Vale Ian McKenzie OAM

ORCV Committee and members are saddened to hear of the death of Past Commodore Ian McKenzie OAM.

Ian was a long-time supporter of ORCV as a competitor, volunteer, committee member and flag officer. He served as Commodore from 2002 to 2004.

Together with the late Gary Clapham, Ian was a prime mover in the push to secure and develop a permanent freehold home for the club, providing ORCV with a valuable and appreciating asset. Prior to the purchase of the current offices in Footscray, ORCV had relied on rented premises, necessitating a number of moves as lease arrangements changed.

He was instrumental in securing the Cascade and several other sponsorship arrangements which were extremely valuable to the club over a number of years, and was involved in setting up and delivering significant media exposure for a number of ORCV events. In addition he filled the always arduous and sometimes thankless role of race director for many ocean races.

Ian was the principle contributor to the development of the ORCV Yearbook, now approaching its 19th annual edition and still an invaluable reference for everyone involved in the sport in Victoria.

Ian’s yacht, Supertramp, was a familiar sight in ORCV events through the 1990’s and after his retirement from offshore racing Ian provided a strong voice for ORCV as a member of Yachting Victoria’s Keelboat Committee , Safe Boating Policy Committee and Risk Management and Safety Committee.

Ian was awarded an Order of Australia Medal in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List earlier this year for service to the visual arts as a photographer and to the community.