Ian Brown (sailor)

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Ian Brown

Brown & Olympic Medal 1976
Personal information
Born	4 April 1954 (1954-04-04) (age 67) [1] South Australia, Australia[2]
Medal record Sailing Representing  Australia Olympic Games 1976 Montreal 470 class

Ian Warwick Brown (born April 4, 1954) is an Australian competitive sailor and coach who won an Olympic bronze medal in 1976 in the 470 class. Brown was the youngest ever Australian Olympic sailing medalist until Elise Rechichi won "gold" in 2008.^[3]

Biography[]

Brown is an "honors-qualified shipwright" and has a professional directorship diploma (fellow level) with the Australian Institute of Company Directors. He also holds a project management master's degree from the engineering faculty of Sydney University.

Brown has been awarded numerous NSW Govt achievement medals, was the treasurer of the NSW Olympians Club for 9 years, a club captain at Seaforth Moth Sailing Club, and a Rear Commodore at Hunters Hill Sailing Club.

Professionally, Ian Brown has been: (or is)

• A boatbuilding apprentice and tradesman, (McConaghy Boats & Halvorsens Ryde).
• A computer-based job costing clerk, (Mariner Cruisers).
• Developed a Sailmaking/Design company as owner and managing director. (Blue Peter One Design then One Design & Skiff Sails Pty Ltd).
• Australian and International Olympic sailing coach. (Australian Sailing and One Design Sailing Services).
• An Australian Olympic Program Head Coach. (Australian Sailing).
• An investment business administrator overseeing trusts and contracting companies.

Brown is married with three children and four grandchildren.

As well as his parents, Brown credits Bruce Hewish of Freshwater Sails, Hugh Treharne of Blue Peter Sails, and Patrick Mayes, a notable tax law accountant, as adding defining development abilities to himself and his career. The latter was a financial benefactor enabling Brown to compete successfully in the Etchells class, often beating many of the best sailboat racers in the world, such as Dennis Conner, Colin Beashel, David Curtis, John Bertrand, Iain Murray, and Peter Gilmore.

Competitive career[]

Early championships and novel skiff design[]

Ian Brown's skiff moth design influenced the future designs

Brown's first title was an Australian Championship in the Flying Ant class in 1968 at Perth. He was 5th in interdominion Cherub class in 1969 and a Moth class world junior champion in 1970 before going on to win the World senior Moth Class Championship in 1972/3 at 18 years old. Ian designed, built and raced several "Skiff Moth" designs. Ian's win was the first ever "Skiff Moth" to win a World Championship in the southern hemisphere, contested at Napier, New Zealand. He backed this up with a second place at Stockholm, Sweden in 1974.^[4]

" Brown had brought over a new “wedge” design – a wide stern, flatter skiff than the Europeans were then using. It led immediately, after these Worlds, to the Europeans adopting the design and adding detachable tube wings with canvas trampolines. This made the boat much lighter."

— From IMCA UK Yearbook, 1976

Skiff moth bow sections 1st Worlds 1973 & 2nd 1974

In 1975 he was 2nd in the Australian OK dinghy championships and later 3rd place in the Okinawa, Japan, Moth Worlds before beginning training in the 470 class with Ian Ruff. Early in 1976, after four months of training, they won both the Australian title and Olympic 470 selection regattas to secure Ian's first Olympian status. He, with crew and equipment owner Martin Burke, was 5th overall in the 1977 World 505 Class championships, La Rochelle, France. By 1980 he had won selection in the Flying Dutchman discipline for the Olympic Games, after which he began his sailmaking business. He was 4th Overall in the 1982 Flying Dutchman Class World Championships, Geelong, Australia.

Olympics Games[]

Ian Brown and Glen Bourke winning the Flying Dutchman 1980 Olympic Selection Regatta then 4th in the 1982 FD World Championship.

