It is with immense regret that we have lost one of the most enthusiastic and cheerful faces that you would ever see on the team sailing circuit: Sean Dickey.  Late last night on the 19th April, he was tragically involved in a motorbike traffic accident that he sadly did not make it out of. Sean dedicated so much of the time he had in his life to being on the water, but he will be especially remembered by those closest to him who were team racing in the South Island in his generation.  He grew up sailing in Wanaka and as he progressed through his college years, was heavily involved in team sailing; attending training camps with us in Rarotonga and eventually captaining and leading his Wanaka team who would travel the length of the country to compete against other schools.

Sean was one of our top young national umpires and was always willing to sacrifice his free time in order to help more young sailors get on the water.  He was involved in coaching sailors from Wanaka whilst at university and would regularly travel from his base in Christchurch to help them out and he was always a regular face at many of our regional and national championships.

Our thoughts at this time are with Sean’s family, especially his parents Mei Lian and Steve Dickey, who themselves were especially enthusiastic and generous with their involvement in team sailing in the South Island.  We’re certain that everyone involved in team sailing over the last decade will have fond memories of Sean and we hope that these will continue to dominate the memory of him.

Sail on Sean.