Richard Tolkien (born 9 January 1955) is a British corporate finance adviser, director and trustee and experienced adventure sailor who grew up in Devon.
He was educated at King Edward VI School, Totnes, and Exeter College, Oxford (1974–1977), where he won the Webb Medley prize and graduated with a first in PPE.
His corinthian sailing has included finishing sixth monohull in the 1992 RWYC OSTAR and winning with Robert Wingate the two-handed Round Britain Race on FPC Greenaway, a 40-foot trimaran, in 1998.
[3] However, on 13 May 2015, while he was competing in the Transat Bakerly Race, a qualifying event, a damaged sail caused him to suffer a head injury, forcing him to abandon his monohull, Sodebo.
On 6 May 2022 Rosalba, skippered by Richard with three others aboard, established a new WSSRC record for a monohull from Bermuda to Plymouth of 12 days and 3 hours.