Grant Dalton

Last updated

Grant Dalton
OBE
Born (1957-07-01) 1 July 1957 (age 67)
Auckland, New Zealand
OccupationSailor

Grant Stanley Dalton OBE (born 1 July 1957) is a New Zealand sailor who has competed in five Whitbread Round the World Races and currently manages Team New Zealand.

Contents

Background

Dalton is a professional sailor who started sailing at the age 8 in the P Class and soon started racing as a member of Maraetai Sailing Club. He was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the 1995 New Year Honours, for services to yachting. [1] He was shortlisted in 2001 by the International Sailing Federation for the ISAF World Sailor of the Year Awards.

His other passion away from sailing is motor racing; as an avid F1 fan and with life with Emirates Team New Zealand more settled than a round-the-world campaign, he can now race on the New Zealand motor racing circuit.

Sailing career

Offshore racing

Grant Dalton has raced around the world seven times; the first five as part of the Whitbread Round the World Race later to be called the Volvo Ocean Race. This race has evolved through this time from a race of adventurers to a grand prix yachting event. Dalton has participated in the following major events:

He then skippered and won The Race, a sprint around the world on maxi catamaran Club Med. The race started on 1 January 2001 and finished on 3 March. Club Med broke several records along the way including the distance sailed in 24 hours (656 nautical miles) and the fastest circumnavigation (62 days and 7 hours).

America's Cup

He was called in to restructure and revitalise Team New Zealand after its loss of the America's Cup in February 2003.[ citation needed ]

Motorcycle road racing career

Manx GP & Classic TT

In 2014, at 57 years old, Grant entered the Manx Grand Prix as a newcomer, and also the F1 Classic TT, saying 'I’ve done seven laps around the world and a few America's Cups, but this is the most extreme thing I’ve ever done.' [2]

Dalton's 2014 Classic TT could perhaps best be described as a baptism of fire, given his lack of relevant experience; his best lap in qualifying in 2014 on his F1 Suzuki was 87.799 mph [3] and he did not finish the Classic F1 TT, which was won by fellow Kiwi Bruce Anstey at a race average speed of 121.597 mph, but he was back in 2015 and this time qualified for the F1 TT with a lap of 100.047 mph. [4] He gained a coveted finishers medal for the 2015 Classic F1 TT, with an overall race average speed for the four laps, which includes the time spent stationary in the pits for a gravity-fed refuelling stop, of 97.047 mph. [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ben Ainslie</span> British sailor

Sir Charles Benedict Ainslie is a British competitive sailor. Ainslie is the most successful sailor in Olympic history. He won medals at five consecutive Olympics from 1996 onwards, including gold at four consecutive Games from 2000 to 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Cayard</span> American sailor

Paul Pierre Cayard is an American yachtsman and professional sailor. He has competed at multiple world championship level sailing events, including the America's Cup, the Whitbread Round the World Race, the Volvo Ocean Race and the Olympic Games. In 1998 he was selected as the US Rolex Yachtsmen of the Year. He has won seven world championships, twice participated in the Olympic Games and seven times in the America's Cup. In 2011 he was elected into the US Sailing Hall of Fame.

Mike Sanderson is a New Zealand sailor. Perhaps best known for being awarded the prestigious ISAF World Sailor of the Year Award for winning the 2005–06 Volvo Ocean Race as skipper of ABN Amro I. At the age of 35, he became the youngest skipper to ever win a Volvo Ocean Race in the 2005–2006 edition of the race..

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chris Dickson (sailor)</span> New Zealand sailor

Christopher Stuart Dickson is a sailor from New Zealand. He was world youth champion three years in succession and later became world match race champion three times. He also skippered several yachts in America's Cup racing, and for New Zealand at the 2000 Summer Olympics, and in numerous other sailing competitions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bruce Anstey</span> Motorcycle racer

Bruce Anstey is a professional motorcycle road racer. He is a former lap record holder on the world-famous Snaefell Mountain Course with a time of 17 minutes 6.682 seconds, at an average speed of 132.298 mph (212.913 km/h) set during the 2014 Superbike TT Race. Anstey was signed to race for the Padgett's Honda Racing Team having previously ridden for TAS Suzuki Racing, Valmoto Triumph and DTR Yamaha. For thirteen consecutive seasons, from 2002 - 2015, Bruce Anstey managed to secure a top three finish at the world's three most prestigious road races; the North West 200, the Isle of Man TT and the Ulster Grand Prix.

The 1997–98 Whitbread Round the World Race was the seventh edition of the around-the-world sailing event Whitbread Round the World Race. The Whitbread Round the World Race ran for the first time with all W60 boats and to a "points vs time" scoring system to enhance the value of the shorter race legs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Burling (sailor)</span> New Zealand sailor (born 1991)

Peter Burling is a New Zealand sailor. He is the 3-time winning helmsman for Emirates Team New Zealand for the 2024, 2021 and 2017 America's cups..

Yachting New Zealand is recognised by World Sailing as the governing body for the sport of sailing in New Zealand. Yachting New Zealand also facilitates training in sailing in and around the country.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blair Tuke</span> New Zealand sailor

Andrew Blair Tuke is a New Zealand sailor who won the 2021 Americas Cup Held in Auckland and also won the 2017 Version held in Bermuda. He also won the gold medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics, and the silver medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics in the 49er class alongside Peter Burling.

Anthony Rae, also known as Trae, is a New Zealand sailor who has competed in the Volvo Ocean Race six times and the America's Cup seven times.

Ramon "Ray" Davies is a New Zealand sailor who has competed in multiple Volvo Ocean Races and America's Cups. His career as a professional sailor has lasted over 23 years including 16 years in the Team New Zealand fulfilling a variety of roles like helmsman, designer, strategist and even as the coach of the New Zealand team.

Kevin Shoebridge is a New Zealand sailor who has sailed in multiple Volvo Ocean Races and America's Cups.

Mike Quilter is a New Zealand sailor who has competed in six America's Cup and five Volvo Ocean Races.

Kelvin Harrap is a New Zealand sailor who has represented his country at the Summer Olympics and sailed in multiple America's Cups and Volvo Ocean Races.

Gavin Brady is a New Zealand sailor who has competed in the Summer Olympics and multiple America's Cups.

Joey Allen is a New Zealand sailor who competed in multiple America's Cups.

Ross "Rosco" Halcrow is a New Zealand sailor who has won both the America's Cup and the Volvo Ocean Race.

Neal McDonald is a British sailor who has competed in seven Volvo Ocean Races.

Sean Clarkson is a New Zealand sailor who has sailed at the Summer Olympics and in multiple Whitbread Round the World Races and America's Cups.

Ross Field is a New Zealand sailor who has competed in multiple Whitbread Round the World Races.

References

  1. ↑ "No. 53894". The London Gazette (2nd supplement). 31 December 1994. p. 34.
  2. ↑ IOM Today 22 August 2014 Archived 24 August 2014 at the Wayback Machine . Retrieved 22 August 2014.
  3. ↑ Classic TT Friday Qualifying Times Bikesport News
  4. ↑ 2015 F1 TT Qualifying – Fastest Laps iomtt.com
  5. ↑ 2015 F1 Classic TT Results iomtt.com
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.