Edmund Colman Whelan
18th June 1947 to 8th May 2013
About Edmund
Edmund was a husband, brother, father, grandfather, friend, colleague, boss, captain, mate, adventurer, prankster, mickey-taker and a genuine top bloke. He was a witty public speaker, serious professional lawyer, gregarious and friendly with a pragmatic and open-minded approach to both life and death.
Professional career
Barrister, Marine Lawyer and Deputy CEO of the Royal Yachting Association, Ocean Yachtmaster Instructor and Skipper
Author of many published titles:
- Around the Red Tape
- Marine Law for Boat Owners
- Buying a 2nd Hand Yacht
- The Yachtsman's Lawyer
- Several RYA publications
- Regular magazine columnist, e.g. Motor Boats Monthly, Practical Boat Owner
Professional Legacy
"His knowledge of the law as a qualified barrister, coupled with his passion for boating and the preserving the freedom to do so - in the face of an increasingly powerful health and safety lobby - are his legacy to those who enjoy the relative freedom of boating today".
(The words of a long-term friend and marina owner)
Sailing career
- Inshore and Offshore Racer (many with his wife Teresa, incl. double-handed)
- National champion and World Championship contender
- Countless wins and trophies win in many categories of sailing since the 1950s
- Over 100,000 offshore miles sailed
Family life
- He and Teresa unconditionally sacrificed so much for their kids' education
- Lending his kids his cars, which were often returned on the brink of destruction
- Then lending them his tow-cars for their sailing / showjumping / motorsport
- Mucking in (and mucking out) with support at all the above
- Being interested in their friends, not just a parent in the background
- Advocating a strong unchanging philosophy in constantly bettering one's self
Some of his favourite things
- Drinks: Guinness, Dark'n'Stormy, Whisky
- Reads: Crimean War, Waterloo, Jane Austen, Philosophy, Science, Spirituality, Viz
- Music: Johnny Cash, The Kinks, ABBA, Edward Elgar, Gilbert & Sullivan, Paganini, Leonard Cohen
- Films: Fistful of Dollars, James Bond, Gladiator, Student Prince
- TV shows: Monty Python, Sharpe
Some of the tributes from the sailing press
RYA
Yachts and Yachting
Yachting World
A small selection of tributes from family and friends:
"I was fortunate enough to work with Edmund for several years at the RYA. He was a most gracious, intelligent and witty man at all times and I always enjoyed our discussions... I now realise that they were in fact private tutoring sessions! I learned much from him, both in professional terms and also the application of charm and guile."
"I was very sorry and shocked to hear the news of Ed's passing. He seemed full of life last November and December on our Atlantic crossing and delighted in being out on the ocean waves and regaling us with stories of past crossings and sailing trips. We learnt a great deal from Ed on the crossing and also Theresa when we did some fantastic racing with them on the solent. I know that he will be sorely missed in the Sailing community and our thoughts are with his family and friends."
"RIP Edmund - you were a great boss and friend over 25 years - you will be greatly missed."
"Don't worry mummy, Grandpa isn't dead, he's just invisible."
"He was a great character full of fun charm, great energy and kindness. He was the best sailor I knew being so competent whilst at the same time being totally relaxed. His calmness on occasion made me smile whether it was Arabella’s horse riding accident or his first viewing of a rather battered Mini! Nonetheless he was always a spirited driver and enjoyed a fast car"
"I remember the first time that I met your father, it was in La Trinite and Spi Ouest. There was this immense and commanding character with a fine smile and a glass of scotch in his hand. This was to be such an endearing image of my encounters over the following years with Edmund, always a smile, something fascinating to say and a character that you wanted to continue to be in the presence of."
"Edmund personified the parts of a character that we all strive for and was a shining example of how far we ought to go to better our own selves. Nothing seemed to phase him and he was always willing to give extra to all. Life was always taken in his stride and difficulties seemed to be something that just needed to be overcome rather than avoided or deemed a barrier. I shall always remember our race in the SB3, when, and as was typical of your father's nature, he had stepped in at the last minute, sailing out of the Hamble in 25kts slowly down wind and the first gybe onto a reach and then we were off. Rather than being phased, Edmund just raised an eyebrow, smiled, slid to the back of the boat in perhaps a slightly more precarious position than he had been expecting and settled into a gruelling, tiring race with all the fervour of someone so dedicated to not only his sport but also his son."
