Bruce Kirby

Bruce Robert William Kirby, (2 February 1929 – 19 July 2021) was a Canadian-born sailboat designer, dinghy and offshore racer and journalist. His designs spanned in size from the single-handed Laser dinghy to the 12-meter class Louis Vuitton Cup yacht, Canada One. He continued his design work in his American company, Bruce Kirby Marine. Career Kirby was born in Ottawa. A Canadian newspaperman and former editor of Yacht Racing (predecessor to Sailing World), he designed the Laser in 1969. Kirby started as a reporter in Montreal before editing Yacht Racing and, in his spare time, taking up yacht design and drawing the Laser. In 1970 Kirby became editor of Yacht Racing, where he stayed until 1975. Kirby's career began with the International 14 class, a developmental skiff with relatively few rules. Kirby designed several International 14s, winning the world championships in 1958 and 1961. Kirby also represented Canada at the Olympic regattas in 1956 and 1964, sailing Finns, and in a Star in 1968. Kirby's most widely recognized contribution to the sport of sailing was his design of the Laser dinghy.