STAFF PROFILE - DALE GEDDES

Dale Geddes is the inaugural Head Coach of our Youth Sailing Foundation (YSF) so I thought members might like to know a bit about him and the experience and credentials he brings to the position. Dale is Adelaide born and bred and nearly a local as he was born and grew up at Henley Beach. He is 35 years old and with his partner, Brooke, has one little girl and another baby due on 26 September. He attended Henley High School and spent the first ten years of his working life as a cabinet maker with his father. Dale’s sailing background goes back a long way and could be said to originate from the time his father, Grant Geddes, who was a national and world champion in Sharpies and International 14’ Skiffs, splashed water on his face while in the bath and told him, “this is what it is like to be a sheet hand in a Sharpie”, and from there it was a fait accompli. He participated in his first nationals at the age of ten in Perth sailing in a Cherub and sailed with his father many weekends. As is often the case, in later teenage years he gave sailing away to concentrate on work, other passions and travelled for several years. Having sailed with the likes of Tyson Lamond and Brett Averay he came to recognise there could be a career in sailing so undertook the Yachtmaster qualification in Melbourne and together with partner Brooke worked in the Mediterranean for several years as a skipper and crew duo. Returning to Australia for summers, Dale continued sailing as much as he could, completing the Sydney to Hobart race on a Rogers 46, The Goat, with further racing and sailing delivery work. In 2017 the family travelled to Europe and bought a Pogo 40, a more racing than cruising yacht which fits within the Class 40 rule and sailed Europe during the southern winters for several years as a family. As is the situation for many Aussies, the yacht is sitting on the hard at a small marina at Lavrio, a town on the east coast of mainland Greece, awaiting their return. Back in Australia Dale continued working in the cabinet and sailing industry with the last stint on Ichi Ban in Sydney before returning home to Adelaide as COVID hit Australia. Looking forward Dale is keen to get the Foundation underway and sees it as a means of introducing keelboat sailing to youths. He envisages there being several training squads and as they evolve teams will travel interstate to represent the Club at regattas. The squads will mainly train during the winter to allow off the beach sailing during the summer and will act as a bridge to keelboat sailing. Complementing the Marine Academy RYA cruising pathways, the Foundation will also provide Australian Keelboat Syllabus training with the focus on racing and will provide a pathway to upskill sailors for racing keelboats within the Club. Dale feels that he ‘fell through the cracks’ as a teenager in sailing and with the new YSF initiative he hopes to keep young people sailing through this stage in their lives. Dale is looking forward to the challenge and particularly to sailing on the Elliotts. He is keen to grow sailing in South Australia for the youth and to give back to the community and I wish him the very best.

Gay Footer