Dean Barker (born 8 April 1973) is a New Zealand yachtsman. He is best known internationally for his participation in America's Cup yacht races.

Early life and family

Barker was born in 1973 in

Takapuna Takapuna is a suburb located on the North Shore of Auckland, New Zealand. The suburb is situated at the beginning of a south-east-facing peninsula forming the northern side of the Waitematā Harbour. While very small in terms of population, it ...

, New Zealand. Barker's father is the New Zealander Ray Barker of the Barkers Clothing retail chain. Dean Barker was educated at

Westlake Boys High School Westlake Boys High School is a state secondary school for boys located in Forrest Hill, Auckland, New Zealand. The school opened in 1962, when Westlake High School (opened 1958) split into Westlake Girls High School on the existing site and We ...

. Barker married former New Zealand

field hockey Field hockey is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with ten outfield players and a goalkeeper. Teams must drive a round hockey ball by hitting it with a hockey stick towards the rival team's shooting ...

representative

Mandy Smith Amanda Louise Smith (born 17 July 1970) is an English former pop singer and model. She became known in the mid-1980s for her romantic relationship with, and subsequent marriage to, Rolling Stones bassist Bill Wyman, who is 33 years her senior. ...

in February 2004. They have four children, three daughters; Mia, Olivia & Isla and one son Matteo. Dean Barker is also a major shareholder i
Kiwi Yachting Consultants

Early sailing career

Barker sailed from an early age, starting out in Optimist and P Class boats, before graduating to

Laser A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation. The word "laser" is an acronym for "light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation". The fi ...

s and Finns.

Olympic Games

* 1996 – Unsuccessfully trialed to represent New Zealand in the Finn for the

1996 Olympic Games The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

. * 2000 – Did not participate in the New Zealand selection trials due to America's Cup commitments. * 2004 – Represented New Zealand in the Finn finishing 13th out of 25 competitors

America’s Cup

Barker's first introduction to the America's Cup was in 1995 when

Russell Coutts Sir Russell Coutts (born 1 March 1962) is a world champion New Zealand yachtsman. Early and personal life Coutts was educated at Otago Boys' High School (1975–1979) and is a Life Member of Paremata Boating Club, where he learnt to sail in ...

invited him to train with

Team New Zealand Team New Zealand or TNZ is a sailing team based in Auckland, New Zealand representing the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron. Team New Zealand became a household name in their home country following their consecutive wins in the America's Cup i ...

. He opted for an Olympic campaign rather than to travel to San Diego. Although he was not involved in the successful challenge, he became a permanent member of the cup defense team once the cup was in Auckland. Because there was no defender's series Team New Zealand used high intensity in-house racing to prepare for its cup defense. Barker's skill as a match racer rapidly developed and he became skipper of the "B Boat" in these races. Although the racing was not public, and scores were not kept, it became apparent that he was at least holding his own with Coutts. Team New Zealand went on to successfully defend the 2000 Cup 5–0, with Coutts relinquishing his normal helming role to Barker in the last race. After the 2000 cup there were multiple defections to other syndicates, most notably Coutts and

Brad Butterworth Bradley William Butterworth (born 1959) is a New Zealand yachtsman known for the role he played as tactician and skipper in the America's Cup for Team New Zealand and the Alinghi team of Switzerland. Butterworth was born in Te Awamutu, New Zeal ...

to Alinghi and as a result Barker became skipper. In the 2003 Americas Cup, the Swiss boat Alinghi defeated

in a 5–0 series. The subsequent internal team review left Barker's reputation intact and he was selected as skipper and helmsman for the 2007 challenge. The renamed

Emirates Team New Zealand Team New Zealand or TNZ is a sailing team based in Auckland, New Zealand representing the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron. Team New Zealand became a household name in their home country following their consecutive wins in the America's Cup i ...

, with Barker as skipper and helmsman, was one of the challengers for the 2007 Valencia America's Cup. Barker started Team New Zealand's quest to take the Cup back to New Zealand by winning the challengers'

2007 Louis Vuitton Cup The 2007 Louis Vuitton Cup held in Valencia, Spain, from April 16 to June 6 was the event used to select the challenger for the 2007 America's Cup. Eleven potential challengers competed in the competition which consisted of two round robins, t ...

— beating the Italian

Luna Rossa Challenge Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli, originally named Prada Challenge, then Luna Rossa Challenge, is an Italian sailboat racing syndicate first created to compete for the 2000 America's Cup. It won the Louis Vuitton Cup on their first attempt in 2000, but ...

team 5–0 in the final after the previous elimination of the other 9 challengers. This was the first time that the Louis Vuitton Cup had ever been won without a race loss to the opponent. This gave Emirates Team New Zealand and Barker the opportunity to race the Swiss challenger Alinghi for the 32nd America's Cup. By winning Race 2 of the

2007 America's Cup The 2007 America's Cup was the thirty-second challenge for the America's Cup and was won by Alinghi in the 7th race. The Cup is the most famous and most prestigious regatta and '' Match Race'' in the sport of sailing. As per the Deed of Gift o ...

against the ''Defender'' Alinghi, Emirates Team New Zealand ensured that the scoreline in the America's Cup would not show a clean sweep victory for the first time in fifteen years. Many experts believed

had a good chance of winning but finished the

with a 2–5 race defeat. Overall the

racing was close with the final race won by Alinghi, skippered by fellow New Zealander

, with a winning delta of 1 second. Barker has participated in two defences and two challenges for the America's Cup. After the 2007 event, his record as helmsman in Finals was 3 wins to 10 defeats. In August 2013 Barker once again skippered

to victory in the

2013 Louis Vuitton Cup The 8th Louis Vuitton Cup was held during July and August 2013, in San Francisco, California, United States of America. The three contenders were Artemis Racing (Sweden), Emirates Team New Zealand (New Zealand), and Luna Rossa Challenge (Italy). A ...

