Lyndall Patterson née Coxon
'Lyndall Patterson continues to inspire the sailing world through her enduring passion, remarkable longevity and ability to compete successfully at the highest levels of the Laser Radial and ILCA 6 classes, proving that true excellence and competitive spirit have no barriers.'
Dr Lyndall Patterson is as competitive as they come. Her sailing career spans nearly five decades. She has never stopped racing, and she has never stopped chasing the win.
It all began at Hunters Hill Sailing Club, learning to sail in a Sabot alongside her younger brother Michael Coxon. At age 11, she won her first Australian title in a Sabot at Gosford in 1966, but that was only the beginning.
In 1977, racing under her maiden name Lyndall Coxon, she won the very first Women’s World Championship in the Laser at Hayling Island in England, and she repeated the feat in the Netherlands in 1978.These were pioneering years for women in sailing, when women were still racing the Laser full rig.
Most sailors leave dinghy classes behind as the physical demands grow. For Lyndall, the story was only just getting started.
Then came the masters. Lyndall carried the same fire into the Women’s Masters World Championships, winning in Melbourne in 1999 and again in Cadiz, Spain in 2003, before returning to the podium in 2004.
She raced the ILCA 6, formerly the Laser Radial, a boat that demands precise boat handling, tactical thinking and serious strength, and she mastered all three. Even then she kept lining up against the best in the country at the Australian and Oceania Championships, as recently as 2019.
In 2010 she won the Grand Masters World Championship at Hayling Island, the same place where it all began, and was named Australian Sailing’s Female Sailor of the Year.
And she kept going. Silver in the Great Grand Masters at the 2023 Masters World Championship. Then, in June this year, Athens: more than 400 sailors from around 40 nations, and Lyndall on top of the Great Grand Masters women’s division.
Six world titles across five decades, and a relentless drive that has never faded.
