Four Australian sailing greats have been announced as the newest inductees into the Australian Sailing Hall of Fame, recognising their exceptional achievements and lasting contributions to the sport.

This year's inductees represent the very best of Australian sailing, from Olympic and world championship glory to pioneering achievements in women's sailing, influential leadership and innovations that helped shape the sport's history.

Olympic gold medallist and world champion Tom Burton OAM OLY, offshore racing and sailing administration leader David Kellett AM, multi-decade world champion Dr Lyndall Patterson (neé Coxon), and pioneering naval architect Walter Reeks will join the Hall of Fame, celebrating four remarkable legacies that span generations and disciplines.

“I thought the President must have me confused with someone else when she rang me to advise that I was to be inducted into the Hall of Fame,” said Kellett on his induction.

“I am extremely honoured to be recognised and inducted into such an outstanding group of individuals, many were my boyhood hero’s. I am humbled to be among them. We do not do it for the honour and recognition; we work for the sport because we love it and want to see it thrive.”

Laser Radial and ILCA 6 legend Patterson was typically modest when reflecting on her induction.

“I feel honoured and humbled to be included in the Australian Sailing Hall of Fame. I recognise that this would not have happened without the enduring support of my family and wider sailing community.”

Presented in partnership with the Australian National Maritime Museum, the Australian Sailing Hall of Fame is the sport's highest recognition, honouring outstanding achievement and contribution across all disciplines, including racing, design, coaching and administration.

Discover previous Hall of Fame inductees here.

Tom Burton OAM

Growing up in western Sydney, Tom Burton developed his passion for sailing by following his father to regattas. A school excursion to Sydney Olympic Park during the 2000 Games, and the sight of Tom King and Mark Turnbull winning 470 gold for Australia, planted the Olympic dream.

He started sailing at age 12, in a Sabot at Wangi Sailing Club, then progressed to competitive sailing at South Lake Macquarie Amateur Sailing Club, racing an OK Dinghy before moving to the Laser class.

Tom represented Australia for the first time at the 2007 Laser Radial World Championships. In the lead-up to London 2012 he trained alongside Tom Slingsby. From 2012 to 2016 he was ranked the number one Laser sailor in the world for most of that time. In 2014 he claimed silver at the World Championships, his first Worlds podium.

Making his Olympic debut at 26, Tom went into the medal race ten points behind Croatia’s Tonci Stipanovic. He needed to put five boats between them to secure gold, executing a pre-start match race which resulted in a penalty for the Croatian, Tom had a big job on his hands to catch up to the rest of the fleet and gain those 10 points. In one of the most thrilling finishes in Olympic sailing, Tom crossed the line third while the Croatian finished ninth, and Tom Burton became Olympic champion.

Tom wasn’t done. After finishing second at the World Championships in 2014 and again in 2017, he finally claimed the world title in 2019. When he narrowly missed selection for Tokyo 2020, Tom did something few Olympic champions would attempt. He moved from the single-handed Laser to the high-performance 49er skiff as he chased a place at Paris 2024

After hanging up the hiking boots and harness at Olympic level, Tom hasn’t slowed down. He has built a career in competitive sailing, racing Moths, M32s, TP52s 16-foot skiffs, and coaching at SailGP.

Across more than a decade at the top of the sport, Tom Burton has been a fierce competitor and a proud representative of Australia. Named Australian Sailing Male Sailor of the Year in 2016 and awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia in 2017, Burton's career reflects the determination required to succeed at the pinnacle of the sport.

David Kellett AM

David Kellett's contribution to Australian sailing spans more than five decades, combining an accomplished offshore racing career with leadership at club, national and international level.

Having learned to sail on Sydney Harbour, Kellett competed in his first Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race in 1968. He has since completed the race 45 times, including 21 as skipper of celebrated maxi yachts such as Sovereign, Condor, Ragamuffin and Matador.

