The George Hinterhoeller Award

"The George Hinterhoeller award was introduced in 1999 to honour the memory of the designer and first builder of the Shark. This award is presented to Shark sailors who have made significant and lasting contributions to the Class. In the forty years since its creation, the Shark has had many advocates and fans whose devotion has secured it a lasting legacy.

The first winner, in 1999, was Tad Grygier. It is with great pleasure that I introduce the newest member of this very elite group of Shark sailors, Sid Dakin.

Sid has been sailing Sharks since their inception. Starting with a series of Duck Soups, Sid dominated the fleet thirty five years ago as much as he does today. His racing prowess is legendary and his name appears on many trophies for various regattas and championships, too many to enumerate in detail.  Six time world champion, four time winner of the Shark of the Year award and winner and top place finisher in dozens of major regattas, Sid rejoined the fleet in 1992 after a hiatus from his dominance in the seventies, where amongst other things, he pursued a successful number of campaigns in the International Soling Class, an Olympic Class boat.

Sid's contributions in the early years of the class are significant in that he helped put the Shark "on the map" so to speak with successful finishes in many of the large handicap races held in and around Lake Ontario. His winning of the first five Shark World's and his string of successes in recent years upon his return to the fleet only serve to confirm that his talents remain at the top.

Shark sailing for Sid is a family affair, with son John and son in law Julian the mainstays of his crew, which, when required, is augmented by grandchildren who have been raised in the Dakin tradition of race, race, race.

Finally, the one consistent message received from the many nominations for Sid is that he is a character. Fun loving, competitive as hell, gracious host (when he had the Niagara yacht) and all round good guy are a few of the ways in which Sid has been described.

Here to present the award to Sid on behalf of the Hinterhoeller family is son Richard..."