He won his Olympic bronze medal in the 470 class at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal. The sailing was held at Kingston on Lake Ontario. His forward hand and equipment owner was Ian Ruff.^[5]

Brown was selected to represent Australia as a competitor in the 1980 Summer Olympic Games for the Flying Dutchman Class. He represented Australia as a substitute competitor at the 1984 Summer Olympic Games. He was an Olympic sailing coach at the 1988 Summer Olympic Games for the Star and Flying Dutchman disciplines. Brown was a substitute competitor and coach at the 1992 Summer Olympic Games. He worked with Great Britain (Glenn Charles), New Zealand (Rod Davis), Bermuda (Peter Bromby), Bahamas (Mark Holowesko), and Australian (Colin Beashel), Star Class Olympic representatives on the 1996 Summer Olympics site just prior to Olympic racing (accreditation was with the Bermudan Olympic Sailing during the 1996 racing.)^[6]

Later championships[]

Later in the 1980s Ian was asked and spent a sailing season racing the 16 ft skiff Buckle Toyota achieving a podium placing in the NSW championships at Yarra Bay. He, with crew John Dorling and Barry Watson, was 2nd in the 1993 Etchells Class World Championship, Brisbane, Australia. He raced many other sailboats to State and National titles wins. His most recent National Title wins are in the Farr 40 as tactician 2005, stepping in to skipper four heats with Martin Burke for Ian McCrossin and his team to win a Dragon Class NSW championship on Sydney Harbour, and two National titles in the SB20 class. By arrangement Ian bought and crewed the SB20, giving the skipper role to Nathan Outteridge. They won the 2011 Nationals,^[7] Interestingly Ian and Nathan put in a rushed SB20 charter boat effort with Tom Slingsby, who boasted his first attempt at being a forward hand, during the 2011 SB20 World Championships at Torquay UK. For winning the 2013 Nationals Ian went back to skippering: "The pre-regatta favourite, Brown and his crew of twin brothers Patrick Conway (bow & tactics) and Alex (mainsheet & tactics) and Scott Cotton (fourth hand) sailed a classy series with few errors. Their final scorecard of 19 points, a whopping 32.5 points from the nearest threat, proved an unclimbable mountain."^[8]

Recent tours[]

Ian Brown, with UK naval architecture university student Elliot Wells, International 505 racing in Barcelona August 2019

After more than a decade of medical issues including a problematic spine operation, prostate cancer, and two years of frozen shoulder Ian competed in 4 International 505 regattas in Europe and Denmark during July and August 2019. His first dinghy racing regatta after 35 years was at Riva Del Garda with expert German crew Holger Jess. The most memorable moment during this tour was, a renewed friendship with world-famous Spanish Olympic sailing coach Paul Maes, now famously known as "the Doreste coach", but also a sailing coach to Spanish royalty, and being told that at the 1976 Olympic Games, when Brown achieved Bronze, Paul had coached the Spanish 470 silver medalist Antonio Gorostegui.

Coaching career[]

Brown, Andrew York and David Giles won two consecutive NSW Championships then second overall in the third.

Ian began coaching for class association, State and the National Sailing associations in 1974. During these early years he was one of several top coaches that put together the curriculum for Australia's first national elite coaching program. He was associated with Australian Sailing's development of relationship with the Australian Institute of Sport since its inception after the 1976 Olympics. He began Olympic coaching on request from Colin Beashel for his Olympics and Star Class efforts. Ian best coaching was each of three World 49er Championship wins by Chris Nicholson (two with Daniel Phillips and one with Ed Smyth). In one of these years he also coached both the Star Class World, and the European Championships wins by Colin Beashel and David Giles in Slovenia and Euros at Helsinki (Wikipedia Star & European Champions). A personal highlight during this time was finding a wealthy owner/crew for Colin's involvement and win, with Ian taking second place at the 1993 World Etchells Championships. Both were using a full set of sails from Ian's own sail loft. They worked collaboratively in training and warming up just before each world championship race. Ian also coached Michael Blackburn's second place at the 1998 Dubai Laser Worlds. He also worked for Olympic medalist, Americas Cup tactician and Round the World Race winner John Kostecki (with crew Tom Olsen) for a very close 2nd place at 1996 USA Star Class Olympic Games selection regatta. He has coached numerous Olympic classes to international regatta podium placings.

Over the fourteen years of existence, the sails and his design work from Ian Brown's sail loft, One Design & Skiff Sails Pty Ltd, had world title wins in the 505 class, 420 class, Moth class, 14 ft Skiff, Flying 15, and Etchell classes.

Head Coach for Yachting Australia[]

Ian Brown on right, invited and made his system work well for Victor Kovalenko. Victor achieved both Men's and Women's Olympic 470 Gold Medals. Sydney 2000 Olympic Games.

