Eight Bells: Matt Mitchell

There wasn’t a boat Matt Mitchell couldn’t race or a challenge he wasn’t up for, but cancer ultimately won the battle. He was 53, dying recently in Auckland, New Zealand.

Mitchell was a veteran of six America’s Cup campaigns and a winner with three teams – Team New Zealand, Alinghi, and Oracle Team USA. Lately, his focus was on reinvigorating the Zephyr class – one of New Zealand’s oldest and most popular adult dinghy fleets.

“He was just a natural yachtie, and he could do anything on the boat,” said friend Craig Satterthwaite. “He was a bowman in the America’s Cup, a mid-bow, a top Zephyr sailor, and he won a handful of nationals with us on the 5.9.” – Full report