Kenneth Read (born June 24, 1961) is an American

yachtsman A yacht is a sailing or power vessel used 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 , such a pleasu ...

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. The profession of the s ...

. He was named United States Rolex Yachtsman of the Year twice (1985 and 1995), and has won more than 40 world, North American, and national championships in a variety of classes, with nine of those being World Championships titles in the J/24, Etchells 22 and yacht classes.

College

While sailing at

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original c ...

(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 is the oldest and most prestigious of the American Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association National Championships. Winners are awarded the Henry A. Morss Memorial Trophy. Second place team receives the ''Oxford ...

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 the Sloop Championship, but changed name in 2010 when the racing format was changed to match rac ...

, receiving the "Everett B. Morris Trophy", awarded to the ICSA College Sailor of the Year.

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, informally known as the Auld Mug, is a trophy awarded in the sport of sailing. It is the oldest international competition still operating in any sport. America's Cup match races are held between two sailing yachts: one ...

campaigns. He also served as strategist and coach with America's Cup entry '' Young America'' in 1995.

Volvo Ocean Race

Read first began racing offshore when he joined the

Ericsson (lit. "Telephone Stock Company of LM Ericsson"), commonly known as Ericsson, is a Sweden, Swedish multinational networking and telecommunications company headquartered in Stockholm. The company sells infrastructure, software, and services in ...

Racing Team for the last four legs of the

2005–2006 Volvo Ocean Race The 2005–06 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 course of was di ...

. Read was skipper 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 10th 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 racing and cruising sailboats from 8 feet (2.5m) to more-than 200 feet (60m) in length. L ...

to skipper PUMA Ocean Racing's entry in the race. On October 29, 2011, Read returned as skipper for a second time to lead PUMA Ocean Racing powered by Berg's entry ''Mar Mostro'' in the 2011–2012 Volvo Ocean Race. In July 2012, ''Mar Mostro'' finished its circumnavigation in

Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a city in the West of Ireland, in the province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay, and is the sixth most populous city ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

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 to a first place overall victory in the In-Port Series. Read stated the 2011–12 Volvo Ocean Race would be his last. Since completing his Volvo Ocean Race campaigns, Read has often acted as skipper for

Dr. James H. Clark James Henry Clark (born March 23, 1944) is an American entrepreneur and computer scientist. He founded several notable Silicon Valley technology companies, including Silicon Graphics, Netscape, myCFO, and Healtheon. His research work in compu ...

's latest yachts ''

Hanuman Hanuman (; sa, हनुमान, ), also called Anjaneya (), is a Hindu god and a divine '' vanara'' companion of the god Rama. Hanuman is one of the central characters of the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. He is an ardent devotee of Rama and ...

'' and IRC supermaxi '' Comanche''. In 2015, Read skippered Comanche to Victory in the 2015 Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race. Read is a commentator on the

tournament. Read worked as a sailmaker at North Sails since 1996 and has taken four sabbaticals to take part in yacht racing events. In 2012 he took over as president of North Sails.

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