Eight Bells: Tim Irwin

Tim Irwin

Tim Irwin, having lived a wonderful life full of adventure, fun, and awards, passed away August 7 at home after a battle with cancer. He was 80 years old.

Tim grew up sailing with good friends in Maple Bay, a seaside community located in southern Vancouver Island, British Columbia. His sailing took him to the 1968 Olympics in Mexico where he and his teammates Steve Tupper and Dave Millar finished 4th in the Dragon Class in the waters off Acapulco.

After Tim moved to Kingston, he became very active in CORK (Canadian Olympic Regatta Kingston) where he volunteered for many years putting on championship regattas. Whether he was organizing volunteers, managing gear, helping at the launch ramp, out on the water, or just walking through the boat park, he has always been an instrumental part of events in Kingston.

Tim was a key piece in the success of CORK – Sail Kingston over the years, helping thousands of sailors from all across the country, and around the world, discover a love for sailing and challenging themselves in Kingston’s famous thermal winds.

“Tim has always worked to bring world-class events to CORK including 45 World Championships to date,” said Kim Garrett earlier this year. “His continuous efforts to create great training opportunities for athletes, coaches and volunteers, are admirable and he really is an inspiration to us all!”

Due to this dedication, he was inducted as a member of the Class of 2020 into the Kingston and District Sports Hall of Fame. He was also a 2019 Sail Canada Award recipient, receiving the President’s Award for his outstanding contributions to the sport of sailing. In March 2020, Tim was recognized as Sail Canada’s Sailor of the Month award.