Murray Ross (born in Whangarei, New Zealand, in 1950) is a New Zealand

sailor 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 ...

and

yacht designer Naval architecture, or naval engineering, is an engineering discipline incorporating elements of mechanical, electrical, electronic, software and safety engineering as applied to the engineering design process, shipbuilding, maintenance, and o ...

who competed at the

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inau ...

and in the Whitbread Around the World race. Ross sailed a

Flying Dutchman The ''Flying Dutchman'' ( nl, De Vliegende Hollander) is a legendary ghost ship, allegedly never able to make port, but doomed to sail the seven seas forever. The myth is likely to have originated from the 17th-century Golden Age of the Dut ...

with Jock Bilger, coming second at the 1971 Flying Dutchman World Championships before sailing at the 1972 Olympics, finishing 9th. They again finished second at the 1975 World Championships before competing at the 1976 Olympics, finishing 12th. New Zealand boycotted the 1980 Summer Olympics and so Ross did not compete. Ross has competed in four Whitbread Around the World races, in 1985–86 he sailed with ''NZI Enterprise'', in 1989–90 he was on the second place ''Fisher & Paykel NZ'', in 1993–94 he spent one leg on board eventual W60 winner ''Yamaha'', and in the 1997–98 race he was on ''

Toshiba , commonly known as Toshiba and stylized as TOSHIBA, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Its diversified products and services include power, industrial and social infrastructure system ...

'' with

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 ...

. In 1999 Ross joined Connor's Stars & Stripes in a support role for the

2000 Louis Vuitton Cup The 5th Louis Vuitton Cup was held in Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in t ...

. He played a similar role for

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 ...

for the

2003 Louis Vuitton Cup The 6th Louis Vuitton Cup was held in Auckland, New Zealand, in 2003. The winner, Alinghi, went on to challenge for and win the 2003 America's Cup. The teams The Yacht Club Punta Ala was the challenger of record. Alinghi Founded by Swiss bus ...

. He has designed a series of boats, including the Ross 930.

References

New Zealand male sailors (sport) 1950 births Olympic sailors for New Zealand Sportspeople from Whangārei Sailors at the 1976 Summer Olympics – Flying Dutchman Sailors at the 1972 Summer Olympics – Flying Dutchman Volvo Ocean Race sailors New Zealand yacht designers Living people {{NewZealand-yachtracing-bio-stub