When the New Year was ushered in, the announcement that Bill O'Hara of Bangor had been awarded the OBE for Services to Sailing was a cause of special pleasure in the sailing community, not just in Ireland but worldwide.
Our report at the time highlighted his multiple achievements in many areas, from Olympic participation to being Principal Race Officer for the Volvo Ocean Race, and particularly revealed his international status and unrivalled abilities across a wide spectrum of sailing life.
Yet even with his high profile, Bill O'Hara is also a quiet and effective worker behind-the-scenes on behalf of sailing and sailors, a doer of good works by stealth. Thus while we're honouring him as a major international figure, we're reminding everyone that here is a sailor of quietly profound depths who plays a key role in our sport worldwide.
