OBITUARIES & APPRECIATIONS - NET
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OBITUARIES & APPRECIATIONS
Diana Russell
Diana Russell was born on 20th December 1943, the elder of two daughters of the
Hon Edward W C Russell and Barbara K Russell. She grew up in Washington, DC
and attended The Potomac School and The Madeira School. Diana graduated from
Bryn Mawr College in 1965. For a short time she lived in historic Georgetown,
Washington, then moved up to New York City to pursue her interest in naval
architecture. Diana loved ‘messing around in boats’ and, especially, sailing anything
she could get her hands on.
In the early 1970s she joined the renowned yacht design firm of Sparkman &
Stephens. She was a pioneer in computer programming, writing the firm’s nascent,
empirically-based performance
prediction system into
yachting’s first computational
Velocity Prediction Program.
Her work inspired Olin
Stephens, the firm’s founder,
to co-lead the subsequent,
large-scale development of
the original VPP for yacht
handicapping through a team
at the Massachusetts Institute
of Technology.
Diana sailed as much as she
could, including transatlantic
and in the North Sea, and
joined the OCC in 1978
Diana Russell
following a 2640 mile passage
from Gran Canaria to Barbados aboard the 38ft Wild Hunter. No degree of physical
discomfort could stop her from following her deep love of boats wherever they took
her. She loved to study how they moved through the air and water and how she might
design them to move more efficiently. All aspects of boating dynamics interested her.
Diana had an extremely inventive, creative mind and held several patents. She
specialised in small boat design, especially hull profiles. She had a constant curiosity
about the science of sailing, and delighted in the study of hydrodynamics as she
perfected her own boat designs. Shortly before her death she was working on a wakeless
judging boat to be used for rowing races. She also had ideas for a wind-powered ocean-
going container ship, all in keeping with her environmental awareness and concerns.
Eventually Diana founded a small company called WingSystems which manufactured
and sold tenders, dinghies and windsurfers.
In addition to the OCC, Diana was a member of the Seawanhaka Corinthian YC
for around 40 years. She was also a member of the New York YC, the Royal Ocean
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Racing Club, the Explorers Club, the Royal Institute of Naval Architects and the
Cruising Club of America, NY station.
Diana was an avid animal lover, always owning several dogs and cats. She was a donor
to multiple charities protecting wildlife and preserving nature despite being bitten by
a zebra on one occasion, as was her father! She had a wry sense of humour, loved a
good story and was always game for adventure, be it windsurfing in Aruba, searching
for silverback gorillas in Africa or exploring small towns in Turkey with friends. She
loved to ski, and rented a ski house in Vermont for many years. She was a truly free
spirit, choosing her own path and following it in her own inimitable way. Diana was
loved by everyone who knew her.
Alice Boardman
Commodore Sam Bateman AM RAN (rtd)
Australia lost one of its finest mariners and a long-time member of the Ocean Cruising
Club when Commodore Sam Bateman passed away peacefully on 18th October 2020.
Sam was a mariner in the broadest sense of the word. During his 40 years in the Royal
Australian Navy he had four sea commands – the General Purpose Vessel HMAS
Bass, the Attack Class Patrol Boat HMAS Aitape, the River Class Destroyer Escort
HMAS Yarra, and the Guided Missile Destroyer HMAS Hobart.
Even after he retired from the Navy,
Sam continued his connection with
the sea through his academic pursuits.
He was perhaps one of Australia’s
greatest maritime strategic thinkers,
who staunchly believed that Australians
should see themselves as part of a
maritime nation and that maritime
issues should be a key component of
national strategy. He completed his
PhD in 2000 with a thesis entitled The
Strategic and Political Aspects of the Law
of the Sea in East Asian Seas.
The sea ran through Sam’s veins.
He loved everything to do with the
ocean. He enjoyed catching a wave on
Mooloolaba Beach, being a passenger
on container ships, taking friends and
family on offshore fishing trips, making
Antarctic and Arctic voyages and,
of course, sailing. Perhaps one of his
Taking a meridian passage aboard
Red Boomer II in the 1970s
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great regrets was that he did not fulfil his
ambition to purchase a cruising yacht and
set off around the world. Academia and
the Navy probably prevented him from
achieving this, but it is clear from from
his collection of Flying Fish that the desire
remained strong.
While he may not have accrued as
many cruising miles as other members of
the OCC, his love of sailing was realised
in other ways. He competed in his first
Sydney Hobart Yacht Race in 1966 in the
Royal Australian Naval College’s yacht
Franklin after completing the Montague
Island race earlier in the year. While
living in Brisbane in 1969 he sailed with
the Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron in
Sequana with Maurice Tilley, including
a Brisbane to Gladstone Race that year.
