Syd Fisher, Australian ocean racing icon, dead at 95
Australia's most decorated yachtsman leaves behind a rich legacySyd Fisher, the Australian yachtsman recognised as Australia’s most successful offshore racer, has died aged 95.
Fisher, colloquially known as ‘The Silver Barracuda’, died late last week just days short of his 96th birthday. He leaves a legacy of being as determined to succeed on the water as he was in business.
A latecomer to the sport, he took up sailing aged 33.
Over his lifetime, Fisher funded five America’s Cup challenges, mentored a number of sailors who would go on to become Olympic champions, and after skippering his first boat in the event in 1963, endured the annual Boxing Day sprint from Sydney to Hobart 47 times.
He would go on to win the event outright one year and take line honours in another two.
Aged 88 at the time of his last Sydney Hobart, he remains the oldest skipper to have raced in the event. The next year, he was invited to fire the cannon marking the official start of the race.
A former first-grade rugby player, amateur boxer and a surf lifesaver, he used his success in property development to fund a life on the water, and was twice named Australian Yachtsman of the Year. He was also inducted into the America’s Cup and Australian sailing halls of fame.
His business interests expanded into the marine industry,
Fischer is survived by his children Penelope, Clayton, Annabelle and Dominique, and grandchildren Rebecca, Brenton, Emily, Jackson, Thomas, Petra and Peri.
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