Mike Slade receives OBE
by Chris Sherlock 17 May 2019 00:46 AEST
16 May 2019
Mike Slade's British Maxi, Leopard 3 © RORC / James Mitchell
Mike Slade the charismatic owner of Leopard has been at Buckingham Palace today to receive his OBE for services to charity.
Coincidentally Mike also completed the sale of his well-travelled Supermaxi Leopard 3 today. Mike has had a continuous string of racing maxis for more than 30 years and is now taking a breather from racing at the highest level, but watch this space!
Chris Sherlock captain until 2018:
I have had the honour of looking after all 4 of Mike and his wife Heather's yachts for 27 years until joining Doyle sails Palma as Managing Director in 2018. We raced at the highest level along with some amazing cruising all over the world. Without Mike a lot less people would have been given opportunities to go onto the VOR and Americas cup in the last edition of the VOR alone there were no less than five Leopard crew sailing. We have had literally thousands of people come through the Leopard program due to Mike's enthusiastic maxi campaigns for so many years.
Hugh Agnew Navigator and now co-founder of A+T Instruments:
I have had the privilege of sailing virtually every race that Mike and Heather's yachts have done - Ocean Leopard, Longobarda, Leopard of London and then most recently the canting keel Leopard 3.
The highlights are too many to count from breaking the Fastnet record to canting Leopard's keel to get under Sydney Harbour bridge or beating Rambler in Mike's two last regattas on the boat.
Mike has made a truly huge contribution to British and international yachting and has given many hundreds of us an enormous amount of fun.