A Champion of Sailing in the Pacific Northwest Gets National Recognition for Achievements
The annual US Sailing Association Award winners were celebrated on Thursday evening February 6, 2020, aboard the USS Midway
in San Diego at the US Sailing Awards Night Celebration. Among the winners was Seattle’s Dick Rose, who received the Harman Hawkins Trophy, which is awarded annually to an individual who has made outstanding contributions over a period of time to the sport of sailing in the field of Race Administration.
A longtime board member at The Sailing Foundation (TSF), Rose is well known to sailors, but because so much of his work is behind the scenes, it’s difficult to appreciate just how much he contributes. He has been an active National Judge for 41 years. He is a member of his association appeals committee and serves as the secretary of the US Sailing Racing Rules Committee.
A Friend and Mentor
Friend, fellow board member at TSF, and influential youth sailing organizer, Burke Thomas, had this to say of Rose and his devotion to sailing in the Pacific Northwest:
Rain or shine, whether holding a tiller, driving an umpire boat, or heading up a hearing, Dick has been serving the Pacific Northwest sailing community for as long as I can remember.
My first memories of him were at a Lake Chelan PIYA regatta in 1970, Dick and other adult competitors were closing out the year of racing in their OK dinghies on the big course while I was learning to race in an El Toro on the short course. Dick took the time to talk to me onshore, encouraging me and other youngsters in the sport. I saw firsthand, and benefitted from, the enthusiasm and organization he brought to the Seattle Laser fleet (Dick is considered by many the father of the Seattle Laser fleet) and I-14 Fleets in the 1970s and 80s.
Rose’s Considerable Contributions
Among his many contributions, Rose was chair of the US Racing Rules Committee for many years, including the milestone year of 1997, when he guided the development of the reorganized “New Rules.” He is also chairman of the World Sailing Racing Rules Working Party and the Case Book Working Party.
Every four years, Rose painstakingly compiles The Racing Rules of Sailing and US Prescriptions for publication by US Sailing, then participates in proofreading the final version of the rulebook. A past Nathanael G. Herreshoff Trophy winner, Rose has written a monthly column on the racing rules for Sailing World magazine since 1984.
Youth sailing is where Dick has been most active in our region. For the past 20 years, Dick has volunteered hundreds of hours to help NWISA & NWYRC with NORs, SIs, regatta management and on-water umpiring, all the while heading up the youth sailing committee of The Sailing Foundation. Dick‘s vision was also instrumental in creating the position and the hiring of TSF Youth Sailing Director, Andrew Nelson, a few years ago.
In all of those capacities, Dick puts in a 40-hour week (or more) every week of the year, year-in and year-out. All of this work is done as a volunteer, without compensation.
Congratulations and Thank You, Dick Rose!
We’d like to join the chorus in thanking Dick for all the work he’s done over the years and acknowledge the incredible impact he’s had on the sport of sailing in the Pacific Northwest and beyond. We offer a hearty congratulations to him for this well-earned recognition of his enormous contributions!
