Dovestone Sailing Club, Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal

David McKee was among the 57 people recognised at the RYA Volunteer Awards on Friday, 16 November.

He received the Lifetime Commitment Award for his work with Dovestone Sailing Club. The Awards were presented by Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal, President of the RYA, in recognition of boating’s most dedicated volunteers.

As well as being nominated by his own club, part of the gratitude for his efforts has come from the Lancashire Schools Sailing Association. David has recently retired as a Senior Partner in a surveying company and he has assisted the LSSA, Dovestone SC and many clubs up and down the country with countless hours spent in negotiations over leases and rentals. He has worked closely with the RYA Legal Department.

At Dovestone he has held many posts including Trustee, Commodore and Captain of the club’s Flying Fifteen Fleet. He is an RYA Instructor and is an Official Measurer for the Flying Fifteen class. He was on one the RYA’s Technical Committees and representative to a committee on sailing’s top level governing body the ISSA, which is now known as World Sailing.

On the water David has travelled internationally, competing at events such as the Flying Fifteen World Championships in New Zealand.

As a member at Dovestone for more than 35 years, David’s contributions have also been very hands-on such as removing debris after the ‘beast from the east’ had destroyed the club’s pontoon. Sadly the club has had to suspend sailing since July because of low water levels – more to do with having to put compensation water into the river rather than the scoops of water taken by helicopters to fight the moorland fires which broke out on the surrounding hills.

The citation said David was ‘an enthusiastic advocate for the sport who takes pleasure from encouraging people to get on the water and enjoy their sailing, whether it be just pottering around or taking part in competitive racing’.