Four notable Australians have received Order of Australia awards for their contribution to sailing and yachting in this year’s Queen’s Birthday Honours list.
Matt Allen AM (Cruising Yacht Club of Australia), Robert Badenach AM (Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania), Adrienne Cahalan OAM (Lane Cove 12ft Sailing Skiff Club) and John Carroll OAM (Bendigo Yacht Club) were all named as part of the honours list.
Cahalan and Carroll were nominated for their services to sailing, Badenach for his significant service to yachting and Allen for his significant service to sailing, particularly through executive roles.
Adrienne Cahalan OAM (pictured above) is the first woman to sail 25 Sydney to Hobart Yacht Races with 6 line honours, 2 race records and 2 overall wins, the first and only woman to hold a Round the World record (2004) and she currently holds 5 World Speed Records.
John Carroll OAM is the Co-Designer, Australian Sailfish dinghy, Co-Founder of the Australian Sailfish Class Owners Association, former National Principal Measurer and six time Victorian State Champion, Australian Sailfish Class Sailing.
Matt Allen AM is a 29 time Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race competitor, current Australian Sailing President and Member of the Australian Olympic Committee Executive. He is also a former Commodore of Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, former Rear Commodore of the Royal Ocean Racing Club and Vice-Chair, Oceanic and Offshore Committee, World Sailing.
Robert Badenach AM has been the Finish Co-ordinator of the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race since 2000, is the current Principal Race Officer, Derwent Sailing Squadron and was awarded the Rolex Sydney to Hobart Meritorious Award for 40 years’ service to the race in 2014.
Australian Olympic Committee President John Coates said Matt has been a great contributor to the AOC as a member of the Executive and Chair of the AOC Finance Commission and for many years has been a very successful and influential leader in sailing.
Australian Sailing President Matt Allen AM said it is a great honour to receive the award, and also for the sport of sailing to be so well represented amongst the full Queen's Birthday 2019 Honours List.
“I was delighted to see that Adrienne Cahalan was amongst those recognised, as she is someone who has achieved so much in our sport both on and off the water. She was a champion across many skiff classes as well as the Sydney Hobart, and is also one of the finest navigators Australia has produced,” he said.
“Robert “Biddy” Badenach is another legend of the sport, and amongst other achievements deserves his recognition for the work he has done coordinating the finishes of the Sydney Hobart over a number of decades.
“I would like to also acknowledge Dr Kimberley Jaggar, who alongside his outstanding contribution to secondary education is an avid sailor and taught me so much when I sailed on his yachts in the late 70s.”
Click here to see a full list of recipients.
– Australian Sailing
