Skip Allen
George Lyle “Skip” Allen, the founder of several prominent boating magazines, died March 23, 2014. He was 84.
Allen’s love of boating was evident early in his life. He joined the Merchant Marines during World War II and went on to promote America’s Cup campaigns and work for Bertram Yachts. In publishing, he worked at Motorboating and Sailing magazine and was a founder of Popular Boating magazine (now known as Boating). He went on to launch the first U.S. Spanish-language recreational boating magazine, Mar Abierto, along with Southern Boating magazine and Marine Business Journal.
He earned the first Monk Farnham Award, the 1987 NMMA Directors Award and the 2004 Charles F. Chapman Memorial Award, among others.
Allen was a member of yacht clubs in New York, the Bahamas and Florida, and was a member of the Cruising Club of America.
A memorial service will be held April 8 at First Presbyterian Church in Fort Lauderdale. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Bahamas Air-Sea Rescue Association (BASRA), which Allen helped to establish. Its website is www.basra.org.
