Trevor Geldard, one of the great helmsmen of New Zealand sailing passes away
by Michael Brown/Yachting NZ 22 Mar 2022 15:56 PDT
23 March 2022
Admirals Cup minimum raters, Epic Lass and Swuzzlebubble at their launching in 1984 © Brian Curtis
Trevor Geldard is being remembered as a visionary who played a leading role in the rise and rise of New Zealand sailing from the 1970s.
Geldard passed away peacefully at his home last week.
New Zealand's first tilt at the America's Cup in 1987 might not have happened without Geldard. The idea was faltering in the mid-1980s when a small group met at a function in Auckland and the subject of New Zealand's challenge was brought up.
"Among the group were some prominent people who were concerned about the difficulty of fundraising and, without money, the idea would remain a dream," said sailing broadcaster Peter Montgomery who was in attendance that day. "I was witness to Trevor Geldard saying, 'we will start things rolling with $1 million'. That was the start of what became an illustrious time for New Zealand sport.
"Trevor Geldard’s vision and courage was well known and appreciated among the sailing community."
It was recognised in 2004 when he won the Bernard Fergusson Trophy for Sailor of the Year alongside Sir Tom Clark and John Street. He was also made a life member of Yachting New Zealand.
During his time as chief executive of Consolidated Chemicals and then Healing Industries, Geldard instigated some substantial sponsorship from Epiglass, one of the products his company manufactured.
He was a strong advocate of supporting the market his company served and insisted on sponsorship for events and programmes ranging from junior sailing through to the One Ton Cup, Admiral's Cup, Southern Cross Cup, Kenwood Cup, America's Cup and New Zealand-flagged yachts in the round the world race.
A $300,000 sponsorship of the 1984 Epiglass Olympicsail brought about a change of fortunes for New Zealand sailors at the Olympics, starting with Russell Coutts (Finn) and Rex Sellers and Chris Timms (Tornado) winning gold and Bruce Kendall (windsurfing) bronze in Los Angeles and sustaining success for at least the next decade. Geldard also arranged a $500,000 sponsorship of the 1985 Admiral's Cup team.
It wasn't just high-profile events that captured Geldard. He was also instrumental in establishing the New Zealand Secondary Schools Sailing Regatta and Epiglass were regular supporters of junior class national championships.
NZ Marine: NZ Marine is saddened to hear of the passing of Trevor Geldard at the age of 89. Trevor passed away peacefully at home on 17 March.
In his leading roles at Epiglass and Advance Trident, Trevor was a great stalwart of the New Zealand Marine Industry and always conducted business to the highest possible ethical standards.
Trevor was a marine industry leader whom many admired for his vision, passion and continued industry support.
Our thoughts are with Trevor's wife Alison, daughter Michelle, sons Craig, Brett, Blair and their families.
S-W: Trevor will always be remembered for his quiet understated manner who gave real impetus to the New Zealand marine industry and the sport.
He realised very early that success on the international sailing scene provided a vital shop-window for the growing NZ marine industry, now with $2.4billion annual turnover.
Trevor took Consolidated Chemicals, a coatings company founded in the 60's by Peter Colmore-Williams in his West Auckland garage, to being a world player, and was eventually sold to International Paints.
Innovation was the hallmark of Consolidated Chemicals and its brand Epiglass, as it moved from being a paint company into resins and a wide range of one and two pot products.
While the company developed top products for the international sailors and clients, it never forgot its roots supplying the home builder and do it yourselfers. In the early days fibreglass sheathing and boat preparation were a regular working exhibit at boat shows - which provided a vital means of communication between Epiglass and its customers - and was a great piece of marketing.
As PJ has mentioned, Epiglass was one of the locks in the New Zealand sailing scrum, always giving a big and early push to many new ventures, and providing not just some finance, but also quiet oversight to make sure the project was a success.
Epiglass backed one of the 1985 New Zealand Admirals Cup team funding "Epic Lass" - a play on the company name - but as close as they could get to not infringing the sponsorship rules of the time. However when they got to Cowes the rulebooks came out again. Realising that the publicity from a name switch outweighed that, if nothing had been said at all. "Epic Lass" became plain "Epic". Of course the fact that the three boats were all repainted in the same colour and branding was another subtle marketing point made by Geldard and his team.
While Epiglass had some focus on the top end of the sport, it was always very aware of the need to develop the lower levels of the sport. Often their role was that of a venture capitalist, getting an event off the ground and running successfully before moving aside for another sponsor to come into an established event and take over, while Epiglass moved on to the next new event.
Trevor was a very good business man and a very good judge of risk - essential in the business in which Epiglass was a dominant player in New Zealand - but also a vital skill in picking sailing projects in which to be involved, and being able to see how the dream of others could be backed and re-shaped to become a reality.
He was always low-profile and stayed well in the background quietly assessing, encouraging and providing guidance where necessary. His was a significant contribution, laying the foundations for the place that Kiwis enjoy today in international sailing at all levels.
When Trevor was on watch, you knew there was an expert hand at the helm of New Zealand sailing.
Along with John Street and Sir Tom Clark, Trevor was honoured in 2004 with the long overdue award of the Sir Bernard Fergusson Sailor of the Year trophy, as the "Godfathers of New Zealand sailing".
RG