Princess Royal presents ex-RYA chief with award

Former RYA chief executive Rod Carr was among those who were honoured yesterday at Windsor Castle as part of the Queen’s Birthday Honours.

The Princess Royal presented Mr Carr with a CBE for ‘services to sailing’.

Mr Carr, a member of Hayling Island Sailing Club for 19 years, spent 25 years at the RYA, becoming chief executive in 2000 until his retirement in March.

He was a driving force behind Great Britain ending the last three Olympics as the top sailing nation with a record four gold medals in Beijing in 2008.

He began as a dinghy coach to the team for the Los Angeles Olympics in 1984, when Britain earned a solitary bronze medal.

He said: ‘I feel incredibly proud to be awarded with this honour. It was an honour in itself to lead the RYA during a period of significant change and development for our sport.

‘Not many people are fortunate enough to have had a career in an activity that is their passion. I count myself as extremely privileged.’

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