George Moffat died peacefully at his home in Marion, MA on June 20, 2024. He was 97.

His Wikepedia page will tell you that he was a world champion glider pilot, and a skilled sailor, competing on the world's stage in both sports. It will tell you that he wrote two books on gliding, embracing his calling as a teacher to further the sport he loved. It will also tell you that he had compiled a winning record competing at the highest levels of sailboat racing, and that he wrote many articles on the subject for Yachting and Popular Science. It will also tell you that for many years, he was head of the English Department at the Pingry School.

But it won't tell you that George was so beloved that he received many letters from former students and sailing and soaring friends from all over the world, right up until his death. His teaching made a huge impact on so many in the worlds of soaring, sailing, and writing. His long list of competitive accomplishments might make one think that he was unapproachable, but in fact, he was a generous and gifted teacher, much admired by those he taught. He coached the US Soaring team and taught many the finer points of sailboat racing. His stories about soaring and sailing were endlessly fascinating, as they afforded one a glimpse into the excitement of competing in the International 14 Class with such greats (and personal friends) in the sailing world as Stuart Morris, and Uffa Fox, or in the soaring world, with Klaus Holighaus, Hans-Werner Grosse, and Wally Scott, to name but a few.

In the introduction to Winning II, Michael Bird wrote this about George: "surely he must be the Great White Shark of soaring, with a presence to match? In reality when I first met him I found a shy, quiet, almost diffident man." George was a man of few words – instead, his modus operandi was quietly embracing the self-discipline necessary to achieve excellence in everything he did. Philip Wells said it best in the introduction to George's book Winning: "so we come to the underlying theme of the book: self-discipline; and self-discipline of this order is a form of genius." As George himself was heard to say: "flashes of brilliance punctuated by periods of inattention never won anything in any sport."

When he wasn't flying gliders, he enjoyed summer-long cruises on his 42' wooden sloop, Wild Goose. Later in life, when he moved to Massachusetts, he and his partner, Peggy Francis, acquired Swan Song, an "H Class" Doughdish built by Edey & Duff. In true George fashion, he heartily embraced the H Class one-design racing on Buzzards Bay and wrote the tuning guide that is still in use. He won the H-Class National Championship several times and happily committed his time and energy to building and educating the racing fleets.

George was predeceased by his partner of many years, Margaret (Peggy) Francis. He leaves behind three daughters: Virginia Moffat, Susan Moffat, and Barbara Moffat.

Arrangements are by the Donaghy New Day Cremation and Funeral Care, 465 County Street, New Bedford.

Burial services are private. To honor George's memory, please consider a donation to the Soaring Society of America.