Brian Saffery-Cooper

Brian Saffery-Coooper was educated at Eastbourne College between 1948-52 and started sailing Merlin Rocket Diunghies as a youngster in the 1950s. In one season he won 34 races before progressing to International 14s and then the Finn class, at which he represented Great Britain at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.

Saffery-Cooper met his wife Pam Goodhead, an excellent dinghy sailor, in the 1960s. They married in 1970 and became a formidable racing duo. Their small boat Dragon was part of the Great Britain team that won the 1981 Admiral´s Cup, beating 15 other countries. They also took part with Dragon two years later when Germany won the Cup.

Saffery-Cooper worked for the London timber firm of John Lenanton & Son for 27 years. After taking early retirement in 1991, Brian and Pam decided to go cruising around the world aboard their own boat Lucky Dragon. They did that for several several years until Brian suffered poor health which meant a return to the UK. They lived in the Isle of Wight, where Brian died in 2017.