Para sailor Derek made his debut at the Atlanta 1996 Paralympic Games. The sport of Para sailing made its first appearance at the Paralympic Games as a demonstration sport in 1996 and competition took place at the Aqualand Marina, Lake Lanier in the foothills of the Georgia Blue Ridge Mountains. The location made for unpredictable sailing conditions which, in such a close fleet, translated into dramatic place changes and medals being decided in the final race.
At first the crew of 4 Para sailors: Chris Wornall, Cameron Scott, Andrew May and Derek seemed to have mastered the tricky breeze best of the 15 nations taking part in the mixed crew Sonar fleet. The Kiwis were the early leaders after pulling out a first and a second in the first two races. However, consistency was a challenge resulting in the Sonar crew finishing in 6th place.
25 years later, Derek is still very passionate about sailing and enjoys his life in Queenstown.
