OKDIA Hall Of Fame

The first recipient of a OKDIA Hall of Fame Award at the 2007 Worlds.

The first recipient of a OKDIA Hall of Fame Award, Jørgen Lindhardtsen was honoured at the 2007 World Championships in Leba, Poland.

OKDIA President, Greg Wilcox inducted the initiative by saying, “As you all know we are celebrating the fiftieth year of the OK Dinghy. After all that time we have decided to set up a ‘OKDIA Hall of Fame’ to honour some of the greatest OK Sailors ever. Obviously there has been quite some debate over what criteria would be used to select who would be inducted, but we hope it will eventually include not only the great sailors among us but also those who have contributed in many special ways to the class we all love.”

The OK Dinghy International Association decided to bestow the honour of the OKDIA Hall of Fame’s first member onto long term OK Dinghy sailor Jørgen Lindhardtsen. Wilcox said, “We felt that the first OK sailor selected should be a person who is not only still actively sailing and who continues to encourage and inspire others within the class but also has a record that is pretty much second to none on the racecourse.”

He continued, “There is among us someone who is affectionately known as ‘the old man’, who has been sailing these great boats for 43 of those 50 years. His record of 14 top ten places in the Worlds including one World Championship title and three second places plus ten National titles is amazing considering that one of the second places was at the Worlds last year. It is not only the OK that he has had success in with 14 national Finn titles and various top ten places at Finn worlds and Europeans as well as representing Denmark at the Olympics in the Finn.”

Wilcox concluded, “His constant search for the perfect rig has been the source of some humour over the years. He continues to amaze us all with his fitness and stamina and the standard joke is that the rest of us cannot retire using old age as an excuse until he does. In the meantime we will continue to enjoy his competitive spirit on the race course.”

Leith Armit was inducted at the New Zealand class association’s 50th Anniversary celebrations in October 2007.

Leith Armit was presented with his memento by Wilcox. Armit only agreed to come to the evening as long as he didn’t have to make a speech, so this was a very short presentation.

Leith Armit was inducted into the OKDIA Hall of Fame as possibly the greatest OK Sailor of all time. Wilcox said, “In addition to the four world titles he also placed second (at age 17) and third overall as well. He never really crossed paths with Bo Staffan Andersson (SWE) who also won four titles and would have made for a very interesting match up.” Armit said he was humbled, surprised and very proud to receive the award.

Leith Armit took the world title in 1983, 1985, 1990 and 1994. He also won six New Zealand National Championships and three Interdominion titles. In 1985 he was the recipient of New Zealand Yachting’s Yachtsman of the Year Award.

The late Clive Roberts was inducted at the New Zealand class association’s 50th Anniversary celebrations in October 2007.

Accepting the award on behalf of her late husband, Bev Roberts was visibly moved when Wilcox presented her with a memento of the occasion.

Wilcox said, “The reason this award is going to Clive is not just because he won the Worlds in 1973. It is actually more for his contribution to the class in New Zealand and Australia.

Without his encouragement and help the class would never have taken off in New Zealand and neither would have so many Kiwis travelled the world and made so many good friends through the OK Dinghy class.”

Clive Roberts is nothing less than a legend in the OK Dinghy class. He was one of the small group of sailors that introduced the OK Dinghy into New Zealand in the mid 1960s along with his brother Ralph. Clive Roberts won a record of 10 New Zealand OK Dinghy National Championships, five Interdominion Championships and then in 1973 in Falmouth, England became the first non-European to win the OK Dinghy World Championships.

Off the water Clive Roberts was famous for promoting the class and offering advice to young and old alike. He was tragically killed in a car accident in New Zealand in 1975. One of the many memorials in his name is the Australian OK Dinghy Association’s junior trust fund, the Clive Roberts Trust, which supports the development of young Australian OK Dinghy sailors.

The late Marian Jankowski was inducted at the 2008 World Championship in Warnemünde, Germany. His daughters Anna and Magda accepted the award on behalf of Marian.

He was among the first OK sailors in Poland and the first National Champion in 1964 and competing untill short before he passed away in 2002

Darek Kras, OKDIA Vice-President Northern Hemipshere spoke about the late Marian Jankowski.

“Marian was fully devoted to the OK Dinghy class. In fact, if it was not for him, there would probably not be any Poles sailing here in Germany this week.

