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PRESENT TRUSTEES
Grant Beck MNZM (Appointed 2003)
Director Adhesive Technologies Limited; keen sailor, navigator in two Admirals Cups and four Kenwood Cups (twice winner); past national, USA, North American and World Masters champion in boardsailing; past national champion in various small boats; member Team New Zealand in 2003 and Emirates Team New Zealand in 2006/7; member Yachting NZ Olympic Committee; awarded MNZM (2006) for services to yachting.
John St Clair Brown (Appointed 2003)
Chartered Accountant; Chairman of the Waiwera Group of Companies; enthusiastic and active sailor having raced boats for 50 years from centreboard classes including Olympic classes to keel boats on-shore and off-shore. Currently President New Zealand Etchell Class Assn and International Governor.
Simon Gundry (Appointed 2003)
Contractor; enthusiastic and active sailor; past crewmember of Ceramo New Zealand and Lion New Zealand in Whitbread Round The World races and Shockwave in Admiral’s Cup; life member North Shore Rugby Football Club.
Royden Hindle (Appointed 1988)
Lawyer; keen sailor, with offshore and small boat experience; former secretary of Foundation for Offshore Racing NZ; former chairman NZ Human Rights Review Tribunal; Fellow of Arbitrators and Mediators Institute of NZ.
Peter Lester (Appointed 2003)
Sailing consultant; past high performance director for Yachting NZ; winner OK Dinghy Junior World Championship (1974) and World Championship (1977); helmsmen of 1987 Admirals Cup winner; skipper of 1993 One Ton Cup winner; skipper of winning yachts in 1986 and 1990 Kenwood Cups; Yachtsman of the Year (1977 and 1987); competed in three America’s Cup campaigns (1988, 1992 and 1995); television commentator for Louis Vuitton Cups and America’s Cup (1992-2009).
John Lusk (1992)
Lawyer; keen sailor, with many years of boating experience; director of Team New Zealand 1993 to 2001; legal adviser to several Whitbread and America’s cup challenges; Secretary of the Trust 1988-2011.
Peter Montgomery MBE (Appointed 1989)
Broadcaster, journalist and yachting commentator; has held radio and/or television assignments covering major local and international events, including nine America’s Cups, nine Whitbread/Volvo races and seven Olympic Games; awarded MBE (1995) for services to yachting and several other awards including Yachtsman of the Year (Sir Bernard Fergusson trophy), Sports Journalist of the Year, Sports Broadcaster of the Year, Communicator of the Year and SPARC Lifetime Contribution to Journalism through Sport; member of selection committees for America’s Cup Hall of Fame and Yachting NZ Sailor of the Year.
Ralph Roberts MBE, J.P. (Appointed 1988)
Winner 1958 Prince of Wales Cup; winner of 13 national titles in Olympic classes and several other national titles; competitor in Olympic Games in 1960, 1964 and 1968; manager 1984 Olympic Games team; 1988 and 2004 Olympic appeal juror; Chef de Mission 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games team; ISAF international judge and umpire; life member and past president Takapuna Boating Club; past president and current board member Yachting NZ; awarded MBE (1993) for services to yachting; patron Pupuke Boating Club; trustee of Harbour Sport.
Rod Slater (Appointed 2003)
Businessman and CEO Beef & Lamb New Zealand; keen sailor with experience in several offshore races including Suva and Noumea; active Zephyr class sailor; life member, past Commodore
and President Murray's Bay Sailing Club; manager 1996 Olympic Games sailing team and several other NZ sailing teams; radio commentator for three America's Cup matches.
Bevan Woolley (Appointed 1994)
Retired dental surgeon; past chairman Yachting NZ offshore committee; ISAF international judge; former Olympic class sailor; navigator on 1991 Southern Cross Cup winner and 1972 One Ton Cup winner; skipper of 1987 Admiral's Cup winner; long time offshore sailor and one design keelboat sailor; past winner of several national titles.
PAST TRUSTEES
| Jenny Gibbs |
1988 - 1994 |
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| Sir Tom Clark |
1988 – 2003 |
(Patron 2003-05) |
| Don St. Clair Brown |
1988 – 2004 |
(Chairman 1994-97, Patron 2003-08) |
| Sir Peter Blake |
1988 – 2001 |
(Patron 2001) |
| Trevor Geldard |
1988 – 2003 |
(Chairman 1997 – 2001, Patron 2011-) |
| Alan Topham |
1988 – 2003 |
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| John Balgarnie |
1988 – 1998 |
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| John Street |
1988 – 2011 |
(Patron 2011-) |
| Richard Endean |
1993 – 1998 |
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| Con Anastasiou |
1994 – 1999 |
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| Sir Gordon Tait |
1988 - 1994 |
(Chairman 1988-94, Patron 1994 – 2005) |
BRIEF BIOGRAPHIES OF FOUNDING TRUSTEES AND FIRST CHAIRMAN
ADMIRAL SIR GORDON TAIT (1921 – 2005) - KCB, DSC, SECOND SEA LORD
Admiral Sir Gordon Tait, the Chairman of the Trust from its establishment in 1988 until 1994 and then its first patron, had a long and distinguished naval career.
Born in Timaru, he achieved more as a Royal Naval officer than any other New Zealander. He trained at the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth in 1939 and in 1940-1942 served in the north Atlantic, escorting arctic convoys, before transferring to submarines and serving in the Java Sea and South China Seas. Sir Gordon was awarded a Distinguished Service Cross for “his courage, coolness in action and skill as a gunnery control officer” while serving in war patrols in the Mediterranean and was later Mentioned in Dispatches.
After World War II, he commanded submarines in the UK and the Mediterranean and served as an Aide de Camp to General Freyberg as Governor General of New Zealand in 1949-1951, before returning to command submarines in the UK.
