Eight Bells: Bruce Kirby, Canada’s prolific designer, journalist and Olympian.

Bruce Kirby

July 21, 2021

Bruce Kirby was an Ottawa-born sailboat designer, dinghy and offshore racer and journalist. His designs spanned in size from the single-handed Laser dinghy, of which 200,000+ have been built, to the Americas Cup contending 12-meters class Canada One and Canada II. As of 2018, there were more than 215,000 Lasers worldwide with an international class encompassing sailors in 120 countries. The Laser has been an Olympic class since 1996.

Bruce represented Canada at three Olympic regattas and was always associated with the International 14 Class, among others.

He as been inducted into the Canadian and US Sailing Hall of Fames and Order of Canada (2017), the International Yacht Racing Hall of Fame, the International Laser Class Association Hall of Fame, the Canadian International Fourteen Foot Dinghy Hall of Fame, and the City of Ottawa Sports Hall of Fame.

He passed earlier this week on July 18 at the age of 92.  CY OnBoard will carry a comprehensive tribute to Bruce Kirby from Rob Mazza in our August 12 edition.

Please click here for a special tribute TO  Bruce Kirby from our own John Kerr

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