We all owe him for attracting us to the OK. He was among the first OK sailors in Poland and the first National Champion. He first won the title back in 1964 and continued to dominate the Polish circuit for many years.

His devotion to the class was demonstrated in many ways. He always had time and energy to encourage new sailors to the OK, help them to obtain gear and tune it.

When it was decided that the OK Dinghy was no longer to be a preparatory junior class for the Finn, its existence in Poland was threatened. Luckily, we had Marian. He made sure that whatever gear was in Poland, would be safely put in the hands of those who really needed it.

Perhaps his best idea was to attract to the class guys like myself – those who sailed when young and thought of getting back to sailing.

He had many friends, sailing friends, like Norbert [Petrausch from Germany] here. And with their help he helped us get our boats.

Back in the 1980s living in Poland was not easy, and importing gear from the West a big task which required a lot of persistence.

He took us to regattas in Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden and had seemingly endless reserves of energy and enthusiasm for the sport.

He died a few years ago from heart complications, and the OK class in Poland suffered a huge loss, one that we still feel today.”

Norbert “Peit” Petrausch was inducted at the 2008 World Championship in Warnemünde, Germany.

Peter Scheuerl (GER) inducted Norbert Petrausch on behalf of the German Association.

He said, “I have the honour to introduce somebody to the OKDIA Hall of Fame who has served the class for most of its existence. He owned the first OK Dinghy in Germany in the 1960’s and still sails his own OK today.

I asked him when he sailed his first worlds, but he couldn’t remember, though of course he remembers all the funny stories than have happened over the years. Norbert Petrausch has been involved in the German OK Dinghy Association for over 30 years and has been its president for about 20 years.

Once when the class struggled to find a host for a major regatta, he jumped in a did the whole race management with just a few helping hands, even if he would have preferred to sail himself. Through all the years of OK Dinghy sailing in Germany, Norbert has been the steady hand, keeping it all together.

Without him, the class in Germany would not be what it is today.”

Bill Tyler was inducted at the 2008 World Championship in Warnemünde, Germany.

Andre Blasse (AUS) spoke about Bill Tyler on behalf of the Australian Association.

Bill has been involved with the OK Dinghy for 37 years and has represented Australia in many International events over the years, not only as a competitor but also as an administrator, holding many positions on state, national and international committees. His list of accomplishments in yachting is immense. Most recently, Bill, and his wife Jan’s efforts in organising and managing the 2006 OK Dinghy World Championship at Belmont, Australia, was recognised by not only NSW Yachting and OKDIA, but all their peers, as the benchmark in the management and co-ordination of international dinghy events.

Bill is also one of three directors of the Clive Roberts Trust Fund that was established in the 1970s to help with the development of Australian OK Juniors. Bill has been able to help send many Australian Juniors to international events over the years, and this has enabled some of them to bring home the Junior World title. Recently Bill also won NSW Yachting’s Services to Yachting Award. Collecting his award, Bill was visibly moved by the occasion. He said, “This is a great honour and I very much appreciate it,” before reminiscing about his early days his the class.

Bo-Staffan Andersson was inducted during the World Championship 2009 in Kalmar, Sweden

He was inducted in recognition of being the most successful OK Dinghy sailor ever – he won four World Championship titles in the late 80s and early 90s, as well as one European title and three Swedish titles.

Basil Crosby was awarded posthumous during the World Championship 2009 in Kalmar, Sweden for his work for the class.

Crosby’s role in the establishment and ultimate success of the OK Dinghy as an international class cannot be overstated. He was one of the founders of OKDIA in 1962 and was also secretary of the British OK Dinghy Class Association at the same time.

Nick Craig was inducted during the World Championship 2012 in Vallensbæk, Denmark

Nick Craig was inducted by his arch-rival Jørgen Lindhardtsen (DEN). Four times a world champion, Craig has done so much to raise the profile of the OK Dinghy, particularly in the UK. He has been incredibly successful in other dinghy classes as well and is considered the best amateur dinghy sailor in the UK. His talent and success was rewarded earlier this year when he won the Yachting Journalists Association Pantaenius Yachtsman of the Year Award 2011.

As well as his world titles in 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2011, he has also won the Europeans in 2003, eight UK National Championships and six UK Inland titles. Domestically Craig has been at the top of the OK Class in the UK for more than a decade. Abroad, he has won the OK Dinghy National titles in Denmark, Germany and Belgium and countless other events across Europe. He is also officially the ‘Best OK Dinghy Sailor of all time.’