Then followed a series of promotions and prestigious appointments, including Aide de Camp to the Queen, Naval Secretary Admiralty, Chief of Staff for Submarine Command, Commander Royal Naval College Dartmouth, NATO Commander Central Atlantic and in 1977 he was knighted, became Second Sea Lord and was promoted Admiral.
Sir Gordon retired from the Navy in 1979 and sailed yachts extensively overseas before returning to New Zealand in 1981. He served on the boards of a number of prominent companies, as well as being president of the NZ Sports Foundation, a trustee of the NZ Maritime Museum and Spirit of Adventure Trust Boards and patron of the NZ branch of the Submariners’ Association.
Sir Gordon bought from his father-in-law, Sir Bryan Todd, the famous 1892 vintage 70 foot ketch Viking, in which he explored the North and South islands, and for a time owned the Spencer designed yacht Avian. He was a keen skier and tennis player and an accomplished musician.
Sir Gordon was an excellent leader, a superb ship handler and an ideal choice as Chairman of the Trust during its formative years.
DON ST CLAIR BROWN (1914 – 2008) - MBE, FCA, FCIS, YM
Don St Clair Brown, co-founder of The New Zealand International Yachting Trust in 1988 with Sir Tom Clark, had a lifetime interest in the sea and sailing. Few, if any other, New Zealanders have done more to support and encourage the participation and success of New Zealand sailors in international competition than Don.
From his early days “messing around” in boats of all shapes and sizes, he and friends bought the legendary B4 Windward in 1935 and “cruised around with RNZYS and RAYC” until laying the yacht up for World War II.
After 4 years service overseas with the RNZAF and several years building a home and accounting practice after the war, Don sailed in International 14s before the success of Peter Mander and Geoff Cropp at the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne encouraged him to assist in the establishment of the Flying Dutchman class in New Zealand. This lead to the confident participation of New Zealand in the Flying Dutchman and Finn Classes in the 1960 Olympics in Italy, where hopes of success were unfortunately not realised but the need for international participation was recognised as a must for New Zealand sailors.
With sponsorship from Rothmans and some serious fundraising, regular participation by New Zealand crews in international events followed, leading to a gold medal for Helmer Pedersen and Earle Wells in the 1964 Olympics and a top performance from Peter Mander in the Finn class.
Don owned and sailed several Flying Dutchman and Dragon class yachts and a Tornado, before eventually building the legendary Ben Lexcen designed 50 foot keeler Anticipation in 1975 and campaigning it extensively in New Zealand and off-shore for many years until his death in 2008 aged 94.
He was intimately involved in yachting administration, actively encouraging Olympic sailing from 1958 onwards, chairing the New Zealand Yachting Federation Olympic Committee for over 15 years, setting up an Olympic Capital Fund (which later became the NZYF Challenge Foundation) establishing the Foundation for Offshore Racing NZ and later merging it into the Trust, and acting as auditor and honorary treasurer for the New Zealand Yachting Federation, which subsequently awarded him life membership.
Don was Yachtsman of the Year in 1986, awarded the MBE for services to yachting in 1987 and (in a first for New Zealand) the International Yacht Racing Union gold medal in 1994 to recognise his assistance to yachting. He was a trustee and patron of the Marine Education and Recreation Centre based at Long Bay, and held many other voluntary offices in addition to his many business interests and his role as co-founder (1988), chairman (1994-1997) and patron (2003-2008) of The New Zealand International Yachting Trust.
SIR TOM CLARK (1917 – 2005) - KB
Sir Thomas Edwin Clark (or “Tom” as he was universally known), a co-founder of The New Zealand International Yachting Trust in 1988 with Don St. Clair Brown, was a “giant of a man”, both physically and as an industrialist and sportsman. He was knighted in 1986 for services to industry and sport.
During the Great Depression, at the age of 14, he began work in the family brick and tile business (known in later years as Ceramco and famous for its Crown Lynn pottery) and remained with the business until 1993 after 62 years continuous service as an employee and director.
He had a zest for life, including racing Grand Prix cars which nearly ended in tragedy when he crashed his Ferrari car in the 1956 Australian Grand Prix and spent six months in hospital.
Tom then moved on to the water and in the mid-1960’s began a close association with yacht designer John Spencer, building and racing the plywood yachts Saracen, the all black 62 footer Infidel (now famous as “Ragtime”) and finally Buccaneer, the first true maxi yacht built in New Zealand, in which he won the Sydney-Hobart race in 1970 and later took part in major ocean races around the world. His love of helming his yachts led to his nickname of “Captain Araldite” because of his reluctance to let go of the helm.
He began a long association with Peter (later Sir Peter) Blake when as Chief Executive he committed Ceramco Limited to sponsor Peter’s campaign in the 1981-82 Whitbread Round the World race in Ceramco New Zealand and then was a major influence in supporting Peter’s 1985-86 Whitbread campaign in Lion New Zealand, his 1988 Round Australia campaign in the trimaran Steinlager I, his outstandingly successful 1989-90 Whitbread campaign in Steinlager II, as well as Peter’s Jules Verne challenge in the catamaran Enza.
Having been at every America’s Cup match since the end of World War II (except for the 1988 ‘Big Boat challenge’, which he refused to attend), Sir Tom became an adviser to New Zealand’s America’s Cup campaigns, from the first venture by Sir Michael Fay in KZ7 through to the end of the successful defence of the Cup by Team New Zealand in Auckland in 2000. He was a director of Team New Zealand from its establishment in 1993 until the changing of the guard in 2001 and following the loss of the Cup in 2003, he became an enthusiastic mentor and supporter of Emirates Team New Zealand in its quest to regain the Cup under the leadership of Grant Dalton, He died suddenly in 2005 aged 88.
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