Sir Peter Johnson

by ISAF & John Reed on 28 May 2003 Sir Peter Johnson (GBR), former Chairman of the World Speed Sailing Record Council (WSSRC) who retired in April 2003, died after a long battle against cancer, on Saturday 24 May, at his home in Lymington, Great Britain.

Sir Peter was a leading figure in the world of yacht racing and held a number of senior posts in clubs and organisations, playing strong roles in the yacht rating development, and was instrumental in establishing the World Speed Sailing Record Council, of which he was chairman from 1990 until 2003.

He was a prominent journalist and yachting historian, contributing thousands of articles to the leading sailing journals, and wrote 15 books on yachting.

In 1976 he became the Seventh Baronet of New York, an inherited title that was established in 1755.

He started sailing in cruising and ocean going yachts in 1944, and covered many thousands of miles, a pastime which lasted until three years ago when he 'retired' to a 31ft motorboat and enjoyed cruising with his family. He owned a string of racing yachts and competed in more than ten Fastnet races including surviving the gruelling 1979 race in which 15 people drowned, and the 1999 Fastnet at the age of 69.