The death of Gus Henry of Sligo has taken from among us a pillar of sailing in the northwest whose energies and enthusiasm were such that they had beneficial effects nationally and internationally. A member of Sligo Yacht Club for more than sixty years - the last twenty of which saw him as SYC’s most honoured Honorary Member – he first became involved in Sligo sailing in the 1950s when it was still focused eastward on the freshwater Lough Gill, where it traced its active roots back to 1821.

WORLD SAILING’S SENIOR TROPHY

There, it had seen the first races for the Ladies’ Cup in 1822. Though now raced on the sea from the club’s “new” base at Rosses Point, it is reckoned to be among the oldest – if not actually the oldest – of world sailing’s perpetual trophies still in regular competition.

Sligo YC’s Ladies Cup of 1822, possibly the world’s oldest continuously-competed sailing trophy

But much and all as he appreciated Sligo’s sailing heritage, Gus Henry was among the “Young Turks” who favoured a move to a sea base at Rosses Point. And once the club had set up its proper headquarters there, he played a key role in ensuring that, in addition to a renowned training and club racing programme, it hosted a continuing throughput of regional, national, international and world championships, which made Sligo a by-word for hospitality and open water racing against the exceptional scenic backdrop of the mountains of Ben Bulben of Yeatsian fame.

With a week of International Mirror Class class racing getting underway with Commodore Karl Kerins and his members at Sligo this Friday (July 21st) in the Irish Nationals and the Mirror Worlds 2023, we have an event that appropriately memorialises the high level of international sailing sports competition coming to Sligo that Gus Henry and his colleagues set themselves as a target all those years ago.

Mirror Dinghies at Sligo Yacht Club with the clubhouse now much expanded since Gus Henry and his early clubmates made the visionary move to a sea base at Rosses Point

GP 14s HIS FAVOURITE BOAT

Yet although many classes have been catered for at Rosses Point over the decades since Gus’s own personal favourite in boats was the International GP 14, and we are indebted to Andy Johnston of the GP14 Association for this heartfelt appreciation of Gus Henry:

“It was with great sadness the news of Gus Henry's passing filtered through the very large family, which is the GP14 fleet, recovering from a Friday battering at a very windy Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta and readying themselves for Day 2 of the Leinster Championship, an event graced by GP14 Legend Gus for many, many years including victory back in 1971 at Kilbarrack in Willi Hazard.

TRANSFORMATION OF GP14 ASSOCIATION

“Gus arrived on the GP14 scene in the mid-60s when it was still the Northern Ireland Branch of the GP14 Association. He was fleet captain for an emerging Sligo class in 1967, expected to reach 13 boats in the following seasons. At this stage, Gus was a keen racer and also building GP14s. In 1968, he requested Sligo be considered for the 1971 Purcell Trophy and was eloquently present at the July 1970 meeting where the NI Branch became the GP14 Ireland Class Association. At the subsequent AGM, he was elected the representative of Area C and a member of the first Committee.

His favourite class – GPs at Sligo. Gus Henry built and raced several successful GP14s. Photo: SYC

“As well as contributing to the Class through Committee, Gus continued to race and build successful boats. Some of those self-built boats, including Willians and Willi Waw, were well to the fore in the fleet. Pat Murphy, former Chairman of the Class and a multiple times National Champion, well remembers the transom of Willi Hazard and Willwaw, with Gus regularly leading him home. While Gus never won the Championship of Ireland, he had a number of top-ten finishes, most notably finishing third in a fleet of 60+ boats at the 1983 Championship of Ireland in Galway behind Curly Morris and Pat Murphy. A tenth in 1983 and a seventh in 1985 further demonstrated his capability.

“His interest was starting to move towards Race Management, both locally and nationally, and of course, he continued to build boats for his son Niall who had emerged into the GP14 scene along with a host of other young Sligo sailors, including Tim Corcoran.

ONE OF IRELAND’S PREMIER RACE OFFICERS

“Gus became one of Ireland's premier race officers, regularly handling national championships across various classes. Within the GP14 scene, he was PRO for the GP14 World Championship held in Sligo in 2006.

“Thanks to the visionary enthusiasm of Gus and his pioneering friends, Sligo had emerged as a great developer of Youth sailors, particularly in the Mirror Class. When the Mirror World Championships (1987) and Mirror Europeans (2010) came to the Club, he had a major role in ensuring these events were a success on the water.

SLIGO SPORTING HALL OF FAME

“Outside of GP14s, Gus was widely respected and played a significant role in ensuring the Enterprise World Championships (1979), Scorpion World Championships (1977 & 1980),
Fireball Worlds (2011) and the Dinghy Weeks in 1978 and 1983 in Sligo were the success they were. He was the recipient of the Volunteer of the Year Award in 2004, and in 2007 was inducted into the Sligo Sporting Hall of Fame.

“On behalf of the GP14 Ireland fleet and Committee, I would like to extend our condolences to Niall, Conal and Aoife and the extended Henry family”. Andrew Johnston

Gus Henry – for many years he was the embodiment of Sligo’s enthusiastic “can-do” appproach to sailing

Afloat.ie regrets to record the death on Friday (7 July) of Gus Henry of Sligo; a leading Sligo Yacht Club member, veteran race officer and sailing enthusiast.

In particular, Gus was a GP14 sailor of great energy and national status, and was also involved in developing many other interests and projects in his beloved area of the Northwest.

A full Afloat.ie appreciation will appear in due course. Meanwhile, our heartfelt condolences are with his loving family and very many friends.