Don Findlay, In Memoriam

Don Findlay, former Formula 18 Class Assoc Gral Secretary and founder of Nacra UK passed away this Dec 23rd.

Since 2004 I spoke with Don many times, weekly for some periods, he was key to help building up our local Class here in Arg and other new Assocs, and was always supportive, getting things done, targeting really key matters.

He was those guys who actually care for the sport and specially for the F18 Class. Experienced as few in the business Don was respected by all and he dedicated many years to the IF18CA development World Wide.

On Oct 2020, I sent a message to tell him that our long time discussions were just that and for him to forgive any hard words from my side, and thanked him for his patience and dedication.

Don was the necessary key person to get the Class going on and he left a long lasting legacy on his work for the F18 and Catsailing in gral.

Even out of Class management role he was up to date and he knew the great job he did for F18 sailors community, as he wrote in the last mail I received from him:

“…We look forward to a long successful period for F18… Thank you for your kind words, at 83, I look back on many years supporting Olivier and the F18 Class, at times worrying, but mainly I feel a great joy when attending World Championships and seeing 100+ catamarans,  made up for all the worry and long nights.

Don”

Big part of the Formula 18 long time success and the +100 boats lineups are due to his hard dedicated work.

Thanks Don.

Below Text sent by Gunnar Larsen, former head of Nacra and 2X F18 World Champ:

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The Don

“Most F18 sailors would know Don as the secretary general for the International F18 association but there is more.. He started importing Prindle catamarans to the UK which he personally purchased at Jan de Boer in Zandvoort and later on Heemstede. Jan de Boer was the European distributor for Prindle and later on also Nacra operating from The Netherlands. This company was sold in 2005 and would later become Nacra Sailing as we now know it. 

Hundreds of Prindles & Nacra’s were personally picked up by him in The Netherlands to find its new owners in the UK. Sometimes we just stood there and watched to see him taking two sets of hulls rooftopped on his car accompanied with a trailer. He would then carry 4 boats in total with spare parts. Just enough room for him to get in and drive the car. Totally stuffed

Much later on when he was Secretary General of the International F18 class it became clear that he was one of the driving forces behind the scenes so many teams could do what they loved most. Racing catamarans. Besides his roles in the sailing world as P.R.O., Secretary General, boat dealer, not many know that Don was lecturing at universities in the UK about business administration. Don had a long career himself in corporate business life. The sailing world he was operating in was his “ happy place”.

But most of all, besides all the successes Don achieved he was a great guy that you could really talk to. That you could trust and never judge anyone based upon assumptions. A true proud English gentleman that raised his family with our sport of sailing. We wish Emma, Peter and their families all the strength for the coming period. As one thing is certain. 

Don will be missed by so many people from different circles. And that tells something, doesn’t it.

We lost one of the “good guys”. A great friend! Don would have turned 85 years old coming 28th of august 2022″. 

Sail on Don…

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