View source for Rolly Tasker

{{Short description|Australian sailor (1926–2012)}}
{{Distinguish|text=[[Roly Tasker]], an Australian rules footballer}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2014}}
{{Use Australian English|date=February 2014}}
{{Infobox sportsperson
| name             = Rolly Tasker
| honorific_suffix = 
| image            = 
| caption          = 
| image_size       = 
| full_name        = Rolland Leslie Tasker
| birth_date       = 21 March 1926
| birth_place      = 
| death_date       = {{death date and age|2012|6|22|1926|3|21|df=yes}}
| death_place      = [[Perth]], [[Western Australia]]
| nationality      = Australian
| occupation       = 
| years_active     = 1953–2005
| parents          = 
| spouse           = 
| children         = 
| television       = 
| influences       = 
| height           = 
| weight           = 
| medaltemplates   = 
{{MedalSport | Men's [[Sailing (sport)|sailing]] }}
{{MedalCountry | {{AUS}} }}
{{MedalCompetition | [[Sailing at the Summer Olympics|Olympic Games]]}}
{{MedalSilver | [[1956 Summer Olympics|1956 Melbourne]] | [[Sailing at the 1956 Summer Olympics – 12 Square meter Sharpie|12 Square meter Sharpie]] }}
}}

'''Rolland Leslie "Rolly" Tasker''' [[Member of the Order of Australia|AM]] (21 March 1926{{spaced ndash}}22 June 2012)<ref>{{cite web |last1=Wilcocks |first1=Lana |last2=Morison |first2=Alan |date=22 June 2012 |url=http://phuketwan.com/tourism/phuket-aussie-sailing-legend-rolly-tasker-dies-16196/ |title=Phuket and Aussie sailing legend Rolly Tasker dies at 86 |website=phuketwan.com}}</ref> was an [[Australians|Australian]] [[sailor]] who won Australia's first Olympic sailing medal, at the 1956 [[Olympic Games]] in Melbourne.<ref>{{cite Sports-Reference |title=Rolly Tasker |url=http://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/ta/rolly-tasker-1.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161204015806/http://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/ta/rolly-tasker-1.html |archive-date=2016-12-04}}</ref>  He and [[Malcolm Scott (sailor)|Malcolm (Huck) Scott]] won a silver medal in their 12m<sup>2</sup> [[12 Square meter Sharpie (dinghy)|Sharpie]] after the New Zealander [[Peter Mander]] failed to disqualify himself and Rolly had not officially protested.<ref name="wais">''W.A. Hall of Champions'' inductee booklet. (2006) Published by the [[Western Australian Institute of Sport]]</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://corporate.olympics.com.au/sports.cfm?SportID=19 |title=Australia and Olympic sailing |website=corporate.olympics.com.au}}</ref> In 1958 Tasker won the [[Flying Dutchman (dinghy)|Flying Dutchman]] World Championship.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.australiansailingteam.com.au/?Page=21827&MenuID=Our_Story%2F13474%2F21825 |title=The History of Sailing in the Olympics |website=australiansailingteam.com.au}}</ref>

From 1969 to 1985 Tasker dominated ocean racing in [[Western Australia]] with five sister yachts all called ''Siska''.  In the 1978 [[Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race]], ''Siska IV'' was denied official starter status on a technicality.  Tasker started five minutes ahead of the fleet and crossed the finish line 20 hours ahead of [[line honours]] winner ''Apollo''.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://sahof.org.au/hall-of-fame-member/rolly-tasker/ |title=Sport Australia Hall of Fame |website=sahof.org.au}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=MDQ-9Oe3GGUC&dat=19790101&printsec=frontpage&hl=en |title=Siska 'wins' but the champagne's for Apollo |work=The Age |date=1 January 1979 |page=15}}</ref> He won numerous other ocean racing events in his career including taking line honours and first place in the [[Queen Victoria Cup]] off [[Cowes]], [[England]].  He competed in the disastrous [[1979 Fastnet race]], finishing third across the line.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article110575258 |title=Small yachts suffer most in 'freak' Fastnet storm |newspaper=[[The Canberra Times]] |volume=53 |issue=16,032 |location=Australian Capital Territory, Australia |date=16 August 1979 |accessdate=7 March 2018 |page=24 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref>  In the [[Parmelia Yacht Race]] from [[Plymouth]] to [[Fremantle]] in 1979, he finished second in the line honours race, and was the fastest yacht for each of the two legs.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article110969491 |title=SAILING Independent Endeavour first home in Parmelia |newspaper=[[The Canberra Times]] |volume=54 |issue=16,130 |location=Australian Capital Territory, Australia |date=23 November 1979 |accessdate=7 March 2018 |page=17 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref>