Craig said, “I am have been sailing OKs for 21 years now. I sail lots of other boats but always come back to the OK because it’s just great racing and great sailing. I look at Jørgen and think I’ve got another 30 years to go at this, but he never stops so I’ve still got another 30 years. So respect to Jørgen, and thank you very much.”

After Wilcox and and Craig were presented with their awards, the first ever OK Dinghy World Champion Svend Jacobsen (DEN) was brought onto the stage to announce a trio of inductees from the host country. However before he could start, Jacobsen himself was presented with an award as the first inductee of the night from Denmark.

Axel Damgaard was inducted during the World Championship 2012 in Vallensbæk, Denmark.

The design of the OK Dinghy can be traced back to two people; without them then class would not exist. Axel Damgaard had the idea and Knud Olsen put it onto paper. Damgaard then promoted the class throughout Denmark and Europe.

Jacobsen continued, “In the mid 1950s Axel realised that maybe they should have another dinghy in Denmark [in addition to the Pirat], smaller, cheaper, and with only one person, and he approached Knud who was a naval designer and talked to him and consulted with a lot of Pirat dinghy sailors and also Paul Elvstrøm who advised him about the rig and sail. And that was the birth of the OK Dinghy. It grew very quickly in Denmark and in 1957 we held the first unofficial Danish Championship.”

“Another interesting thing is that if you had been sailing in my time then it would have been a completely different set of people. There would be no children here and no wives, because we were too young for that. It was only young people. The first five Danish championships the average age was 21.1 years and in the first championships there was only one who was more than 30. On the other hand we were not as skilled as you are today. But I think we owe a big thanks to Knud and Axel and all the people from those days who helped to develop this fantastic boat.”

Paul Elvstrøm was inducted during the World Championship 2012 in Vallensbæk, Denmark.

Many people know little of his involvement in the class but he had a big influence in design of OK Dinghy rig as well as encouraging growth of class in Denmark and across Europe.

To commemorate the occasion he donated one of his many trophies to the OK Dinghy class to be used at the world championship for the sailor with the least score when counting all the races. Earlier in the evening the trophy had been presented to Andre Budzien, who not only won the 2012 OK Dinghy World Championship with a discard, but also without it. The class is very grateful to Paul for honouring the championship in this way and his daughter Trine was there receive Paul’s award for the Hall of Fame.

Jacobsen concluded a long and interesting talk about Elvstrøm, “I can talk about this all evening but I think he really really deserves to be on the Hall of Fame. He helped the OK Dinghy for years and years with people like Pierre Poulain and Richard Creagh-Osborne, who was was the key person spreading the boats. He should be included for all the support he gave the class. He never really raced it but helped to get it started at the very beginning.”

The OK Dinghy Hall of Fame now includes 15 sailors spanning more than 50 years from the designer right through to the recent world champions. The kind of people on this list says much about the class – not just sailors who performed on the water, but also those that made a contribution in the back rooms, ensuring that the class had, and still has, a fantastic future.

Svend Jacobsen was inducted during the World Championship 2012 in Vallensbæk, Denmark.

Jacobsen said, “Thank you for inviting me to these OK Dinghy world championships. It’s many many years ago since I won it but I still feel very happy to be here with you. I have been asked to propose three others for the Hall of Fame. The first two are Knud Olsen the designer of the OK Dinghy and Axel Damgaard, who some of you will know.”

Alf Lock was inducted during the World Championship 2012 in Vallensbæk, Denmark

Alf Lock is best known as the designer, in the mid-1970s, of a number of OK hulls, including the famed “Icebreaker” hull that has since become dominant in international competition. Icebreaker hulls have won many world championships and nearly every New Zealand national championship since the 1970s, except for a number of titles won by Greg Wilcox in NZL 369 which was also designed by Alf Lock.

One of Alf’s greatest OK achievements was successfully cleaning up the class, in terms of the legality of hull designs, in the lead-up to and at the 1977 World Championship, held at Takapuna, Auckland, New Zealand. Following 1970, a number of designs were increasingly pushing the boundaries of the class rules where, to Alf’s mind, there were boats being raced that were simply not OK Dinghies, most notably the Kjolhede design. Alf spearheaded a campaign to get rid of the cheating boats, which included:

• deliberately designing a boat that pushed the boundaries too far for the measurers to accept at the 1976 Worlds;
• as chief measurer for the 1977 Worlds, making it clear to all competitors in advance that the rules would be strictly enforced; and
• following through and failing a number of infringing boats at the measurement for the 1977 worlds.