— beating the Italian

team 7–1 in the final. He set a Louis Vuitton/America's Cup speed record in race #7 of . Barker and Team ETNZ then went on to Challenge Americas Team Oracle in the 2013 Americas Cup Final and went on to lose the final. ETNZ at one point during the final series had won 6 of the first 7 races ultimately going on to lose by a score of 9–8. The largest comeback in Americas Cup history. A rift started to emerge between Barker and Team ETNZ's CEO Grant Dalton. Through 20 September 2013, Dean Barker's record as helmsman in America's Cup ''Finals'' stands at 11–15. With only one more race win needed for Emirates Team New Zealand to secure the Cup, Dean Barker will need one more America's Cup series to break even. Early 2015 saw Grant Dalton offer Barker a shore-based position in order to make room for a new helmsman, Peter Burling and a new skipper, Australian sailor

Glenn Ashby Glenn Thomas Ashby (born 1 September 1977) is an Australian sailor from Strathfieldsaye, a suburb of Bendigo, Victoria. He is a multiple multihull world champion. He has been part of Team New Zealand as the wing trimmer for the 2013 America's ...

. Barker refused to take this position and accepted the offer to become CEO and skipper of a newly formed Japanese syndicate. On 21 May 2015, Barker was announced as CEO and skipper of the Japanese challenger,

Softbank Team Japan is a Japanese multinational conglomerate holding company headquartered in Minato, Tokyo which focuses on investment management. The Group primarily invests in companies operating in technology, energy, and financial sectors. It also runs th ...

. Barker was the helmsman of the challenge from the

New York Yacht Club The New York Yacht Club (NYYC) is a private social club and yacht club based in New York City and Newport, Rhode Island. It was founded in 1844 by nine prominent sportsmen. The members have contributed to the sport of yachting and yacht design. ...

to the 2021 America's Cup. The team lost in the semifinals of the qualifying event

2021 Prada Cup The 2021 Prada Challenger's Trophy was a sailing competition held to determine the challenger in the 2021 America's Cup who would challenge Emirates Team New Zealand. The races were held from January 15 to February 21, 2021 in Auckland, New Zeal ...

against Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli, despite a strong start in the qualifying event.

Summary of sailing career

*1988: P-Class Tanner Cup (1st), P-Class

Tauranga Cup The Tauranga Cup is an annual New Zealand national open sailing competition for under 17 year-olds, sailing P Class dinghies. Many of New Zealand's top sailors have competed in and won the Tauranga Cup, including Dean Barker, Chris Dickson and ...

(1st) *1991: NZ Laser National Champs (1st) *1993: Asian Pacific Laser Champs (1st), NZ Matchracing Champs (1st), world youth Laser champs (10th) *1994: NZ Matchracing champs (1st) *1995: NZ Matchracing champs (1st) *1996: Finn class world ranking (15th), Olympic Finn class trials (5th), Kenwood Cup (3rd) *1997: Steinlager Line 7 Cup (2nd), NZ Matchracing champs (2nd), Sydney-Hobart (9th) *1998: Australia Cup (1st), ACI Cup Croatia (2nd), Swedish Match Cup (3rd), Kenwood Cup (1st) *2001: ISAF World Matchracing champs (1st) *2003: Skipper and helmsman of America's Cup defender

(beaten 0–5 by challenger Alinghi) *2004: Olympic Games, Finn class (13th) *2005: Congressional Cup (1st) *2006: MedCup TP52 circuit (2nd) *2007:

Louis Vuitton Cup The Louis Vuitton Cup was the name of the Challenger Selection Series sailing competition from 1983, named after its sponsor, Louis Vuitton. The winner of the competition became the challenger to compete with the defender of the America's Cu ...

winner and America's Cup challenger (beaten 2–5 by defender Alinghi) *2009:

Louis Vuitton Pacific Series The Louis Vuitton Pacific Series was a match race regatta in America's Cup Class yachts in Auckland, New Zealand during January and February 2009. Racing started on 30 January. The Louis Vuitton Pacific Series was organised in association with ...

(1st) *2009: Audi MedCup TP52 circuit (1st) *2010: Audi MedCup TP52 circuit (1st) *2010:

Louis Vuitton Trophy The Louis Vuitton Trophy was a series of four match race regattas in International America's Cup Class boats, held between November 2009 and November 2010. The Louis Vuitton Trophy was organised after the success of the Louis Vuitton Pacific Se ...

(3 championship wins) *2011: America's Cup World Series *2013:

winner and America's Cup challenger *2017:

skipper of the

*2021: Prada Cup helmsman of the American Magic (beaten 0-4 in semifinals by Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli)

References

Sailing World article

External links

Official Website of Emirates Team New ZealandKiwi YachtingDean Barker and Partner Buy Into Nexus Marine
26 February 2009 *https://web.archive.org/web/20100618062911/http://www.nexusmarine.se/Default.aspx?epslanguage=EN *https://web.archive.org/web/20100710111603/http://www.nexusmarine.se/templates/NewsPage____348.aspx?epslanguage=EN *https://web.archive.org/web/20110719073812/http://www.tourvoile.fr/fr/2010/actualite/les-news/bapteme-du-premier-m34.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Barker, Dean Living people New Zealand male sailors (sport) Team New Zealand sailors Sailors at the 2004 Summer Olympics – Finn 1972 births People educated at Westlake Boys High School 2017 America's Cup sailors 2013 America's Cup sailors 2007 America's Cup sailors 2003 America's Cup sailors 2000 America's Cup sailors Extreme Sailing Series sailors Olympic sailors of New Zealand 2021 America's Cup sailors American Magic People from Takapuna