Tasker was inducted into the [[Western Australian Hall of Champions]] in 1986 and the Sport Australian Hall of Fame in 1996.  He became a Member of the [[Order of Australia]] in 2006 for his services to sailing.

He operated a sail-making business based in [[Phuket Province|Phuket]], [[Thailand]] called Rolly Tasker Sails.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rollytasker.com/ |title=Rolly Tasker Sails |website=rollytasker.com}}</ref>

In April 2008 Tasker opened the [[Australian Sailing Museum]] in [[Mandurah]], [[Western Australia]], with exhibits of the America's Cup races from 1851 and famous sailors from Australian sailing competitions. Twelve lifelike icons of the sailing world form part of the display, along with over 200 model yacht fleet class examples on a scale 1" to the foot.

His biography, [http://nla.gov.au/anbd.bib-an42405989 ''Sailing to the Moon''] was published in 2008. It is written by [[Roland Perry]] and describes Tasker's extensive sailing and business activities.<ref name="obit">{{cite news |last1=Irving |first1=Mark |title=Tributes to yachting legend Rolly Tasker |url=https://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/breaking/14019868/tributes-to-yachting-legend-rolly-tasker/ |accessdate=6 March 2018 |work=The West Australian |date=23 June 2012 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120624034840/https://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/breaking/14019868/tributes-to-yachting-legend-rolly-tasker/ |archivedate=24 June 2012 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all}}</ref>

In 2017, he was an inaugural inductee in the [[Australian Sailing Hall of Fame]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://sailinghalloffame.org.au/inductee/rolly-tasker-am/ |title=Sailing icon, Rolly Tasker, to be inducted into the Australian Sailing Hall of Fame |last= |first= |date= |website=Australian Sailing Hall of Fame website |archive-url= |archive-date= |accessdate=2 November 2017}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://sailinghalloffame.org.au/inductee/rolly-tasker-am/ Rolly Tasker AM] at the [[Australian Sailing Hall of Fame]]
* {{Sport Australia Hall of Fame|rolly-tasker|Rolly Tasker AM}}
* {{Olympedia|63870|Rolly Tasker}}
* {{AOC profile|rolland-tasker|Rolland Tasker|archive=20160927183908|id=rolly-tasker-12162}} ([https://web.archive.org/web/20110413013314/http://corporate.olympics.com.au/athlete/rolland-tasker archive 2]) ([https://web.archive.org/web/20091013022318/http://corporate.olympics.com.au/athlete/6256/Rolland+Tasker archive 3])
* {{Olympics.com profile|rolland-leslie-tasker|Rolland Leslie Tasker}}
* {{World Sailing|id=AUSRT10|www=rolland-leslie-tasker|name=Rolland Leslie Tasker}}
* [https://www.rollytasker.com Rolly Tasker Sails]

{{Footer World Champions Flying Dutchman}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tasker, Rolly}}
[[Category:1926 births]]
[[Category:2012 deaths]]
[[Category:Australian male sailors (sport)]]
[[Category:Olympic sailors for Australia]]
[[Category:Olympic silver medalists for Australia]]
[[Category:Olympic medalists in sailing]]
[[Category:Members of the Order of Australia]]
[[Category:Sailors at the 1956 Summer Olympics – 12 m2 Sharpie]]
[[Category:Sailors at the 1960 Summer Olympics – Flying Dutchman]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 1956 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Flying Dutchman class world champions]]
[[Category:World champions in sailing for Australia]]
[[Category:Sport Australia Hall of Fame inductees]]
[[Category:Sportsmen from Western Australia]]
[[Category:Sailors (sport) from Perth, Western Australia]]
[[Category:Sailmakers]]
[[Category:20th-century Australian sportsmen]]