Squadron Life Member Noel Paterson was recently honoured with a Life Membership to the International Etchells Association for his decades of hard work and service to the Etchells class locally, nationally and internationally.

Noel has sailed Etchells for 42 years, has served as an International Governor of the Class for 12 years, and twice served as the National President. Noel attributes his longevity in the class to the high standard of one-design racing that can’t be beat and the great camaraderie between competitors across the globe – a combination which inevitably keeps you coming back to participate in events. He is looking forward to an excellent Etchells World Championship regatta here at the Squadron in October, and to hopefully building a robust youth program to cultivate the next generation of sailors post-Worlds next year. 

Squadron stalwart David Healey was even more recently awarded Life Membership to the Australian Etchells Association for ongoing contributions to the Etchells class here in Brisbane and at the National level.

David has sailed Etchells for 21 years, and has served as the Treasurer for the Brisbane Fleet for 20 of those years. Further, he has cumulatively served 12 years across a number of governance positions in the National Association, including Assistant Secretary, Secretary and now simultaneously Secretary and Treasurer. There must be something special about people who sail Etchells, because David also attributes his ongoing commitment and service to the Class to both the “opportunity to sail against some of the best in the world” and the “good bunch of people” involved in racing and directing the Class around the world. David will be working with Noel to hopefully deliver an exciting youth program in the new year and ultimately continue building this strong community into the future.