Recognising Canadian Sailing Legends

by Sail Canada on 3 May 2014 The Marine Museum of the Great Lakes and Sail Canada are collaborating to recognise two men who have made notable contributions to sailing in Canada and worldwide.

At a Gala Dinner to be held in Kingston, Ontario, on May 10th, George Cuthbertson and Bruce Kirby will be appointed Honorary Curators of the 'New Age of Sail' exhibit at the museum and at the same time will be inducted into the Canadian Sailing Hall of Fame.

George Cuthbertson
George Cuthbertson established the design firm of Cuthbertson and Cassian in 1969 and it soon became one of the handful of leading yacht design firms in the world. With Inishfree, Red Jacket, Inferno, the Redline 41, Manitou, and the C&C 27, 35, 39, 43, 50, and 61, George established a design legacy that would be the envy of any sailor or yacht designer in the world. The successful racing record of C&C designs on International racing circuits established the credibility and panache that led to the successful building of high quality production boats for everyday sailors, and attracted thousands of families to sailing as a recreational pursuit. However, George would cap that remarkable design career by becoming the President of C&C Yachts at a time when it became the most recognized and successful production and custom boat builder in North America and the world. Without George Cuthbertson there would still have been a boatbuilding industry in Canada, but George Cuthbertson made it a truly Canadian industry by building Canadian designs.

Bruce Kirby
Recognised globally as the designer of the 13’-10' Laser Olympic sailing dinghy, of which over 215,000 have now been built, Bruce Kirby’s design career also includes seven renowned International 14’ Dinghy designs and a multitude of successful one-design classes, such as the Sonar, Kirby 25 and Ideal 18, America’s Cup Twelve Meters; production racer/cruisers like the San Juan 24 and 30; off-shore racing boats such as the Admiral’s Cup 40’ Runaway; a number of innovative cruising designs and a variety of plywood Sharpie designs for home construction. His sailing career is no less impressive, involving International Fourteen championships and International Team Racing, three Olympic campaigns, and offshore and Admiral’s Cup racing in his boats and others. He was a pioneering sailing journalist, editor of One-Design and Off-Shore Yachtsman magazine (now Sailing World). Bruce is a member of the US National Sailing Hall of Fame, the International Yacht Racing Hall of Fame, the Canadian International Fourteen Foot Dinghy Hall of Fame, and the City of Ottawa Sports Hall of Fame.

Canadian Sailing Hall of Fame
The Board of Directors of Sail Canada has determined to establish a Canadian Sailing Hall of Fame to recognise illustrious individuals who have made notable contributions to sailing in Canada and worldwide.

‘New Age of Sail’ at the Marine Museum of the Great Lakes at Kingston
The New Age of Sail exhibit this summer at the Marine Museum of the Great Lakes at Kingston will focus on the huge growth in sailing in the 1960s and 70s brought on by a postwar boom economy and the introduction of fiberglass boatbuilding.

Inaugural Gala Dinner
George and Bruce’s achievements and contributions to Canadian Sailing will be celebrated at the Inaugural Gala dinner of the New Age of Sail exhibit. This dinner will be hosted by Kingston Yacht Club on the evening of May 10th, 2014.