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Dads: where it all begins

by Sharon Green June 07, 2018


Dads: where it all begins

We interrupt the shot-of-the-month review to brag on my Dad!

Just recently it was announced that my father, Don Green, 85, of Hamilton, Ontario, will be inducted into the Canadian Sailing Hall of Fame later this summer. It’s an honor that has been awarded to only three other people in the last two decades, and very well-deserved recognition of his long-time contributions to the sport of sailing. 
 
 
My father is best known as winner of the 1978 Canada’s Cup in his custom C&C Evergreen; later skippering Evergreen safely and successfully during the devastating 1979 Fastnet Race. A challenger for the America’s Cup; frequently campaigning in the SORC and other major yachting events, he continues to be an active member of Royal Hamilton Yacht Club (RHYC), where he’s a Staff Commodore; and has served as Honorary Chair of the Mobility Cup regatta for sailors with disabilities. 
​

 
While everyone else knows him as this all-around great sailor and benefactor; I know him as the guy who first inspired my love and appreciation of sailing. As a kid, my Dad would regale us with stories of the year and a half he spent circumnavigating the globe on the brigantine Yankee with Irving and Exy Johnson. He had been just a young man then, and we imagined ourselves in his place, as he shared these exciting stories, film and pictures of exotic faraway places. 
 
 
 
I was sold! By the time I was seven I was driving our 21-foot Bluenose sloop Yellowbird on family trips, spending my summers at sailing camp, and doing Junior sailing at RHYC. When my Dad got another boat, the C&C 35 Motivation, my brother, me and our friends coaxed him to let us crew for him in the races. 
Although my dad was always an adventurer, the racing bug bit him hard! We started doing weeknight beercans in Motivation and distance races and overnighters on the weekends. So much of my passion, knowledge and experience stems from those blissful days of sailing with my family.
 
 
And then came the Canada’s Cup. When Dad built and campaigned Evergreen in 1978, I found myself surrounded by the greatest sailors of the time. They were all inspiring, but it was Lowell North, Olympic gold medalist and founder of North Sails, who helped me launch my career. In those days, sail designers would use photos to study wind flow, optimal shape and design. His suggestion, that I take photos for them to study, is where I got my start; ultimately generating my first photo placement in The Toronto Star!  And then, again following in my Dad’s footsteps, I became an entrepreneur,  launching the Ultimate Sailing Calendar in 1983. 
Over the years my Dad has continued to volunteer with RHYC and to sail: doing some cruising in the Caribbean, racing with my brother, Stephen, and around the lake with my godfather, Uncle Bo (John Bobyk). And he continues to inspire me. 
They say, ‘any man can be a father but it takes someone special to be a Dad’ and that is so true. Congrats to my Dad, Don Green, on this richly-deserved recognition, and Happy Father’s Day!
SIDEBAR
*Don Green, Member of the Order of Canada, will join 2005 Canadian Sailing Hall of Fame recipient Paul Henderson; and George Cuthbertson and Bruce Kirby, inducted in 2014; along with 2018 honorees Derek Hatfield, Dave Howard, and Olympic Medalists Ernest Cribb, Peter Gordon, George Gyles, Harold Jones, Ronald Maitland, Hubert Wallace, Gardner Boultbee, Kenneth Glass, Philip Rogers and Gerald Wilson, at a ceremony August 19, at the Kingston (Ontario) Yacht Club.
 Check out www.ultimatesailing.com for gift ideas for the Ultimate Dad. 


Sharon Green
Sharon Green

Author


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  • Sailing is a magnificent, colorful and dramatic sport. This unique sport has many variables with the constantly changing elements, sea conditions, boats, events, competitors and locations. The challenge is to capture on film electrifying moments that take your breath away. Those moments and opportunities are very few, but when they happen... it is ultimate sailing." ~ Sharon Green

    Sharon Green has been capturing electrifying images of performance sailing for more than 40 years. Her annual Ultimate Sailing Calendar, featuring the highlights of competitive sailing, is eagerly anticipated by yachting and photography enthusiasts worldwide. Sharon has been published in major boating publications, both locally and internationally, since she first took up a camera while still in high school.

    The pursuit of 'Ultimate Sailing' images never seems to grow old. Four decades and I still love the challenge of creating memorable images for my clients and the calendar."

     

     

     

     

    Sharon is happiest when she is on the water or hanging from a helicopter in search of the elusive image that can be called 'Ultimate Sailing'. "My greatest satisfaction is when it all comes together: the anticipation, planning, organizing, traveling and epic conditions that combine to create a thrilling photograph.

     

    View Images HERE

     

    The passage of time eludes our grasp: we can only look back in awe and look forward in anticipation. Never did I expect, 40 years ago, that my vision of creating the Ultimate Sailing Calendar would endure and provide such an extraordinary life experience. boundless advancements in sailing, and concurrently radical developments in camera and photographic technology, have kept me on my toes and the years have swept by! I find myself at this landmark anniversary: humbled by your patronage and inspired by your support. To my many friends, colleagues, clients, and subjects who have sustained and fueled this endless passion for capturing the ultimate Sailing image, I extend my deepest love and gratitude.

    View the images by clicking the 40th button

     

     

     

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