Cruising Yacht Club of Australia members recognised Tony Cable’s contribution to the Club and ocean racing at tonight’s annual general meeting when they unanimously elected him a Life Member – only the 26th member so honoured in the 61 years of the CYCA’s history.

Cable has been a member of the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia for 41 years, has sailed in 41 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Races, was co-founder of the “Quiet Little Drink”, and is the CYCA’s unofficial historian and colourful story-teller.

His Sydney Hobart achievement is unique; to quote Tony…”the first bloke from the lower deck” to achieve 40 Hobarts, the others in the “40 Club” being either famous skippers or navigators.

Included in Tony’s 41 Rolex Sydney Hobarts is the rare double of first Overall and Line Honours aboard Sovereign, plus a second on handicap on Gretel, a third on Southerly and a fourth aboard Taurus II.

Tony co-founded the Quiet Little Drink, a post-race crew celebration in Hobart in 1969 and subsequently the Q.L.D. Cocktail Party at the CYCA, presiding over the raising of considerable funds to assist many charitable causes and up-and-coming young sailors, including a 12-year sponsorship of one of the CYCA’s Youth Sailing Academy’s training boats.

Tony also served on the CYCA Board for 11 years and was chairman of the Publications Committee from 1975 to 1986, during that period being an active writer for Offshore magazine and the Sydney Hobart Yacht Race programs.