Robert Howard Steavenson (1954–2026)
There are some people in sailing who seem to belong to the sport as much as they belong to a club or class of boat. Howard Steavenson was one of those people.
He leaves behind a huge wealth of memories, friendships, laughter and stories, and there were plenty of stories. More than 300 people attended his funeral at Tynemouth Crematorium on 28th August 2026, followed by a celebration of his life at Spanish City in Whitley Bay. It was a fitting reflection of the remarkable number of people whose lives Howard had touched.
Although Howard had many interests – squash, golf, motor racing, rugby, motorbikes and skiing among them – sailing was undoubtedly his greatest passion.
He started sailing at a young age following in his father’s footsteps. His father, Robin, told him if he wanted to get a crewing job, he needed to be ready. His sister recalls a young Howard ready dressed in his yellow lifejacket and red hat, waiting for his father to travel up to Tynemouth Sailing Club (TSC).
In 1966, aged 12, he crewed for his father, winning the National 12 prestigious Burton Cup at Llandudno. Robin was one of the founder dinghy members of TSC, a prestigious dinghy sailor and a Commodore of TSC. Howard went on to become an accomplished sailor in his own right sailing both locally and across the country in his National 12, including the TSC winter series at both Ryton and Newburn. It was however, the International 14 that became his favourite class and the boat in which he became particularly well known.
Howard’s enthusiasm for sailing was matched by an appetite for competition and adventure. Amongst many trophies, his most prestigious and favoured, were the Lord Birkett Memorial Trophy on Ullswater which he won three times in 1991, 1996 and 1999 in his International 14. In 2014, he added a victory at Cowes in his VX One after a two-and-a-half-year break caused by a serious leg operation.
Howard was characteristically modest about the achievement, giving most of the credit to his son Tom and joking that his own contribution was to steer and “fall over on the tacks”.
But his contribution to sailing was about much more than results.
He was a familiar and highly respected figure at sailing clubs and events, with an almost encyclopaedic knowledge of sailing waters, clubs and regattas. Wherever you went, there was a good chance Howard either knew the place, knew someone there, or had a story about something that had happened there.
And then there were the yellow spinnakers.
Howard’s International 14 was well known on the water for its distinctive yellow kite. The official explanation was, of course, perfectly respectable. The unofficial explanation was rather more entertaining: Howard had devised a scheme only to buy and sail yellow spinnakers in the hope that his supportive wife, Val, wouldn’t notice when he needed to spend on a replacement spinnaker.
The story became so widely known that it was inevitable that, sooner or later, an unsuspecting sailor would recount the tale to Val, completely unaware that they were revealing Howard’s little secret.
Howard’s enthusiasm for boats could sometimes extend into the realms of engineering innovation. His fellow International 14 crews eventually took the precaution of banning him from doing boat work. There is even documentary evidence. An invoice from boat builder Dave Ovington, dating from 1988, records the supply of “one Howard-proof International 14 dinghy (as far as humanly possible).”
It was perhaps this combination of determination, ingenuity and a willingness to have a go that summed Howard up rather well.
He was equally enthusiastic when supporting his son Tom’s junior sailing in the Topper and 29er campaigns. Family and sailing were often inseparable. One of the more extraordinary examples came during a skiing trip, when Howard jumped approximately ten feet from a chair lift to rescue his son Philip, who had fallen into cold water.
That was Howard: brave, stubborn, and never one to stand on the sidelines when something needed doing.
Those qualities became even more remarkable during the final years of his life. Howard lived with multiple sclerosis for his last 15 years and underwent 26 operations – circumstances that would have confined many people to a considerably quieter existence. Howard simply refused to let them define what he could do.
When he could no longer sail his beloved dinghies, he found other ways to remain involved in the sport he loved. He swapped dinghies for his Blue Rib and became increasingly involved in race management, taking on roles including Race Officer and Sailing Secretary at Tynemouth Sailing Club. His knowledge of the racing rules was something to be reckoned with if you were before him at a Protest hearing.
In doing so, he helped re-energise the club and became a highly regarded and respected RYA race official, whose expertise was valued well beyond Tynemouth. His knowledge, experience and enthusiasm continued to make a difference, even when he was no longer able to do everything he once had on the water.
Perhaps the clearest expression of Howard’s character came when he finally pursued another long-held dream: cruising around Scotland.
For years he had talked about doing it, but had always felt that the time wasn’t quite right. Eventually he stopped waiting. He bought the 44-foot X442, Summer Wine, and his family had never seen him as happy or excited as he was preparing for this next adventure.
Then came his cancer diagnosis, just as the dream was beginning.
For Howard, however, that wasn’t a reason to stop. He arranged his treatment around his sailing trips and continued to make the most of every possible day afloat. He had spent much of his life refusing to waste a minute or a day, and he wasn’t about to change that now.
In his eulogy for his father, Tom captured this particularly well: “Death on its own is not a tragedy. Tragedy is a life missed out on or not lived.”
Howard certainly did not miss out on life.
He lived it with adventure, determination, friendship and a refusal to feel sorry for himself. He could be infuriating – although, according to his best friend and best man, Tony Lewis, only occasionally. He was a humble, humorous and proud man, brave not only physically but emotionally, and always ready with another story. He was also stoic – rather fitting as an alumnus of Stowe School but equally as a person who faced pain and adversity calmly without complaining or showing their feelings
Above all, he was someone who brought people together.
For those at Tynemouth Sailing Club, Howard will be remembered not simply for the boats he sailed or the races he won, but for the energy he brought to the club and to the wider sailing community. For National 12 sailors, International 14 sailors, VX One sailors, race officers, and countless friends around the country, there will be memories of Howard on the water, ashore, at regattas, in clubhouses and probably telling a story worth hearing again.
And perhaps that is the best way to remember him: not with sadness, but with a smile, a good story and, if possible, a day on the water.
Howard leaves his wife Val, his sons Tom and Philip, and a very large sailing family who will miss him enormously.
Fair winds, Howard
Donations in memory of Robert Howard Steavenson should be made to the https://www.ellenmacarthurcancertrust.org, supporting young people recovering from cancer.
