David Green, who was a driving force behind the restoration of Sir Francis Chichester’s yacht, Gipsy Moth IV, died Oct. 7.
Green, a sailor and entrepreneur who promoted ecological sustainability, was reportedly found hanging from a tree at his home on England’s Isle of Wight.
Gipsy Moth had been rotting in a concrete grave at Greenwich alongside the Cutty Sark for years when Paul Gelder, then editor of Yachting Monthly magazine, launched a campaign to restore the 53-foot ketch. The goal was to refit her so she could be sailed around the world to commemorate the magazine’s 100th birthday and the 40th anniversary of Chichester’s 1966-67 voyage.
After a 12-month search for a sponsor, Gelder met Green, who was then CEO of the UK Sailing Academy at Cowes.
“David was a driving force behind the Gipsy Moth IV project. Without him and the UKSA, it would never have happened,” says Gelder.
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