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Hayden Goodrick is being remembered as a talented sailor who competed at the highest level but, even more than that, as one of the characters of the sport.
Goodrick died last week of a heart attack when competing in the M32 series in the United States. He was 38.
Simon Minoprio met Goodrick when they both joined the youth training programme as teenagers at the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron. Their shared love of sailing and surfing meant they hit it off, and they set up a match racing team that went on to be ranked 13th in the world.
"He was a very charismatic guy and passionate about pro yachting," Minoprio said. "It’s the loss of a character, a personality. He was full of life.
"His passion and drive to be successful were his key strengths."
Goodrick was a grinder with the BMW Oracle America's Cup team in Valencia in 2007 and his skills on the bow or in the pit saw him feature in anything from inshore to offshore racing.
He founded the US One Sailing team that won multiple World Match Racing Tour events, including the World Match Racing Tour Championship in 2013.
Yachting New Zealand president Ross Blackman remembers Goodrick not only as a skilled sailor but also as a skilled storyteller.
"He was a lot of fun," Blackman said. "He could tell a story and would have you in hysterics for hours."
Goodrick grew up in New Plymouth and his love of sailing emerged when his uncle gifted him lessons at the New Plymouth Yacht Club as a youngster.
He left New Plymouth Boys High School in 2000 and moved to Auckland to sail at the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron.
"I decided, if I wanted to have a decent crack at sailing, I would have to put everything into it,” he told the Taranaki Daily News in 2003.
As well as being a top sailor, Goodrick was also a talented snowboarder and at the time of his death was living in Colorado along with his wife and young family.
His death rocked many in the sailing world and at a memorial race in Rhode Island all the boats stalled out at the start to allow the boat he would have been on to sail to victory.
Memorials will be held overseas for Goodrick, but his mother Denise said a service would be held for him in New Plymouth at the end of July.
- Additional reporting and photo stuff.co.nz