One of his career highlights came in 1987, when he skippered Sovereign to become the first Australian yacht to win both line honours and the overall handicap title in the Sydney to Hobart. His international sailing career also included America's Cup campaigns in 1970 and 1977 and the management of Australia's Spirit of Australia challenge in 1992.

Away from competition, Kellett became one of sailing's most respected administrators. He served as Commodore of the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, President of the Yachting Association of NSW, Chair of the Sydney Olympic Sailing Alliance and Chairman of Selectors for the Australian Olympic Sailing Team.

Internationally, he served on the International Sailing Federation's Council, became Vice President in 1998 and later served as Treasurer from 2008 to 2012, becoming the first Australian elected to that senior position. He also served as Technical Delegate at the 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games.

His contribution has been recognised with the Medal of the Order of Australia in 2002, World Sailing's Beppe Croce Award in 2014, the Australian Sailing Lifetime Achievement Award in 2017 and Australian Sailing Life Membership in 2020.

Still involved in sailing today, Kellett remains Deputy Chair of the Rolex Sydney Hobart Race Committee and Chairman of the Safety of Life at Sea Trust, continuing a lifelong commitment to the sport and the wider sailing community.

Dr Lyndall Patterson (neé Coxon)

Dr Lyndall Patterson has spent nearly five decades competing at the highest level of dinghy sailing, building an extraordinary record of world titles and demonstrating a lifelong commitment to racing.

Her sailing journey began at Hunters Hill Sailing Club, where she learned to sail a Sabot. At just 11, she won her first Australian title in 1966, setting the foundation for a career that would span generations.

Competing under her maiden name, Lyndall Coxon, she won the inaugural Women's World Championship in the Laser at Hayling Island, England, in 1977, before successfully defending her title in the Netherlands the following year.

Patterson continued her success in the Masters divisions, winning the Women's Masters World Championship in Melbourne in 1999 and Cádiz, Spain, in 2003. In 2010, she returned to Hayling Island to claim the women’s Grand Masters World Championship and was named Australian Sailing Female Sailor of the Year.

Her competitive drive has never faded. Patterson won silver in the Great Grand Masters women’s division at the 2023 Masters World Championship. Then three years later, in June this year she repeated that feat, once again winning the women’s Grand Masters World Championships

Six world titles across five decades, and a relentless drive that has never faded

Walter Reeks

Walter Reeks was one of Australia's pioneering naval architects, a designer and yachtsman whose innovations helped shape the country's early yachting tradition. His involvement with Australian yachting was wide-ranging, recognised as a premier yacht designer and talented skipper who also played a strong role in administration.

Born in England in 1861, Reeks arrived in Australia in 1885 and established a naval architecture practice in Sydney at just 24 years of age. He is regarded as probably the first full-time professional naval architect in the Australian colonies, developing a reputation for innovative designs suited to local sailing conditions.

Among his early designs were Era, Miranda, Volunteer, Iduna and Thelma. Launched in 1887, the 70-foot Era is understood to have been the first yacht designed and built anywhere in the world under the new Waterline Length and Sail Area rule.

Reeks worked across a remarkable range of vessels, from racing skiffs to large yachts. His 22-foot Varuna, designed in 1890, was an early milestone in Sydney Harbour boatbuilding, developed from plans rather than the traditional half-model method. He also helped establish smaller racing classes and applied his design expertise to commercial pearling luggers in Torres Strait, where his concepts became a standard for decades.

A passionate advocate for Australian design, Reeks challenged conventional thinking and developed yachts that reflected local conditions. His influence extended beyond the drawing board, with more than 40 years as honorary measurer for the Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron and service as its Vice Commodore from 1906 to 1910.

His legacy lies in the designs, ideas and standards he introduced during a formative period for Australian yachting. Reeks helped establish a distinctive Australian approach to yacht design, laying foundations that would contribute to the nation's reputation as an internationally respected sailing nation.