Dick King loved to sail. He loved the Catalina 22, the Class, the all the great people who became his friends. With unmatched enthusiasm, Dick always promoted the Catalina 22 Class and was always first in line to share technical advice with others. Dick was a member of the Catalina 22 National Sailing Association for over 30 years and served as the Class Technical Editor from1984 to 1995.
Throughout his sailing career, Dick owned and raced several Catalina 22s. His first Catalina 22 was a 1976 model named Elixir. He enjoyed competing with Elixir in the 1981 National Regatta with his 15 year old son. In 1989, Dick purchased Jagged Edge and continued to pursue his love of sailboat racing in class regattas throughout Florida and Southeast. In 2004, Dick attended the National Regatta in Atlanta and fell in love with the new Catalina 22 Sport. Dick purchased one of the first C22 Sports, #15546, and named her Twilight Zone. Dick King wrote "As I enter the twilight of my sailing and racing career, I can think of no better name for my new boat than Twilight Zone. I hope she will be a happy boat. I know I will be a happy sailor. Fair winds to all."
On August 25, 2006, the Catalina 22 Class lost a great man when Dick passed away in Melbourne, Florida.
In honor of Richard T. "Dick" King, the Catalina 22 National Sailing Association announced a new trophy - the Sport Fleet Champion. The perpetual trophy will be awarded annually to the highest finishing C22 Sport boat participating in the Gold Fleet of the National Championship Regatta. If there are no Sports in the Gold Fleet, it will then be designated to the highest finishing Sport in the Silver Fleet.
Sport Fleet Champions
2005 Craig & Martha White
2006 Benjamin / Rundst
2007 Jerry Butz
2008 Craig & Martha White
2009 Chip Embrey
2010 Tom Clark & Rob Fowler
2011 Chip Embrey
Willie Blevins brought the idea of honoring Dick King with this perpetual trophy to the C22NSA Board. Initially, the trophy was designated for the winner of the Spinnaker Fleet at the National Championship Regatta. However, another trophy already existed for the winner of the Spinnaker Fleet. Not wanting to lose the history of the existing trophy, it was decided to re-purpose the newer trophy as the Sport Fleet Champion trophy in honor of Richard T. "Dick" King.