During a posting to Port Moresby,
capital of Papua New Guinea, he had
part ownership of the Diamond Class
Kanhai and he and his partners were keen
competitors in the Royal Papua Yacht
Club A-Class Division. Sam was also
Hobart bound
Vice Commodore of the Club. It was in
Port Moresby that Sam befriended Bill McNeil
who had built the 63ft ketch Red Boomer II.
Bill asked Sam to navigate in the upcoming
Sydney Hobart Race. Not having many racing
attributes, Red Boomer made a leisurely passage
to Hobart where they were joined by Sam’s wife
Lois before, in early 1975, they headed west
across the Great Australian Bight to Fremantle.
Sam cited the 1500 mile passage from Hobart to
Albany as his qualifying voyage when he joined
the OCC six years later.
Perhaps Sam’s happiest sailing days were most
recently, when he took his family on two-week
charter holidays in the Mediterranean. These
would involve the charter of two similar yachts,
crewed by fourteen family members all with
varying sailing experience. Over the course of
Sam in his element,
sailing in the Greek Islands
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four years the family sailed the Ionian Sea on two occasions, Croatia and the Aeolian
Islands. Each of these cruises were meticulously planned by Sam, who always ensured
he brought his hand-bearing compass and sextant in order to teach the youngsters the
finer points of navigation.
As cancer ravaged his body and COVID-19 prevented overseas travel, after receiving
a terminal diagnosis in early 2020 Sam was determined to achieve one last sailing
trip. Somehow he convinced his doctor and in October, after enduring bouts of
chemotherapy, he and other family members chartered a catamaran in the Whitsundays.
Whilst obviously sick he was in his element, ‘driving the yacht like a destroyer and
chasing the elusive tuna’. After handing the yacht back on the final day he declared
he was feeling unwell and was taken to hospital where he passed away the next day. It
was as if all he needed was one last bit of time on the ocean that he loved.
Sam is survived by his wife Lois and their children Simon, Sarah and Emma, along
with their respective families.
Simon Bateman
Paul Ives
Paul loved the sea from boyhood, and started sailing after his parents gave him a rather
tender dinghy for his 21st birthday. Although he sailed in the cold winds and waters
off Aldeburgh, often capsizing, nothing dampened his enthusiasm.
However, Paul was primarily a musician. He was
a boy chorister at Ely Cathedral, where he excelled,
even shaking the hand of the Queen Mother after
singing a solo at a performance she attended. He
went to the Royal Academy of Music to study the
cello, leaving with the coveted Recital Diploma
Prize, and spent six years with the cello section of the
BBC Symphony Orchestra before leaving London
for Wales, to play and teach.
It was there that he started sailing again. He
bought a 22ft Macwester Rowan in which he and
the family sailed to Scotland, the Channel Islands
and France then upgraded to a beautiful 31ft Golden
Hind named Winfarthing. This enabled him to greatly
increase his sea passages, including, in 1997, a 1418
mile passage from Aberystwyth, Wales to Faial in
the Azores which became his qualifying voyage on Paul Ives
joining the OCC in 2000. His final boat was Altair, a Rustler 36, in which he made
four singlehanded Atlantic passages. His last voyage was also singlehanded, from Puerto
Mogan to Falmouth, where he decided to sell her. OCC Treasurer Charles Griffiths
adds: ‘When I bought Altair in 2015 she was totally fit and ready for ocean sailing. Paul
was a highly accomplished yachtsman whose unstinting advice helped and mentored
me into becoming an ocean sailor’.
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After selling Altair Paul
pursued other passions,
including a flight in a Spitfire
over the Solent, doing a
victory roll and looping the
loop. He was so excited about
this that he couldn’t stop
talking about it for weeks.
We joined a walking group
and completed many walks,
including Glyndwrs Way, a
134 mile trail through the
remote hills and valleys of
North Wales. Then he went Paul aboard Altair, his Rustler 36
on to mastermind a complete renovation of a derelict E-Type Jaguar. In 2018 we
drove it to Le Mans and managed to complete part of the old Formula One road
circuit – his last passion before time ran out.
Paul remained upbeat and positive to the end, saying he’d had a wonderful life
and wouldn’t change a thing.
Susie Ives
Roger Stuart Dawe
A 48-year love affair with a 29ft (8∙9m) Dragon, a Pedersen and Thuesen wooden
racing yacht called Royalist, plus the fulfilment of a lifelong dream to buy a cruiser
and sail the world, which he did with his wife, meant that Roger died with many
truly amazing memories.
