FAREWELL TO BRAD WHITE

Mourning The Loss of Long Time North Sails Team Member Brad White

Long time North Sails team member Brad White passed away on October 15th. Brad, a lifelong sailor, grew up in Cohasset, MA, and began racing at 8 years old on Massachusetts Bay. He attended and sailed for Boston University, was recognized as team captain his Junior and Senior years, and helped to win several National Championships. In 1980 Brad was selected as an All-American.

After college, Brad was instrumental in founding the North Sails loft in Salem, which has successfully operated for over 30 years. For most of those years he was the Service Manager, though he easily made the transition to sales several years ago.

“There are a few people in my sailing career that I always thought I would never be able to pay back and Brad was one of them,” said North Sails President Ken Read. “Brad was the team captain at Boston University when I arrived as a freshman. He had a very understated way of getting his message across to everyone he ever dealt with. In my case it was just a few subtle comments that really opened my eyes to pushing far harder with my own sailing ambitions than I ever thought possible. He didn’t have to do it, he just did because he said what he felt. And at North Sails he continued the tradition; there was no bigger team player. Brad would do anything for anybody. He will be incredibly missed by those of us at North Sails as well as the entire sailing community in the Northeast US”.

Jack Slattery, long time friend and colleague, shares fond memories of Brad:

Brad had a true passion for sailing. He not only had a multitude of racing victories, including the 110 National Championship and (as my crew), six Interclub Dinghy Nationals but he also won the Mallory Cup and the US Men’s Sailing Championship, and competed in a variety of big boat regattas from Block Island to Hawaii. His enthusiasm for the sport, and Chinook, his rebuilt Pearson 33-2, were always worked into any conversation. He eagerly shared his favorite cruising spots along the East Coast with advice on how to improve your sailing or take care of your boat. The consummate team player and a kind-hearted soul, he never failed to make you smile.

Brad brought that same kind spirit to work every day and was always customer focused. He thought nothing of driving 10 hours round trip to take care of a small issue for a client. He was also a lifelong educator. Through his college years, he was head instructor at various yacht clubs. At North Sails, he ran countless in-person and online seminars. Brad was always giving his time to others, and he loved every minute of it.

Brad enjoyed over 35 years of marriage with his wife Janet and was the proud father of Ben and Lizzie. The family enjoyed sailing Chinook together, and also spent lots of time at their rustic camp in New Hampshire: hiking, skiing, and all things “mountain”. Brad’s love of the mountains led to lots of travel out West and to Europe, including a recent trip to Alta Utah to enjoy his son’s wedding just a few short weeks ago.

I will miss Brad tremendously. The past 40 plus years of adventures together were fantastic. Sail on, pal.

-Jack Slattery