Alexander Dreyfoos, whose passion for yachting was matched by his love of photography, died in West Palm Beach on May 28. He was 91 years old. Dreyfoos earned renown for commissioning the first SWATH vessel as a superyacht. Additionally, he made generous philanthropic donations to the arts, sciences, and ocean conservation.
Born in New York City in March 1932, Dreyfoos grew up in New Rochelle, New York. His parents’ love of the arts—his mother was a professional cellist, while his father was a photographer and inventor—rubbed off on him. His father (also Alexander Dreyfoos) built a workshop at their home, where young Dreyfoos made model airplanes and had his own darkroom. Upon graduation from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1954, he served in the Air Force in Germany. There, he honed his photographic skills. In 1963, back on U.S. soil (and after earning an MBA from Harvard Business School), he co-founded a company that developed technology making it easier to develop high-quality prints of photos. This trailblazing technology earned him and his business partner an Academy Award in 1971. It also became part of the permanent collection of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.
This wasn’t the only extraordinary accomplishment, however. Dreyfoos went on to hold 10 American patents and numerous foreign patents. All were in electronics and photography, too.
His passion for yachting and for the ocean, meanwhile, came much earlier in life. From the time he was just a few months old until he went to Germany, he spent summers in the Saranac Lake area of New York. “I had a little 14-foot runabout with a 3.5-hp engine that I used around our camp, fishing and running errands,” Dreyfoos told us for our 2016 Leadership Series profile. “As I got older, I explored the myriad interconnected islands rivers and lakes.”
As fun as that was, though, he discovered sportfishing after moving with his family to Palm Beach County in 1969. Eight years later, he bought “my first major boat,” he told us in 2016. Specifically, he acquired a 51-foot Rybovich sportfisherman from 1963. Upon entering sailfish tournaments, he found success, further pursuing blue marlin and bluefin tuna in the Bahamas and the Caribbean. “Fishing proved to be very relaxing and was a nice break from the hectic pace of my professional life,” he said.
Of course, larger boats and yachts followed. He had acquired his second Burger superyacht when he married Renate, his wife until his death. There was just one problem: “Renate would frequently be seasick,” he said. Despite buying an even larger superyacht, this time a Feadship, he didn’t solve the issue. So, after speaking with a variety of design experts, he learned about SWATHs, Small Waterplane Area Twin Hull vessels. They’re akin to catamarans, having two hulls, although the hull shapes are different. Specifically, they’re like submarines, attached via narrow struts to the rest of the vessel. Since the hulls are the only parts under water, they minimize wave motion on the rest of the vessel.
And the rest, as they say, became history. He took delivery of a SWATH, as the superyacht Silver Cloud, in 2008. Here’s how he came to the conclusion that it was the best way to go, from our interview in 2016:
After much research, I found three companies that had built commercial SWATH ships and visited all three. Abeking & Rasmussen, who we ultimately contracted with, arranged for an experimental ride onboard a pilot ship in Germany in the very rough waters of the North Sea. Renate was able to sit through the ride, reading and knitting without a hint of seasickness. I was convinced. I thought it was so much more important to have a vessel that we could travel the world on without anyone getting seasick, than having that conventional-looking yacht. It has truly proven itself to be an expedition yacht.
The 134-foot (41-meter) Silver Cloud circumnavigated the world with Dreyfoos and his family, putting nearly 100,000 miles under her hull in less than a decade. His photos from those voyages plus decades prior are in his book A Photographic Odyssey: Around the World With Alexander W. Dreyfoos. He continued cruising for years, finally selling the yacht in 2020.
The International SeaKeepers Society honored Dreyfoos in 2017 for his decades of devotion to ocean conservation. He was also the non-profit’s first member. Fabien Cousteau, renowned for his work as an ocean conservationist and filmmaker, presented the award. Cousteau stressed Dreyfoos’ accomplishments, saying, “Having met some trailblazers and innovators out there, Mr. Dreyfoos is at the top of the list.”
Outside of yachting, Dreyfoos led a fundraising campaign to create the Kravis Center in West Palm Beach in the late 1970s. The performing-arts center revitalized the downtown area. Furthermore, he later donated $1 million to Massachusetts General Hospital for Alzheimer’s research. Yet another $1 million went to the Scripps Florida Research Institute. MIT received $15 million for a computer sciences complex.
Alexander Dreyfoos is survived by his wife Renate, a daughter and son, four grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren.
Leave a Reply