The CYCA has honoured four significant Club contributors at its Hall of Fame and Member Anniversary Dinner last Saturday evening.
New inductees into the CYCA Hall of Fame are Mervyn Davey, Jack Earl, Kay Cottee AO and Grant Simmer OAM, joining last year’s group of seven.
“We are delighted to induct these four legends of our Club into the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia’s Hall of Fame,” CYCA Commodore Paul Billingham said.
“Mervyn, Jack, Kay and Grant have each made lasting impressions on the Club and on our sport – and the Hall of Fame recognises in particular their sailing achievements.
“It was wonderful to celebrate this recognition with Merv and Jack’s families and also spend time with Kay hearing of both her remarkable story on “First Lady” and of her future plans for her beloved marina at Yamba. While Grant was caught up on America’s Cup duty in Europe he recorded a wonderful video message for the evening.
“On behalf of the Board and the entire Membership, congratulations to all four on their lasting legacies and huge impact not only on the CYCA but on sailing in general.
“Congratulations too to our many anniversary Members – whose loyalty we value and legacies will also prove hugely significant.”
Bios of the latest CYCA Hall of Fame inductees, provided by David Kellett, follow.
MERVYN DAVEY
Mervyn Davey joined the CYCA in 1945, the 25th Member. He served on the Board of Directors for a number of years before becoming Rear Commodore 1947 and 1948 and Commodore from 1949 to 1951 and again in 1957 to 1958.
Merv was elected to Life Membership of the Club in 1961 and in 1962, was appointed Secretary and continued in that capacity until 1971 when he became the full-time Sailing Secretary.
Along with the Board, Merv was responsible for the acquisition in 1951 of the small boatshed at Rushcutters Bay as the first CYCA Clubhouse and was one of the guarantors for the loan; the first marina in 1952 and the building of the addition to the Clubhouse in 1958, the marina extensions in 1960 and the completion of the new Clubhouse building in 1965 and the acquisition of the adjoining boat yard and marinas in 1968.
Merv designed and supervised the construction of his 44-foot yacht “Trade Winds” which was the first modern ocean racing yacht constructed of steel in Australia. He skippered her to wins in the 1948 Montagu Island race and the 1949 Sydney Hobart race.
As a highly qualified engineer, Merv was also well known for his measuring skills and was a leading exponent of the RORC rule and the development of the IOR rule in the 1970s. A very principled man, he was Chief Measurer for the Australian Yachting Federation and represented the country on the world rating Councils.
He was described by the highly respected yacht designer Olin Stephens as “a brilliant young man who was a credit to the CYCA and Australian yachting”.
JACK EARL OA
One of the founding fathers of the CYCA and the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race. Jack Earl OA, the noted marine artist owned a Colin Archer designed 43’ gaff rigged ketch named after his beautiful wife “Kathleen Gillett”. Jack and Kathleen lived aboard and cruised with their son Mick and daughter Maris. He and Peter Luke were friends who cruised together and had the idea of forming a cruising club, which they did on 6th September 1944.
Jack competed in the first CYCA race in October 1944 from Sydney to The Basin in Pittwater.
It was Jack’s intention to cruise to Hobart in December 1945 along with Peter Luke and the Walker brothers which was the foundation of the Sydney Hobart race.
In 1947 Jack departed Sydney for a circumnavigation of the world only the second Australian yacht to do so, arriving home in November 1948. He completed another circumnavigation in the 1960’s aboard his Tasman Seabird yawl “Maris”.
Jack was a great supporter of the CYCA over his long Membership until his death in 1994.
KAY COTTEE AO
Kay Cottee could be termed a CYCA baby; the daughter of prominent members of the time Jim and Joy McLaren, she was taken sailing for the first time when only a few weeks old.
Kay along with her four sisters spent her youth around the CYCA where her love of sailing developed and where she met and married the son of another prominent CYCA family. She was a member of the Club in 1970s, re-joining in 1993.
In 1988, Kay became the first woman to sail single-handed non-stop and unassisted around the world, aboard the 37ft yacht Blackmores First Lady. On her return through Sydney Heads on 5th June 1988, she was greeted by tens of thousands of well-wishers.
Following the famous voyage Kay undertook an 18-month national schools tour, speaking to over 40,000 high school students and raised on excess of $1million for the Rev. Ted Noffs’ Life Education Program.
Kay was the Australian of the Year in 1988; awarded an Order of Australia in 1989 and was Chair of the Australian National Maritime Museum from 1995 to 2000. In 2017 she was an inaugural inductee of the Australian Sailing Hall of Fame.
GRANT SIMMER OAM
A member since 1987, Grant came to prominence in 1983 when he navigated AUSTRALIA II to win the America’s Cup, an obsession which has seen him involved with six America’s Cup campaigns, winning four times.
In addition, Grant is a distinguished ocean racer having won the Sydney Hobart yacht race and competed in the Admirals Cup and other major regattas throughout the world.
After the 1993 success Grant stayed with Alan Bond’s syndicate and was navigator on AUSTRALIA IV during the 1987 Defender selection series.
He was co-owner of North Sails Australia for 17 years until 2000 when he joined ALINGHI as managing director and head of design. Grant helped design the winning 2003 and 2007 America’s Cup boats as well as ALINGHI 5 for the 2010 America’s Cup defence.
In 2010 Grant joined Team Origin as CEO but they withdrew and in 2012 he became general manager of Oracle Racing, overseeing the day to day operations at the 2013 and 2017 America’s Cup.
Grant was inducted into the America’s Cup Hall of Fame in 2013 and the Australian Sailing Hall of Fame in 2017. He joined Ben Ainslie Racing in late 2017 to prepare for the current America’s Cup.
