John Roome was a distinguished solicitor and recognized figure in the UK offshore yacht racing scene.
He also greatly enjoyed cruising on Flycatcher and later in a Bowman 40 venturing to the Baltic and the Mediterranean.
He was RORC Commodore from 1976 -1978, and thereafter elected ORC Chairman. He remained in the ORC chairman’s position until 1988, when he passed the helm to another – future - RORC Commodore, John Bourke.
During his term John shepherded the ORC through the transition from the International Offshore Rule (IOR) to the new International Measurement System (IMS), a VPP system that originated in the USA and forms the basis of the current ORC rules.
After his term in the ORC chair John was elected Commodore of the Royal Yacht Squadron, proud to be the first “mister” in that position.
John will be remembered for his unflappable, even-handed patience in conducting productive meetings of nationals from around the world, and for his pleasant good humour in the lounge after meetings, especially among RSDS members.
Squadron Activities
As Rear Commodore Yachting from 1980 to 1984, John Roome was working on the sailing. Like the Commodore, he sensed that the future of the Club depended on attracting good yachtsmen. He noted that racing Members came to Cowes reasonably often, but the cruisers were seldom seen. 'So we started organising rallies.
The first one was at Deauville, a lovely occasion. And so the cruising Members met each other, and would agree to meet again at the Castle. Cruises and rallies to northern France now became an established tradition, with visits to ports west and east of the Cherbourg peninsula in turn.
In 1986 John Roome was elected as the new Commodore.
He was active internationally as Chairman of both the Offshore Racing Council and the selectors for the Admiral's Cup. He was nonetheless surprised to be nominated. "There had never been a "Mr" Commodore," he remarks. "They were all marquesses or dukes or princes. My immediate predecessor was a baronet, but he was also Lord Lieutenant of the Isle of Wight."
Each Commodore has a particular style and, within the constraints of the role, a personal list of improvements and adjustments that he wishes to encourage. With the Castle now functioning efficiently, John Roome wanted above all to make the Squadron more friendly to its own Members and their wives, more like a good club. He also felt that better standards of racing and race management could be achieved, and in this he could not have found a more dynamic or genial helper than John Green, his Rear Commodore Yachting.
Within the Club John Roome was greatly helped by his wife, Kate. She was the first Commodore's wife to be seen regularly at the Castle - a historic change - and the couple are remembered as a wonderful host and hostess at Squadron events. Subtle but effective measures were taken to encourage good mixing. It became a rule, for example, that new Members must be invited to the Castle by their proposers and introduced to others rather than left to fend for themselves. This would in time lead to a regular New Members' Lunch. It was also noticed that husbands and wives almost always sat together at dinner. The reason for this appeared to be that Members chose their own wine, and sat next to their wives in order to serve them. So it was suggested that the senior Member present should choose the wine for the whole table. This was readily accepted and became a firm tradition. Members could order individually in the old way if they wanted to, but of course no one did'.
Another habit John Roome was keen to discourage was groups of friends crowding together in 'little cliques' at the main dinners. There was no reservation system, but they would rush in and put chairs up. A new Member would come in and have to look around to see if there was a seat left. I thought that was terrible. I got them to accept the idea of places set by the Secretary, and promised that if they would accept that we would review it after two years. Despite initial opposition they all came round to it in the end'. Most of the other obstacles to an inclusive Club life at the Castle, he believed, would disappear when Members knew each other better.
John Roome also oversaw two changes to flag etiquette. Members were no longer obliged to lower their burgee at night if their vessel was in active commission, since getting it up to the top of a modern mast, and then down again at exactly the same time as the Ensign, had been an awful chore for a long time.
The other change was a courtesy to Naval Members. 'When I first joined,' says John Roome, 'it astonished me that I could wear a White Ensign, having spent my time in the Navy on the lower deck, whereas a full Admiral who was a Naval Member could only wear the Red Ensign. I thought that was most embarrassing. So we wrote to the Admiralty and asked if there was any reason for this. They did some research and wrote back saying, "It's nothing to do with us, we didn't make that rule. If you want to give them the right to fly the White Ensign that's up to you." So we rushed that through and the Navy was very pleased about it.
John Roome also tackled what he called the 'blight' of blackballing at elections, which he believed to be damaging not only to the candidate and his family but also to his proposers, and divisive among the Members'. Although he was strongly in favour of election by Members, which implies the right to blackball, he felt there must be a kinder way. At his first general meeting he begged Members who considered a candidate unsuitable either to inform the proposer personally or, if that should prove difficult, to write in confidence to the Commodore. I would advise the proposer of the opposition, and with the advice of the Secretary would assess its strength.
The response of Members was truly gratifying. All proposers followed my advice on whether a candidate should be withdrawn (or "deferred while he meets more Members" as I preferred to express it), and the great reward was that no candidate was excluded by blackballing during my five years as Commodore.'
He clearly enjoyed his time as Commodore. His abiding impression was one of loyal support and great generosity- a 'lovely feeling. Asked what the Squadron stands for, he replied, Tradition, and everything I like about yachting: friends, efficiency and the sea. We want to be the leading club as far as we can with our small numbers. We can be proud of everything that we do.
John Roome, died peacefully at home on Friday 8th June 2018, at the age of 90.
His wife Kate had pre-deceased him and, after his death, the family presented to the Squadron the John and Kate Roome Trophy, competed for by a race during the annual summer cruise