Steph Roble

Steph grew up in Wisconsin sailing scows and dinghies on Lake Beulah starting at age 5. She fell in love with sailing and competing while in the Optimist class. After a successful junior sailing career, Steph attended Old Dominion University where she received two All-American sailing honors, was the team captain and earned a degree in Finance. She was one of the few women competing as a skipper in the open division.

After graduating in 2011, Steph focused on her career as a professional sailor in the Melges 20, J70 and Etchells classes. She has played several roles as a teammate, including bow, tactician, strategist, and helm in multiple classes and disciplines of sailing. Steph has achieved many accolades including 1 World Championship, 5 National Championships and multiple podium finishes at World, National and Continental Championships.

The highlight of her career so far was earning the recognition as the 2014 US Sailing Rolex Yachtswoman of Year, the highest award in American sailing. Steph was a finalist for this award for the following 3 years. 

Roble and Shea have been on the 49erFX campaign trail together since fall of 2016. Their 49erFX highlights include finishing 5th at the 2018 European Championships, 3rd at the World Cup Series Genoa and 3rd at the 2020 49erFX World Championship. Steph and Maggie won the US Olympic Trials in February 2020, and finished 11th in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. 

Steph’s greatest accomplishment as a professional sailor has been winning the 2014 US Sailing Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year.