Thanks to Alf, the bad design trend stopped there and the class has remained truly one-design, which is one of its single biggest strengths.

Knud Olsen was inducted during the World Championship 2012 in Vallensbæk, Denmark.

The design of the OK Dinghy can be traced back to two people; without them then class would not exist. Axel Damgaard had the idea and Knud Olsen put it onto paper. Damgaard then promoted the class throughout Denmark and Europe.

Jacobsen continued, “In the mid 1950s Axel realised that maybe they should have another dinghy in Denmark [in addition to the Pirat], smaller, cheaper, and with only one person, and he approached Knud who was a naval designer and talked to him and consulted with a lot of Pirat dinghy sailors and also Paul Elvstrøm who advised him about the rig and sail. And that was the birth of the OK Dinghy. It grew very quickly in Denmark and in 1957 we held the first unofficial Danish Championship.”

“Another interesting thing is that if you had been sailing in my time then it would have been a completely different set of people. There would be no children here and no wives, because we were too young for that. It was only young people. The first five Danish championships the average age was 21.1 years and in the first championships there was only one who was more than 30. On the other hand we were not as skilled as you are today. But I think we owe a big thanks to Knud and Axel and all the people from those days who helped to develop this fantastic boat.”

Greg Wilcox was inducted during the World Championship 2012 in Vallensbæk, Denmark

Wilcox first started sailing the OK Dinghy in 1980 and over the intervening 22 years has performed with distinction at both national and international level including being the 2002 World Champion, with bronze in 2005 and 2006 (and now silver in 2012), five times New Zealand national champion, three times Interdominion champion, Danish national championship winner, Swedish national championship winner, three times Kiel week champion, and once Warnemunde week champion. He has also finished 13 times in the top ten at World Championships.

Wilcox has also contributed in an outstanding manner to the class off the water, through his presidency of OKDIA 2005-2009 and his sail-making skills. As a joint owner of Port Nicholson Sails and lately Quantum Sails (Potsdam loft) Wilcox has designed the sails which have won the world championship in 2002, 2008, 2009, 2010, and now, 2012.

Never reticent in sharing his knowledge, Wilcox is one of the most recognisable personalities of the international OK community. One of his perhaps under-recognised skills is his willingness to socialise, not only with his fellow top-performing sailors and long-term acquaintances but also newcomers to the class. He goes out of his way to ensure they feel welcome and receive any boat tuning/handling knowledge they require. He has undoubtedly been an inspiration to many OK sailors.

On receiving his award Wilcox said, “It really is a great honour. I am just really proud that I have had such a great time in this class and that’s the reason that I am still sailing it.”

Bill Bell was inducted at the 2014 Worlds in Melbourne for his long term support and committment to the class.

Bill Bell (AUS) was introduced by Andre Blasse (AUS). He said, “Bill has been sailing for ever. I think he has won the nationals three times, gone to many worlds, been a member here at Black Rock and been a keen OK Dinghy sailor. He helped set up the Clive Roberts Memorial fund, which we run in Australia to give grants to juniors to attend worlds. He has helped the class forever.”

“It’s fantastic to be able to award this to Bill. He is on the jury here and had been on the OK Dinghy Worlds Jury too many times to mention. He also sailed at the worlds here in 1982. Congratulations”

A clearly thrilled Bill Bell replied, “This is a real surprise. I had no idea this was about to happen. Getting back to the Clive Robert fund, it started off with out with $1,500 and since then we have given about 40 grants to about 30 sailors, and I am pretty proud of what has been achieved with it and hope we can do a lot more with it.”

Bill’s quiet but authoritative voice has been a constant companion of almost all OK Dinghy world championships in recent memory, bringing with it a lifetime’s experience of sailing the boat and being around the sailors of the class. He is one of the unsung heroes of the OK Dinghy class and this award is long overdue for someone who gives so much free time to develop and nurture the OK Dinghy.

Bill passed away on 10. April 2020 – Good Friday morning.

Andre Blasse was inducted for his lifelong commitment to the OK class in Victoria and Australia.

