Earlier this year one of our most regular Caniwi drivers decided that the time had come to retire from race management and so the team had to say farewell to Malcolm Baxter. A big loss to the team, we do miss you.
Malcolm (seated) watches racing on board Caniwi. Photo by Kate Beckett
Malcolm, along with Gary Hutchings and Cathie Johnson crewed Caniwi for years and collected the Volunteer of the Year trophy in recognition of the amount of hours they gave so that yachts could participate in safe and fun racing. We really appreciate all the hours you put in and loved seeing you out there, but we thought that as this was Malcolm’s farewell, we’d include some highs and lows that he highlighted from his years aboard the mark boat…
“There were some challenging moments including the few times Caniwi needed to tow yachts, or when we picked up injured crew after a collision in thick sea mist at a regatta a year or two back. Some frustrating moments setting buoys at Island Bay with suspiciously short ropes and having to keep moving them back onto correct way points. Also the one and only time I was seasick with the Commodore on board in Evans Bay.
But there were also good times. I enjoyed being so close to the sailing action on race days. All the great training opportunities the club gave me and being trusted enough to do things right on board Caniwi during the annual regattas. Being made so welcome by club members. Spending great time with people on board Caniwi. And even the time I was dropped in the drink as Caniwi set off one Saturday.”
Malcolm, thank you for all the time you have given to the club, from all the boats that you’ve helped and the rest of the race management team who’ve been out there with you. We do still owe you a thank you rum or two, hopefully we’ll see you in the wardroom again and we can all say thank you properly.
By Kate Beckett