Born during the Second World War, his early childhood entailed moving around
the country to avoid the Blitz. When the family returned to the southeast, Roger
went to Dulwich Preparatory and The City of London School. In fact, London was to
remain his destination for most of his working life in the building industry, in which he
remained interested long
after he retired.
Roger Dawe He was happier in
the countryside than
in town, however, and
never lost his sense of
adventure. His early
love of racing motor
cars came to an abrupt
end with a near fatal
crash in his Lotus 7 at
Silverstone, and this was
the point at which Roger
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Roger and Jo’s Oyster 53, Dragonfly of Upnor
was introduced to dinghy sailing by one of his lifelong friends.
Michael Freeman owned a Fireball, which Roger found to be
equally exhilarating though somewhat less dangerous than
racing cars. His passion for sailing had begun, and before long
they progressed to racing Dragons. Fortunately for Roger he
met Johanna soon after this. They became a brilliant team,
and were well-matched in all aspects of their life together,
which lasted for 46 years until Roger’s death on 10th October
2020, two days before his 79th birthday.
Roger and Jo were keen hikers and completed many great
walks – the Machu Picchu Trail in Peru, The Pitons in St Lucia, South Georgia
including part of Shackleton’s iconic trek across the mountain range, Ben Nevis,
Snowdon, The Great Wall of China, volcanoes in the Caribbean and walks in the
Amazon Rainforest. At home in the UK they walked the Thames Path and many
coastal paths. So many walks in so many places, in so many parts of the world. They
felt truly grateful that they were able to share all these wonderful experiences together.
Both generous hosts, they loved celebrating life with their large extended family
and many friends. Celebrations included everything from fancy-dress balls to garden
barbecues, but Roger’s preference was for one-to-one interactions, where he was always
interested in meeting new people and in hearing their life stories.
With retirement came the opportunity to buy an Oyster 53, which they named
Dragonfly of Upnor. All three children and many friends were now set for exotic
holiday destinations. Racing across the Atlantic in the ARC, being the only people
on a desert island, sailing up the US East Coast to Maine and down to South America
– their adventures fill many log books, diaries and photo albums which continue to
give the family great comfort. Their 2002 Atlantic passage aboard Dragonfly of Upnor
was later cited by both as their qualifying voyage when joining the OCC, Roger in
2005 followed by Jo ten years later.
Roger and Jo
returned home to
be with older family
members and for the
subsequent births of
two grandchildren,
to whom he passed
on his great love of
wildlife. When not
in the garden you’d
find him down the
River Medway –
Royalist, Roger
and Jo’s handsome
wooden Dragon
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wherever we went, he’d always find boats to look at. Although well-known as a
modest gentleman, Roger was a keen and competitive sailor and Class Captain,
winning the overall Medway Yacht Club Championship many times, as well as
other Series Cups and Regattas. He also competed in the Edinburgh Cup (National
Championships), seven times.
Whilst Roger leaves behind a huge void in our lives, he has also left a great legacy.
He is sailing amongst the stars now, no doubt ‘kite up’, pole trimmed forward, main
eased down the track and kicker in hand, and with a smile on his face. We wish him
fair winds and blue skies always.
Jo, Nicola, Amelia and Daniel,
and grandchildren Eliza and Bodhi
Tom Delaney
Thomas F Delaney passed from this life too soon, on 12th November 2020 at the age
of 70, due to complications from COVID-19. The son of Carroll J and Mary (Reilly)
Delaney, Tom was born in New York City and was raised in Bronxville, NY. He
graduated from Fordham University and earned his MBA from NYU where he met
Linda, who became his wife. Tom finally retired after a distinguished 40-year career with
CBS as Senior Vice President
of Market Resources. A Life
Member and Past Commodore Tom Delaney
of the New York Athletic Club,
Tom was an avid sportsman and
accomplished sailor, enjoying
many sailing adventures with
family and friends.
Tom developed an early love for
sailing, inspired by his shipbuilding
grandfather and on a yacht
belonging to his uncle, John D
Reilly, a member of the St Francis
Yacht Club on San Francisco Bay.
He enjoyed racing sailboats and
became very active in the New
York Athletic Club Yacht Club
and the New York Yacht Club. He
was one of four founding members
of the Winged Foot Syndicate
which, in 1988, purchased a classic
wooden racing yacht, Hi-Q-II.
They refurbished her, enabling
her to enjoy a second wind from
1988-2003 as a champion racer.
