Celebrating Canadian achievement

Fourteen exceptional sailors were inducted into the Canadian Sailing Hall of Fame (CSHOF) on October 3 in Kingston, Ont. After the induction had been delayed a year due to COVID-19, the 2020 Inductees were finally recognized at a ceremony held at the Kingston Yacht Club.

The event started with MC Rob Mazza providing background on the Hall of Fame and the Marine Museum of the Great Lakes at Kingston, along with the Hall of Fame’s collaboration with Sail Canada and the Kingston Yacht Club.

Mazza explained that the By-Laws for the Hall of Fame stipulate that any Canadian citizen who wins an Olympic or Paralympic medal, or a World Championship in an Olympic or Paralympic class, is considered an “automatic” inductee into the Canadian Sailing Hall of Fame.

Initially there were over 50 individuals who qualified for induction on those grounds, as well as all the great non-Olympic sailors, designers, builders, and contributors to the sport over the 175 years of recreational sailing in Canada. This is a huge backlog of candidates that will take many years to adequately honor.

Mazza further explained that the Marine Museum’s commitment to recognizing the history of sailing in Canada goes beyond hosting the CSHOF, and includes archiving the entire George Cuthbertson, C&C Yachts, and George Hinterhoeller drawing collections.

The Museum is also about to receive the famous racing yacht Red Jacket as a bequest from the late Peter Milligan. Indeed, the colorful flags that decorated the room in which the inductions took place were Red Jacket’s original racing flags from the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, now donated to the Marine Museum.

John Kerr then stepped to the podium to recognize the three Hall of Fame members who have passed away since their inductions – George Cuthbertson, Don Green, and Bruce Kirby. Welcoming remarks were delivered by Rob Crothers, Commodore of the Kingston Yacht Club, Chris West, President of the Board of Directors of the Marine Museum, and Don Adams, Executive Director of Sail Canada.

The inductions started with John Kerr presenting plaques to David Miller, Bill Cote (representing his late brother Paul Cote) and John Ekels. David Miller, Paul Cote, and John Eckels had won a Bronze Medal in the Soling class in the 1972 Olympics. David and John even wore their Team Canada blazers from 1972, which fit surprisingly well!

Dana Archibald then inducted fellow Nova Scotians Glen Dexter, Andreas Josenhans, and Sandy MacMillan for their two World Championships in the Soling Class in 1977 and 1980. Glen Dexter was unable to attend due to a last minute family commitment, but Dana, Andreas, and Sandy represented Nova Scotia well.

Andreas and Sandy made the 18 hour drive from Nova Scotia to be part of this event, which Andreas described as “extremely important to the future of the sport in Canada.”

Karen McRae performed double duty by first inducting Karen Morch for her Windsurfer World Championship and Olympic Gold Medal in 1984. Followed by her fellow Canadian 14′ Dinghy Hall of Fame member Terry McLaughlin for his Silver Medal in Flying Dutchmen in the 1984 Olympics. Terry’s sailing accomplishments extend well beyond an Olympic Medal, recently having won the Canada’s Cup for a third time.

David Covo then inducted Evert Bastet for his Silver Medal in the 1984 Olympics sailing in Flying Dutchmen with Terry McLaughlin as skipper. Evert was unable to attend the induction. Evert’s accomplishments in winning Flying Dutchmen World Championships with both Hans Fogh and Terry McLaughlin were noted by David.

Noted Finn sailor Larry Lemieux flew in from Calgary to induct Terry Neilson, his old friend and Bronze Medal winner in Finns in the 1984 Olympics.

The most emotional part of the afternoon was when Paul Henderson inducted the late Hans Fogh. The induction was accepted by Hans’ widow Kristen and their son Thomas. Thomas gave a heartfelt and moving tribute to his father.

Paul then inducted John Kerr and Steve Calder in recognition for the Bronze Medal they were each awarded in the 1984 Olympics while sailing with Hans. The afternoon ended with Scott Morgan inducting his father’s old friend Lynn Watters. Appropriately, the induction was received by Lynn’s son Alex.

Established in 2005, the 2020 Class was the fourth group to be inducted and represented the largest gathering of living inductees to date. For previous inductees, click here.

The inductions have traditionally taken place every other year. Therefore, even with the 2020 inductions postponed to 2021, the CSHOF Management Committee is still planning for a 2022 Induction.

For more about each inductee, click here.
To watch the live stream from the ceremony, click here.

Source: Marine Museum of the Great Lakes at Kingston