John Leuchars

Although he was born and died in Durban, South Africa, John Leuchars spent a lot of time in England in the 1890s and early part of the 20th century. He was regularly seen sailing on the south-eat coast of England and he played a big part in helping develop Burnham-on-Crouch into one of the leading yachting centres in Britain. He owned some well-known yachts like the 18-footers Inyati and Inyoni, the Alfred Mylne-designed Moyana and the 37-tonner Induna. Another regular at Burnham regattas was Sibindi, the yacht he entered in the 6-metre class at the 1908 Olympics, when his son Wilfrid was a member of the three-man crew.

Leuchars was a Fellow of the Royal Colonial Institute and, as a South African merchant, was a partner in the London-based firm of Hunt, Leuchars and Hepburn. He was also a director of the British East Africa Corporation, Limited. He served on the committee of the London Sailing Club, was a vice-commodore of the Eastern Yacht Club of England, served on the Council of the Yacht Racing Association, and, at the time of his death, was a member of the Royal Corinthian Yacht Club.