# Rolly Tasker

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{{Short description|Australian sailor (1926–2012)}}
{{Distinguish|text=[Roly Tasker](/source/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](/source/Perth), [Western Australia](/source/Western_Australia)
| nationality      = Australian
| occupation       = 
| years_active     = 1953–2005
| parents          = 
| spouse           = 
| children         = 
| television       = 
| influences       = 
| height           = 
| weight           = 
| medaltemplates   = 
{{MedalSport | Men's [sailing](/source/Sailing_(sport)) }}
{{MedalCountry | {{AUS}} }}
{{MedalCompetition | [Olympic Games](/source/Sailing_at_the_Summer_Olympics)}}
{{MedalSilver | [1956 Melbourne](/source/1956_Summer_Olympics) | [12 Square meter Sharpie](/source/Sailing_at_the_1956_Summer_Olympics_%E2%80%93_12_Square_meter_Sharpie) }}
}}

'''Rolland Leslie "Rolly" Tasker''' [AM](/source/Member_of_the_Order_of_Australia) (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 [Australian](/source/Australians) [sailor](/source/sailor) who won Australia's first Olympic sailing medal, at the 1956 [Olympic Games](/source/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 (Huck) Scott](/source/Malcolm_Scott_(sailor)) won a silver medal in their 12m<sup>2</sup> [Sharpie](/source/12_Square_meter_Sharpie_(dinghy)) after the New Zealander [Peter Mander](/source/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](/source/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](/source/Flying_Dutchman_(dinghy)) 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](/source/Western_Australia) with five sister yachts all called ''Siska''.  In the 1978 [Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race](/source/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](/source/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](/source/Queen_Victoria_Cup) off [Cowes](/source/Cowes), [England](/source/England).  He competed in the disastrous [1979 Fastnet race](/source/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](/source/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](/source/Parmelia_Yacht_Race) from [Plymouth](/source/Plymouth) to [Fremantle](/source/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](/source/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](/source/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](/source/Order_of_Australia) in 2006 for his services to sailing.

He operated a sail-making business based in [Phuket](/source/Phuket_Province), [Thailand](/source/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](/source/Australian_Sailing_Museum) in [Mandurah](/source/Mandurah), [Western Australia](/source/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](/source/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](/source/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](/source/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

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Rolly Tasker](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rolly_Tasker) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rolly_Tasker?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.