The sailing world, Newport, Rhode Island, and US Sailing lost a leader, dedicated volunteer and beloved friend this weekend when Dr. Robin Wallace died at the age of 84.
Wallace served in a variety of roles at US Sailing over his long tenure, beginning with his designation as a Recognized Senior Race Officer in 1983. He served as Area Race Officer for Area A, chair of the Race Management Committee, and a member of both the US Sailing and World Sailing Sports Medicine Committees.
As a Race Management Instructor, Wallace taught scores of rising race officers and often continued to mentor them as they progressed in their careers. As a race officer, he ran events of all types, from local youth regattas to high-level racing such as the Louis Vuitton Challenger Series in 1980 and 1983 to select the America’s Cup challenger. He was also the long-time race officer for Shields Fleet 9 in Newport.
One of his longest-lasting contributions was the creation of Sail Newport, of which he was a co-founder in 1983. Wallace supported many other sailing organizations, including the C. Thomas Clagett Memorial Clinic and Regatta for adaptive sailors, Narragansett Bay Yachting Association and the RI State Yachting Committee.
To read and hear more about Dr. Wallace, see Eight Bells in Scuttlebutt, an obituary in the Newport Daily News, and a Robin Wallace celebration video from Sail Newport in 2016.