In 1997, Ian was selected by Australian Sailing and the National Sporting Systems to be the Yachting Australia Head Coach charged to develop and implement an Australian Olympic Sailing development program that would win as many sailing Olympic Medals as possible across all sailing disciplines at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. Ian and his administrator reported to an independent board made up of senior sport funding executives from the Australian Olympic Committee Craig Phillips, the Australian Institute of Sports Geoff Strang, the NSW Institute of Sport Michael Scott and, Chief executive of Yachting Australia Phillip Jones. At a sailing funding level, the plan submitted by Ian and his administrator achieved the then, by far, biggest ever sailing-based "Special Initiatives" Grant from the Australian Olympic Committee which allowed far greater depth of sailing coaching and equipment projects than had ever been conducted. All Olympic Sailing disciplines were represented at home games. His program, at the thainitiativest time, produced the best Australian medal haul for Sailing at an Olympic Games as well as in the lead-up world championship regattas. It included World Championship wins and podium placings in all but one of all Olympic disciplines. Two of the prior lesser performing disciplines achieved Olympic Gold medals.

He was responsible for inviting both Trisha Leahy Hong Kong's sailboarding Gold Medallist's Sports psychologist and Ukrainian gold medal-winning coach Victor Kovalenko ("the Medal Maker") onto his team, convincing Victor to move to Australia. Due to the increasing number of female athletes involved in Olympic sailing disciplines Ian spent considerable time discussing coaching with the women involved and with their endorsement asked Dutch born coach Erik Stibbe onto his program. Erik was coach to the Laser discipline and Michael Blackburn's Olympic Bronze medal, as well as the Europe Class and its representative.

Ian was also responsible for the first ever National Olympic Sailing Training Base at HMAS Penguin (approved by Brigadier Adrian d'Hage), and the first ever full-time Olympic sailing coaching programs across the Olympic squad. While overseas, he met with numerous country Olympic sailing program managers and formed a Danish Australian cooperative agreement, subsequently signed off between the Danish and Australian Olympic Committees. This shared some of their sailing resources when teams in Europe or Australia. This agreement brought the potential Australian Sailing Olympians the opportunity to practice dormitory living together as at the Olympic Games for the first time. It also allowed them to receive sport science appraisals while in Europe. His program was recognized by the Australian Institute of Sport for delivering a sports science program that was the most improved of all Australian Olympic Sports. He was asked and gave a seminar to all Olympic sports head coaches or managers at Canberra on his planning, bottom-up approach to quick use of HMAS Penguin Naval Base, and his Australia-Denmark international cooperation. As a result of the success of Ian's program, its athletes' performances, and staff, Yachting Australia was awarded a position as one of the exclusive Olympic sports within the Australian Institute of Sport.

Collaborations and mentorship[]

2000 Olympic Sailing Program; Architect & Head Coach

Ian was awarded an International Olympic Committee Certificate of Merit for his efforts and very high-level collaborations concerning the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. Also as an Olympic 470 Medalist and inviting, problem-solving, and backing Victor Kovalenko's Australian 470 success, Ian was given the life membership of the 470 Class Australian Association.

Ian has spent, and is still spending, considerable time racing with or assisting other younger sailing competitors such as Glenn Bourke (later becoming multiple world Laser class champion and Olympian) and Malcolm Page (later becoming Australia's first ever sailing dual Olympic Gold medallist). He offered his own crewing and sports boat sailing equipment to Nathan Outteridge (later became Olympic Gold and Silver Medalist plus Americas cup helmsman) and his laser class equipment to Australian Olympic representative Sarah Blank for pre-Games use in Europe.

Currently, amongst his sailing industry career Ian has casual consulting/mentor relationships, for elite sailboat racing skills and life, with several young emerging elite sailing athletes trying to cross to senior international sailboat racing success. Latest include several years of support, from Youth level, and now onto the 49er Class Australian Sailing Team. Also supporting 2019 Australian Nacra 15 World Youth champions in their lead-up period, plus follow through to a third-place (best Australian) at WASZP Inspire SailGp Sydney Harbour event, February 2020.

References[]

External links[]

• Ian Brown at Olympedia
• World Champions
• International Moth Class Association