Intellectual pursuits and sailing were Grygier’s two passions. They were intertwined throughout his life. He started sailing at the age of twelve. It was just a kayak, for which he made a mast, a boom, a sail and a complex steering device, but sailing proved to be his life-long passion.
He was nominated to compete in the Olympic sailing competitions twice: the first was to represent Poland at the 1940 Olympic Games, but the war interfered; the second was to represent Great Britain at the 1948 Games, but he was disqualified by the Olympic Committee for not having been a resident of Great Britain for the required five years. He missed the third chance to participate in the Olympics in 1960. Romie Kelland reported in her interview with Tad: “in 1960 he served on a committee to study the psychological aspects of sport and medicine with regard to the British and Australian Olympic teams. Roger Bannister (the first man to run the 4 minute mile) was also on the committee and the two became friends. Bannister supported Grygier’s research and Tad would have been instrumental in putting his findings into practice at the 1960 Olympics in Rome. However, he accepted a prestigious position at the University of Toronto.”
John Vines, a former commodore at Britannia Yacht Club (BYC) in Ottawa and sailing friend of more than 50 years, recalls: “While in England, where he was a leading sailing dinghy racer on the Thames in London, Tad’s engaging arguments made the prolonged protest meetings a spectacle as well as stimulating, his arguments on the rules of racing were usually correct. These arguments contributed to the development and drafting of the rules of racing that are used internationally to this day.”
In 1999, Tadeusz Grygier became the first recipient of the George Hinterhoeller Award for his significant contribution to the International Shark Class Association (an international yachting association). He founded the association, drafted the constitution and championship rules, designed a Shark logo for ties and scarves, and pursued initiatives that encouraged production of the boat. He sailed to an astounding 16 top-ten finishes in North American and World Championships. (For details on the award, see http://www.shark24.org/hinterhoeller-award.html)
Apart from his efforts internationally, Tad had significant impact on promoting and building the local fleet at the Britannia Yacht Club in Ottawa. On September 7, 2010, at the BYC annual sailors meeting, after a wet race, everyone stood for a minute in silence in memory of Tad.