Christopher Sharples had his first experience of blue water sailing when at the age of 25, having previously never sailed further than France, he took a year’s sabbatical from work. With just four friends, between the ages of 22 and 24, he set sail in 1972 in his father’s ketch for South Africa to participate in the Cape Town to Rio de Janeiro race. It was a steep learning curve en route to the Cape, including celestial navigation, but having completed the race, he eventually sailed back to the UK via Bermuda a year later to set up his own business as a commodity broker.
Shortly afterwards he was elected a member of the Royal Yacht Squadron in 1973. His proposer was UK Prime Minister Edward Heath.
As a serial entrepreneur, Christopher has been at the starting gate of around a dozen small companies - mostly high tech - and remains involved as a non executive of several of them. At the request of the Governor of the Bank of England, he was for seven years chairman of the Securities and Futures Authority which was responsible for the regulation of 30,000 individuals and many key financial organisations in the City.
Recently he stood down as Chairman the Air Squadron. During his seven year tenure, he flew a single engine light aircraft on many trips including from the United Kingdom to Alaska, the Himalayas and to Cape Town. He holds both rotary and fixed wing licences.
He has been a regular participant in RORC channel races, the Fastnet and the Newport Bermuda Race. He has raced at Cowes for over forty years. In 2011, he sailed the Atlantic to Antigua.
Christopher Sharples was very much involved in the campaign of RYS chartered and crewed yachts competing in international regattas, coming second in class 1 in Cork Week. This was the precursor to the very successful Squadron J109 teams that compete in Cowes Week each year of which he is a key participant.
He holds the RYA Yachtmaster Offshore qualifications both theory and practical.
Christopher Sharples was elected Commodore of The Royal Yacht Squadron in 2013.