Mark Jackson (AUS) introduced a very surprised Andre Blasse (AUS). Jackson said, “It is a great privilege to announce the next recipient. We’ve been friends for 45 years and started sailing together in the Sabot.”

“Andre started sailing OK Dinghies at 15 years old and sailed his first nationals in 1981 and first worlds in 1982. This will be his 19th worlds since then, so a fantastic effort. He has been OKDIA president, Australian treasurer, and also important, he was instrumental in the resurgence of the class in Australia. He had a vision of standard professionally built off the shelf OKs, which was fantastic for the class. Congratulations.”

Andre Blasse was inducted for lifelong commitment and outstanding service to the OK Class in Victoria, Australia and the world. Andre commenced sailing the OK Dinghy in 1980 and competed in his first Nationals in 1981. He has won the Australian title on four occasions and been runner up countless times, often to his brother Roger. He competes regularly at World Championships, often finishing in the top ten. Best results have been third in Warnemunde in 2008 and fourth in both Adelaide in 1998 and Sweden in 2009. He is the immediate past President of OKDIA, is a Life Member of the Australian Association and is a National and International Measurer for the class.

In contrast to his brother, Roger, a very emotional Andre Blasse was almost lost for words. With a broken voice he managed to get out. “I can’t believe it. I enjoy the class, enjoy all the people, so thank you.”

Roger Blasse was inducted for his lifelong commitment to the OK class in Victoria and Australia and for his outstanding success at all levels of competition.

Greg Wilcox (NZL) introduced Roger Blasse (AUS). “When we came up with the Hall of Fame in 2007 the OKDIA Committee had a shortlist of people we thought would be in there straightaway and obviously Jørgen Lindhardtsen (DEN) was the first one and deservedly so and there were a few others we thought would be in he pretty quickly, so this has taken a while.”

Roger Blasse was inducted for his lifelong commitment to the OK class in Victoria and Australia and for his outstanding success at all levels of competition. Roger started sailing the OK Dinghy in 1986 and still competes regularly at the highest level. He won his first Australian National title in 1988 and went on to win 10 more which included a remarkable run of five in a row from 2004 to 2008. A regular competitor at World Championships, Roger won the title in 1998 and then again in 2013. He has been actively involved in the class for close to 30 years and acted for many years as Class Measurer.

Wilcox continued, “Roger has given me some pretty good lessons on how to sail when it’s windy and especially downwind and I think he’ll continue to do that but one of the great things about Roger is that he shares his ideas, is happy to talk to other sailors and is just a great all round guy.”

“His success is the icing on the cake. If you ask Roger then I think he would say the real reason he is still doing it is not to win things but because of all the friends here.”

On receiving his award, Roger Blasse said, “I think Greg has hit the nail on the head. It’s always good to reach the top of the fleet but I do it because I really like the class and enjoy sailing the boat so much. It’s one of those things that’s just in your body. Yesterday, it was a classic Black Rock day, breeze at 18-20 knots and cruising around catching the waves was just the best day. I enjoyed myself immensely.”

“Last year’s win [at the worlds] was an immense surprise to me. It shocked me how much fun I had in Thailand. But I just love my sailing if you can compete in the world fleet against the guys around you and you set a goal that you want to finish a few places higher than last year. That’s the great thing about the class; you can do that and it’s a great feeling when you are up against all the other legends in the class, because you know they are very good sailors.

“So thank you very much. This is just an amazing accolade.”

Karsten Hitz was inducted at the 2018 World Championship in Warnemünde.

As the top German sailor for over 20 years, Karsten had a great influnece on the german OK fleet and new sailors in the class.

He sailed the OK for over 25 years from a quite young age and always was an inspiration for all others around him.

For decades he was finishing in the top ten at Worlds and European championships.

In May 2020 Göran Andersson was inducted at his home on the island of Tjörn, near to Marstrand, Sweden

The 2020 OK Dinghy World Championship was supposed to be sailed in Marstrand, a place that during the 1960s and 1970s was one of the major strongholds of OK Dinghy sailing in Sweden. During the Worlds it was planned to induct Göran into the Hall of Fame to acknowledge his outstanding contribution to the class. Unfortunately that could not happen due to COVID-19, so in May OKDIA Vice President Jonas Börjesson went to visit Göran on Tjörn to not only make the presentation, but also to interview him for the forthcoming OK Dinghy magazine.

