A fourth-generation New Zealander of Scottish descent, Mackay was born in 1946 and grew up in Kohimarama. Mackay’s grandfather, Dick Braine, was an entrepreneur and bought a house and a group of adjacent shops on what is now Tamaki Drive and Kohimarama Rd. One of these shops housed the Brown Owl nightclub, another boatbuilder Viv Blake, and in a third, a car aerial manufacturer. When the Brown Owl burned down, the empty section became the Kohimarama Yacht Club (KYC) haul-out area. His father, Donald, later helped build the KYC clubhouse.
Many great sailors came out of the KYC environment, including Russell Bowler, Wayne Dillan, Ray Hasler, Barry and Noel Heerdegen, John Moyles, Barry Thom and [the late] Mark Patterson.
“Barry [Heerdegen] used to run classes on sailing for the yacht club, and we learned a lot from him.”
Aged eight, Mackay got into P Class #236, which his father built. Besides KYC racing, there was an annual regatta at Kawau Island, and the P Class fleet would be transported up there
