Charles Norman Currey (26 February 1916 – 10 May 2010) was a British

sailor A sailor, seaman, mariner, or seafarer is a person who works aboard a watercraft as part of its crew, and may work in any one of a number of different fields that are related to the operation and maintenance of a ship. While the term ''sailor'' ...

who won a silver medal in Finn class at the 1952 Olympics. Currey was born into a marine family. He had to abandon an anticipated career in the

British Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

due to an illness, and instead became a renowned sailor and boat builder. At the onset of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

he was accepted as a member of

Royal Naval Reserve The Royal Naval Reserve (RNR) is one of the two volunteer reserve forces of the Royal Navy in the United Kingdom. Together with the Royal Marines Reserve, they form the Maritime Reserve. The present RNR was formed by merging the original ...

, and was eventually promoted to lieutenant commander and appointed as captain of a gunboat patrolling the

English Channel The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...

. He then returned to boat building and became an expert in the Firefly dinghy. He was considered for the 1948 Olympic team in this boat class, and was selected in 1952, when he won a silver medal ahead the Swedish boat designer

Rickard Sarby Erik Rickard Sarby (19 September 1912 – 10 February 1977) was a Swedish sailor. He competed in the mixed one-person dinghy event at the 1948, 1952 and 1956 Olympics and finished in fourth, third and fifth place, respectively. Born in a villag ...

. After that Currey designed and sailed other types of dinghies, as well as

powerboat A motorboat or powerboat is a boat that is exclusively powered by an engine; faster examples may be called "speedboats". Some motorboats are fitted with inboard engines, others have an outboard motor installed on the rear, containing the inter ...

s. In the 1960 he was appointed as managing director of the

Fairey Marine Fairey Marine Ltd, latterly known as FBM Marine, was a boat building company based on the River Hamble, Southampton, England. The company was created in the late 1940s by Sir Charles Richard Fairey and Fairey Aviation's managing director, Mr. Chi ...

company, where he worked for the past decades. His son Alistair Currey also became an Olympic sailor.

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* 1916 births 2010 deaths British male sailors (sport) Olympic sailors for Great Britain Olympic silver medallists for Great Britain Olympic medalists in sailing Sailors at the 1952 Summer Olympics – Finn Medalists at the 1952 Summer Olympics Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War II Royal Navy officers of World War II Royal Naval Reserve personnel Place of birth missing {{UK-Olympic-medalist-stub