It could be said that Göran Andersson raised the level of professionalism in the OK Dinghy class. His breakthrough was immediate and he was ahead of his time in developing sails and masts. Born in 1939 Göran spent his first years on the Swedish west coast before the move to Marstrand, where his father had been appointed manager of a bank office.

He soon took to sailing and started sailing the Finn in 1955. He had been inspired by some of the older local Finn sailors and by Paul Elvstrøm, who had been invited to Marstrand for a training camp. He saw him sail and thought to himself that one day ‘I am going to be as good as Paul’. Therefore, he started to sail the Finn. There were several Finn sailors at Marstrand at that time and many of them built their own boats. Soon Göran was among the top Finn sailors in Sweden and Scandinavia and in 1960 he represented Sweden in the Rome Olympics, which was sailed in Naples. In 1961 Göran won the Nationals with straight bullets in an 80-boat fleet. He continued to dominate the Finn class in Sweden for many years.

During 1960 and 1961 the first few OK Dinghies were built in Marstrand and it quickly grew in popularity and soon many more boats were built in Marstrand and nearby. OK Dinghy sailing completely exploded in Sweden during the early 1960s. Between 1961 and 1964 more than 1,200 OK Dinghies were built. The numbers of sailors and the tough competition within the OK Dinghy class made Göran curious about the boat. There were 10-15 competitive local sailors, which provided a perfect opportunity for good training. “Basically, I realized I would become a better Finn sailor if I also sailed the OK.” In 1965 he participated in his first OK Dinghy nationals in Luleå and he won. He qualified for the Worlds in England that year. The Danes that had been dominating the class were taken by surprise. Göran won that event and the following year in Veerse Meer, The Netherands.

He started Marinex in 1959. He was only 20 years old then and the business included marketing and selling different kind of boats as well as producing sails and masts. Early on he got an order of 100 kit Optimist dinghies. He also made the sails for these dinghies and from that it just kept going. The demand for Marinex sails and masts grew and the company moved several times to better suited facilities. Several hundreds of OK Dinghies were also made under the brand name Marinex. During the 1960s and 1970s the Marinex sail was dominant in several classes and won plenty of national and international championships. For several years the Marinex OK Dinghy hulls and masts and sails dominated the class.

In 2019 Göran was inducted in the Swedish Sailing Hall of Fame and the Swedish OK Dinghy Hall of Fame.

Göran Andersson is the 20th inductee and only the second Swede.

Göran passed away on 18. November 2020 at the age of 81.

Thomas was introduced into the Hall of Fame at the Carlsten Fortress in Marstrand during the opening ceremony of the World Championship in Sweden

Thomas began sailing OK Dinghies in the late 1980s in Luleå in northern Sweden. before sailing his first worlds in Vallensbæk, Denmark, in 1991 . After coming close a few times, he finally won the world title in 2009. He has won countless Swedish championships as well as other medals at OK Dinghy events and was President of OKDIA from 2001 to 2005. He is the 21st person to be inducted the OK Dinghy Hall of Fame and the third Swede.

Brenda and Don Andrews were introduced into the Hall of Fame at Lyme Regis during the opening ceremony of the World Championship in the UK 2023

Following around 10 years as secretary of the British Class Association, Brenda Andrews took over as Secretary of OKDIA from 1990 to 2002. She took over at a difficult time for the class, with financial problems due to non-payment of dues and building fees and general apathy in the class. Together with the new Treasurer Ron Parkin, Brenda brought the situation under control and introduced better administrative control and is widely regarded as having saved OKDIA from bankruptcy and further problems. She maintained tight control over the management of the class for 12 years and oversaw the introduction of the World Championship levy, which greatly improved the finances, as well as a new Constitution in 1993.

Don Andrews was Chairman of the British Class Association for a number of years before becoming Chairman of the OKDIA Technical Committee from 1988 to 2001, the longest serving Chairman up to that time. He was rigorous in keeping the Class Rules up to date and diplomatically handling the many ideas from national associations for change.

Brenda and Don were the face of OKDIA during the 1990s, traveling together to most events and not charging expenses other than a flight to Australia or New Zealand every four years, which was considered the honorarium at the time. It is widely considered that without their dedication and exacting standards for finance, events and class rules, the OK Dinghy class would have taken much longer to recover from the difficult times at the end of the 1980s.