Kenneth Read (born June 24, 1961) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

yachtsman A yacht () is a sail- or motor-propelled watercraft made for pleasure, cruising, or racing. There is no standard definition, though the term generally applies to vessels with a cabin intended for overnight use. To be termed a , as opposed to a ...

who is considered one of the world's most accomplished and celebrated

sailors A sailor, seaman, mariner, or seafarer is a person who works aboard a watercraft as part of its crew, and may work in any one of a number of different fields that are related to the operation and maintenance of a ship. While the term ''sailor'' ...

. He was named United States Rolex Yachtsman of the Year twice (1985 and 1995), and has won more than 50 world, North American, and national championships in a variety of classes, with eleven of those being World Championships titles in the

J/24 The J/24 is an international One-Design trailerable keelboat class built by J/Boats and defined by World Sailing. The J/24 was created to fulfill the diverse needs of recreational sailors such as cruising, one design racing, day sailing, and ...

, Etchells 22 and yacht classes.

College

While sailing at

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...

(Boston, MA. USA), Read was a three-time collegiate All American (1981, 1982 and 1983) and is now a member of the Boston University Hall of Fame. He won the 1982

ICSA Coed Dinghy National Championship ICSA Coed Dinghy National Championship or ICSA Open Fleet Race Nationalsis is the oldest and most prestigious of the American Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association National Championships. Winners are awarded the Henry A. Morss Memorial Trophy. Sec ...

and the

ICSA Match Racing National Championship The ICSA Team Racing National Championship is one of the seven Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association National Championships. Between 1972 and 2009, it was called the Sloop Championship; however, it changed its name in 2010 when the racing format wa ...

, receiving the "Everett B. Morris Trophy", awarded to the

ICSA College Sailor of the Year ICSA College Sailor of the Year, also known as Marlow Ropes College Sailor of the Year because of the sponsorship by Marlow Ropes, is an award annually presented, since 1968, by the United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Acade ...

America's Cup

Read was helmsman aboard two (2000, 2003) of

Dennis Conner Dennis Walter Conner (born September 16, 1942) is an American yachtsman. He is noted for winning a bronze medal at the 1976 Olympics, two Star World Championships, and three wins in the America's Cup. Sailing career Conner was born September ...

's Stars & Stripes

America's Cup The America's Cup is a sailing competition and the oldest international competition still operating in any sport. America's Cup match races are held between two sailing yachts: one from the yacht club that currently holds the trophy (known ...

campaigns. He also served as strategist and coach with America's Cup entry '' Young America'' in 1995. For the 2013, 2017 and 2021 America's Cup Read has served as global TV broadcast color commentator and is considered one of the best spokesmen for the sport of sailing in the world.

Volvo Ocean Race

Read first began racing offshore when he joined the

Ericsson (), commonly known as Ericsson (), is a Swedish multinational networking and telecommunications company headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden. Ericsson has been a major contributor to the development of the telecommunications industry and is one ...

Racing Team for the last four legs of the

2005–2006 Volvo Ocean Race The 2005–06 The Ocean Race, Volvo Ocean Race was held between 5 November 2005 and 17 June 2006. Seven boats took part in the race and made ten stops in nine countries. The 2005–06 race was the first to not begin in the United Kingdom. The c ...

. Read was skipper and CEO of Puma Ocean Racing Team's ''il Mostro'' in the

2008–2009 Volvo Ocean Race The 2008–09 Volvo Ocean Race was a yacht race held between 4 October 2008 and 27 June 2009, the tenth edition of the round the world Volvo Ocean Race. The eight participating boats made ten stops in nine countries around the world. The first ...

—his first complete circumnavigation. Read took a sabbatical from his job as vice president of sailmaking company

North Sails North Sails is an international sailmaker and sailing wear company with operations in 29 countries. The company designs, engineers and manufactures sails for sailboat racing, racing and cruising sailboats from 8 feet (2.5m) to more-than 200 feet ( ...

to skipper PUMA Ocean Racing's entry in the race. PUMA's il mostro finished 2nd Overall. On October 29, 2011, Read returned as skipper for a second time to lead PUMA Ocean Racing powered by

Berg Berg may refer to: People *Berg (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) * General Berg (disambiguation) * Berg Ng (born 1960), Hong Kong actor * Berg (footballer, born 1963), Ninimbergue dos Santos Guerra, Brazilian footba ...

's entry ''Mar Mostro'' in the

2011–2012 Volvo Ocean Race The 2011–12 Volvo Ocean Race was the 11th edition of the round-the-world Volvo Ocean Race, yacht race which started with an in-port race in Alicante, Spain on 29 October 2011 with six Volvo Open 70 yachts at the start line and ended with an in- ...

. In July 2012, ''Mar Mostro'' finished its circumnavigation in

Galway Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...

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in third place, securing a third place overall victory in the 2011–12 edition of the Volvo Ocean Race. Alongside a third place podium finish, Read led PUMA Ocean Racing powered by

BERG Berg may refer to: People *Berg (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) * General Berg (disambiguation) * Berg Ng (born 1960), Hong Kong actor * Berg (footballer, born 1963), Ninimbergue dos Santos Guerra, Brazilian footba ...

to a first place overall victory in the In-Port Series. Read stated the 2011–12 Volvo Ocean Race would be his last.

General Sailing

His career started in sail making where his multiple wins of the J/24 World Championship led directly to success in the sail making. Since completing his Volvo Ocean Race campaigns, Read has often acted as skipper for Dr. James H. Clark's latest yachts ''

Hanuman Hanuman (; , ), also known as Maruti, Bajrangabali, and Anjaneya, is a deity in Hinduism, revered as a divine ''vanara'', and a devoted companion of the deity Rama. Central to the ''Ramayana'', Hanuman is celebrated for his unwavering devotio ...

'' and IRC supermaxi ''

Comanche The Comanche (), or Nʉmʉnʉʉ (, 'the people'), are a Tribe (Native American), Native American tribe from the Great Plains, Southern Plains of the present-day United States. Comanche people today belong to the List of federally recognized tri ...

''. In 2015, Read skippered

to Victory in the 2015 Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race.

Other

Read worked in management at

since 1996 and has taken four sabbaticals to take part in global yacht racing events. In 2012 he took over as president of North Sails. and in 2021 Read was also named as President of North Technology Group, a group of marine companies which includes North Sails, Southern Spars, Future Fibres, Hall Spars, North Action Sports, and North Performance Apparel.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Read, Ken 1961 births Living people American male sailors (sport) Boston University Terriers sailors ICSA College Sailor of the Year J/24 class world champions Sailmakers US Sailor of the Year Volvo Ocean Race sailors 2000 America's Cup sailors 2003 America's Cup sailors 1995 America's Cup sailors World champions in sailing for the United States 20th-century American sportsmen