Steve Killing, Canadian yacht designer and six-time America’s Cup veteran, is coming to Nanaimo Yacht Club where he will talk about the technical advances, upsets and some of the biggest controversies in recent America’s Cups from an insider’s perspective.
Killing’s presentation, America’s Cup 2017 and Beyond; the Drama Continues, will detail how, in his role as a race official, he saw the secrets and not-so-secrets of teams developing new yachts built for speed.
“The neat thing about the measuring job is you get to see the thought processes of each competitor,” said Killing in a press release. “So you’ve got these five different countries and their approach to making boats go fast.”
He has designed a variety of boats that include kayaks, canoes, racing sailboats and more and was first involved with the America’s Cup in 1983. He became head designer for Canada’s True North Challenge team in 1987 when he championed the use of a computer velocity prediction program. Killing was also a team member for Emirates Team New Zealand Challenge in 2013 when the team came up with a hydrofoil design that lifted their catamaran yacht out of the water, but was still within the competition rules. The New Zealand hydrofoil yacht was beaten by the American team in the 2013 event, but the use of hydrofoils represented a huge technological leap in sailing. Emirates Team New Zealand came back to win the America’s Cup in 2017.
Killing speaks at the Nanaimo Yacht Club on Aug. 24 at 2 p.m. The event is a fundraiser for the Schooner Cove Singers, Vancouver Island’s first professional choir.
To learn more or purchase tickets for Killing’s presentation, visit www.designedtowin.ca or call Paul Vincent at 250-937-8911.
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