing in 1952. "That means I'm not racing seriously, and you have to be serious to race," he explains. "That doesn't mean though, that if there were a little race being set up, I wouldn't get in it. I would."

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WOOD DISPLAYS HULL MODEL HE DESIGNED FOR BOAT HE HOPES TO BUILD

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YAWL, "HOOT MON," WAS PRESENTED TO SCHOOL LAST JANUARY

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WOOD'S FIRST PRESENT TO ST. GEORGE'S WAS THE SLOOP, "SECHUEST"