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Tom and I joined the Ocean Cruising
Club in 2010. His qualifying voyage
had taken place back in 1982 aboard
Cyndsure, sailing from Newport, RI
to Fort Lauderdale, FL, and this was
followed by many shared ocean-
crossing adventures. Tom became
OCC Port Officer for New York
City in 2013. He was known for his
engaging personality and generous
offers of help, and particularly enjoyed
taking visiting OCC members to the
New York Yacht Club on
Tom Delaney relaxing
aboard Siren...
... and at the wheel
44th Street, of which he
had been a member since
1984. Every summer we
sailed Siren, our Tayana
55, to the New York Yacht
Club in Newport, RI,
where we served on the
Race Committee for
over 15 years. We also
sailed throughout New
England and Maine, enjoying clam
chowder and lobsters in every port along the way.
Tom created a life of adventure that took him across the globe – sailing
on many Newport to Bermuda races, scuba diving in Australia, tobogganing in Japan and
golfing in Florida. Tom was the family pool shark and Whiffle ball champion, teaching
his children and grandchildren a love of the game and the endless pursuit of fun! He was
filled with energy and spirit, and served on many esteemed boards. He loved to celebrate
and was the heart of every gathering, bringing laughter and excitement everywhere he
went. He will also be remembered for always supporting his friends and family through
their difficult times as well as their shining moments.
Tom is survived by his loving wife Linda, with whom he had a joyous relationship for
34 years, his children, Kristin, Thomas and Lisa, and his five adoring grandchildren. He
will long be remembered by his family, many friends and admirers – he truly embodied
the Corinthian spirit.
Linda Baker-Delaney
240
H Blane Bowen
Blane Bowen, who always saw life as an adventure to be lived to the fullest, passed
away peacefully in Toronto on Monday 12th October 2020 after a hard-fought battle
with cancer. He was predeceased by Sally (Douglas), his wife of 20 years, and survived
by Hilary Macmillan, the mother of his three children Michael, Tim and Jenn, his
brother Bill, sister Bev and many grandchildren.
A passionate and perpetually curious man, Blane was never one to pay homage to the
naysayers or to do things by half measure. A successful fork-truck peddler, as he liked
to say, over a 50-year career Blane worked his way from the parts order desk to CEO
and Owner of Liftow Ltd. His success in business was only outshone by his success in
living and the many true friends he made wherever he travelled.
In his later years, as a keen fly fisherman, upland bird hunter and conservationist,
Blane was often knee-deep on the saltwater flats, double-hauling the perfect cast or
guiding a bird dog through the fields, shotgun in hand. He thought about what was
needed and could be done to protect the world which gave him such joy, and initiated
or supported projects that made a difference. Throughout his life Blane never ceased
exploring the world, Kenya and Israel being among his favourite countries for their
rich and diverse cultures and histories. He could also be found off the Antarctic coast
capturing emperor penguins on film, exploring the off-roads of India on a motorcycle
or cruising the Galapagos Islands in pursuit of Darwin’s discoveries. His love of people
and places was unceasing.
Perhaps his most profound passion, however, was the ocean. Blane truly fell in
love with it, embracing its many moods and sailing many of its seas. For most of
his life you could only find him if you could smell the sea – living aboard Atlantica,
the family’s beloved schooner, gunkholing along the coast of Maine, exploring the
many islands of the Bahamas and greater Caribbean or cruising the Mediterranean.
In 1979 he won the Transatlantic Race from Marblehead to Cork with his Swan 48
A young Blane at the helm
241
Blane Bowen in later life
Scaramouche of Warwick, continuing with
a successful Cowes Week campaign that
included surviving the tragic Fastnet Race,
returning to Plymouth unaided following
retirement from the race. Between times
he dragged his J-24, Chain Smoker, around
North America from regatta to regatta with
his young family in tow, eventually securing
a spot at the J-24 World Championships in
San Francisco.
While the ocean played an inspirational
and dominant role in Blane’s life, he was
just as drawn to the arts, whether in support of the performers, composers and artists
he enjoyed, teaching himself to paint and capture the moments that moved him, the
photography that placed him on the cover of Sail Magazine, or his many workshop
hours designing and building whatever his imagination inspired. His fascination with
creativity never left him.
However, above all else,
Taking a sun sight his love for and pride in his
family had no equal. While
one could never call Blane
a traditional family man, he
led by example, instilling
a deep sense of integrity,
personal responsibility and
spirit for adventure in his
children. He supported them
while never interfering (well
mostly), allowing them
to fail, to triumph and to
follow their own passions,
always excited to see where
it led them. In the end
he will probably be most
remembered for the twinkle
in his eye and how he made
people feel special – and
who could want anything
more?
Tim Bowen
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