America's Cup designers and engineers to talk at NZ Multihull YC

America's Cup final Oracle Team USA vs Emirates Team New Zealand Race 16 Carlo Borlenghi/Luna Rossa http://www.lunarossachallenge.com

Guest speaker 5th August 2014 - NZMYC Club Night Guest Speakers © David Smith

Andy Kensington has been involved in sailing since childhood. Growing up in the Bay of Plenty, he learned to sail at the Tauranga Yacht and Power Boat Club. Since graduating with a Bachelor of Engineering (Mechanical) degree from Auckland University, he has worked in the marine industry in New Zealand and the United States. Andy is one of the founding partners of Pure Design & Engineering – a New Zealand-based engineering consultancy specialising in the design of advanced composite structures, with a focus on the marine industry.

Since joining Team New Zealand/ Emirates Team New Zealand in 2001, Andy has been involved in the structural design of the America’s Cup Class racing yachts. In recent years, he has been involved in the Finite Element Analysis (FEA) of their structures.
Andy has built a number of his own boats, including the 9m carbon-fibre trimaran Frantic Drift (built over three years in the mid 1990s) which is currently racing in Auckland. He also owns a 10.5m catamaran for cruising with the family.

Biography: Neil Wilkinson, BE (Mech) Hons (Canterbury) – Director, Engineer

With over 40 years’ professional and practical experience, Neil Wilkinson is a creative engineering designer with specialised skills in Mechanical Design, Analysis, Development and Project Management. Neil graduated with Honours in Mechanical Engineering from Canterbury University in 1970. During the 1980s and 90s, Neil lectured part-time in Design at the Auckland University School of Engineering. In 1984, he founded MACHINE DESIGNZ Ltd – an Auckland-based engineering consultancy engaged in the design and development of specialised hardware for a wide range of sectors serving the needs of local and international clients.

In 1991, Neil was asked to assist the Farr office in the design of the radical Tandem Keel system for the New Zealand America's Cup challenger, NZL20. This was the beginning of a long involvement in the America's Cup competition, including the successful NZ challenge in 1995 and defence in 2000. For the 2003 campaign, Neil worked with the US One World team then returned to Team NZ for the 2007 campaign in Valencia. In 2011, Neil joined the Oracle team for the 34th America's Cup in San Francisco.

Neil is an enthusiastic designer/builder. He created his first boat in the 1970s, an 11m foam sandwich cruising catamaran Tarkus. Currently, he is close to completing a Farrier F22 trimaran.