Alumna Caroline Boyd (Aders, 1995) was awarded the Barranjoey Pin at a special ceremony at the Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron in September, 2023.
The Australian Sailing Team Alumni Program, the Barranjoey Pin, originated in 2018. It is designed to acknowledge the legacy and history of Olympic and Paralympic class sailing in Australia. Every athlete who has represented Australia at either an Olympic Class World Sailing Championship, International Yacht Racing Union (IYRU) Women’s World Championship, Olympic Games or Paralympic Games prior to 2006 and achieved a Top 10 performance receives a uniquely numbered Pin to commemorate their achievement.
Caroline’s love of sailing began as a child where she sailed small dinghies (Flying Elevens) at the Vaucluse Amateur 12’ Sailing Club. After school, whilst studying at Sydney University and living at Sancta Sophia College, Caroline joined the Sydney Uni Women’s Sailing Club, where she became the President of the Sailing Committee and sailed in intervarsity competitions. Shortly after leaving Uni, Caroline began sailing Ynglings, which for a very brief time became an Olympic class.
After University, Caroline was selected for the Australian Yngling class team. The team spent 3 years campaigning for the 2004 Olympics; travelling throughout Europe competing every year on the Olympic class circuit (and back home in Australia each summer). During that time, Caroline was an NSWIS and AIS Scholarship holder, was twice nominated for Australian Female Sailor of the Year, and won state and national titles, as well as placing at many European and World Championship events. Caroline’s best international results were 1st at the 2002 Pre-Olympics Test Event in Athens, Greece, 2nd at the 2003 Hyeres Olympic Classes Race week in France, 9th at the 2003 Open World Championships and 7th at the 2004 Yngling Open World Championships.
Whilst Caroline was a member of the Australian Sailing team and training for the 2004 Olympics, she was also joined by another KRB Alumna, Jessica Crisp (1987). It was rare to have two people from the same school on the Australian team. Jessica was competing in the Mistral One Design Windsurfing class. They occasionally crossed paths at AIS camps in Canberra and Olympic sailing competitions in Europe.
Having retired from racing competitively, Caroline now works as a Communications Manager with a NSW Government agency. Her family has many ties to KRB with her two sisters also attending KRB; Anne-Maree (1988) is now a Consultant Anesthetist in Victoria and Elizabeth (1989) is the Gallery Curator at the Mudgee Arts Precinct. Caroline’s mother, Celine was employed as the School Nurse in the KRB Infirmary from 1992 until the end of 2007.
Both Caroline and her sister, Elizabeth have Year 7 daughters currently boarding at KRB. Whilst Caroline is excited that sailing is now offered as an extra-curricular sport/activity for students, her daughter Harriet, has not yet shown a desire to get on the water being firmly focused on touch rugby, swimming and cross country activities !