"He was a Dude."
"I sailed many miles with him over a couple of decades or so including my first offshore race, The Fastnet in '89. Many memorable adventures both afloat and ashore, the last being when I bumped into him with the grandchildren at the opening day of competition in Weymouth for London 2012. R.I.P. Ed, fair winds and a following sea..."
"fond memories of zooming around the London Boat Show and the Guinness marquee with him and us in tow!"
"A wonderful, charismatic man and a true gent."
"I will always remember Your father as a great character, slightly mischeivous with it."
"The finest yachtsman I ever had the pleasure to sail with, I will miss him, and so will the yachting world… I was very lucky to sail with Edmund across the Atlantic, I think he was one of the finest people I ever met."
"Such a lovely man, friendly encouraging to all and so much fun."
"such a true gentleman and reliable skipper has been taken before his time. RIP , enjoyed your company."
"always great for a spirited debate over a drink."
"a lovely man who had time for everyone."
"Such good company, funny and amusing!"
"RIP Edmund you lived your life to it's fullest."
"I know how tireless and effective he was at arguing the cause of sailing before countless local, national and parliamentary committees and his advice to the RYA was always wise and lawyerly... and as a highly successful sailor he brought to the rya a profound knowledge and experience of the sport"
"His comittment was based on his view that he was working for, and in respect of government and regulators leading for, the whole of the sport that he loved rather than simply carrying out a work role for the RYA."
"Edmund presided over a substantial change over the years, lobbyiing at home in the uk and eventually over europe, was part of his legacy. I had great respect for his judgement... the change was to a substantial extent due to his efforts. I hope he is given credit for this."
Anecdotes and antics
A Fond Memory of Edmund - from Peter Mayes:
It was summer 1968. The setting was a small Spanish village on the south coast in early evening, with the sun drawing lower in the sky. There were few people around and in a bar on the seafront only a handful of locals gazed idly at the world.
This tranquillity was shattered as a white British sports car roared up and stopped in front of the little bar. Its occupants, two attractive young females in short skirts, slowly emerged from the car, smiling beguilingly at the youths sitting at the tables outside, whose attention was now fully and lecherously engaged.
Apart from lending some clothes and bling, the girls in the villa where we were all staying had done a great job on us. Edmund was beguiling in his dark wig, bright red lipstick and mascara. In my blonde wig, I reckoned I was a close double for Marianne Faithful and we swayed seductively inside.
The initial reaction at the bar was equally electric, as the hardened drinkers there ogled Edmund and me. However the low lighting inside suddenly revealed subtle flaws in our appearance. Perhaps it was our strong five-o’clock shadows or maybe we should have bothered to shave our legs but suddenly the atmosphere changed from one of lust to a threatening menace. The barman was obviously not a cross-dressing fan and ignored our demure request for two beers. After a moment Edmund summed up the situation with: “Let’s go, quick”.
We legged it out and leapt into the TR. As Edmund accelerated away two of the local youths jumped onto their mopeds in hot pursuit. Eventually we lost them up the hill towards the villa, bringing out Edmund’s dry, laconic comment: “I think they fancied us”.
...
About thirty years later I happened to switch on a radio news programme and was surprised to hear Edmund, in his role at the RYA, talking lucidly about sailing rights on Lake Windermere. He sounded highly professional and dealt smoothly with the interviewer’s questions.
Since, to me, Edmund never grew up beyond the years of our early friendship, I could not help myself imagining him sitting in the Radio 4 studio wearing a long wig, red lipstick and mascara...
ARC - Transatlantic race
Edmund did the ARC three times, first in a Prima 38 finishing in 2nd place in IRC after just 2 weeks of hard racing. He decided that was too fast, so the next time he went with a friend on his home refurbished concrete boat which allegedly had been bought on Ebay for only £1,000. Edmund helped with all the preparations and then completed the trip with him. The owner, Max Lieberman, had an article published in Yachting Monthly about that trip which took nearly 8 weeks including a stop at Cape Verde islands for repairs. The third and last one was in 2012, skippering a 46ft Halberg Rassey, the easy way.
More information and anecdotes will follow as this page builds...
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