JOHN Stainer, a yacht racing enthusiast and specialist in the restoration of wooden boats, has died at the age of 74.

Mr Stainer, of Cowes, and formerly of Mystic, Connecticut, died unexpectedly last month.

He was the first child born to John A. and Ruth Stainer, and grew up in Cowes.

He graduated from Newport Technical School in the early 1960s and became a highly skilled and trained wood craftsman.

His lengthy career was spent in the restoration and building of wooden boats, and spent some years as a shipwright at The Mystic Seaport Museum, restoring the Charles W. Morgan whaling ship.

Isle of Wight County Press:

Mr Stainer's true passion was on the water, yacht racing. He joined the Island Sailing Club in Cowes and was a member there for more than 50 years.

He spent more than 40 years yacht racing all over the world from the Trans-Atlantic to Brazil to The Long Island Sound.

He sailed in the SORC circuits, Cowes Week and was selected to crew on the British yacht Victory for the 1983 America's Cup.

The boat was sponsored by Peter de Savary and the team trained in Nassua, Bahamas, and competed in the waters off Newport, Rhode Island.

While racing the Rhode Island/Bermuda race he fell in love and married Wendy Lambert Cadley of Old Greenwich, Connecticut, in 1974.

They welcomed their first and only child, Nicola, in 1976 at St Mary's Hospital. Shortly after, the family settled in Mystic.

He lived in the USA for around 30 years before returning to the Isle of Wight in 2011.

He leaves his daughter, grandchildren Jayden and Taelynn, sisters Carole Palmer and Brenda Cottell, several nieces and nephews, and his ex-wife Wendy Presley.

Due to the current pandemic, a celebration of life will be held at a later time.