North Sails President Ken Read talks sailing, business and more in a Special Edition two part Podcast with Shirley Robertson about his long and accomplished career at the cutting edge of the sport.
Read’s a key figure in the sport, and has been on the other side of Robertson’s interview microphone on countless occasions.
This results in a candid and honest exchange, as the pair chat through Read’s early career and move into the corporate world at North Sails, through his early America’s Cup exploits and onto his Volvo Ocean Race campaigns as skipper of Puma, before discussing the future of the sport and Read’s involvement in the record breaking 100ft maxi ‘Comanche’.
Read’s early recollections of his Cup exploits are peppered with tales of his mentor, America’s Cup legend Dennis Connor, who’s unique approach is the source of countless anecdotes . . . From Read’s early recruitment, to the sinking of a Cup boat out on the waters off San Diego and helming Connor’s 2000 and 2003 Cup campaigns,
Read’s attentions then moved offshore, first in the later half of the 2005-06 Volvo Ocean Race onboard Ericsson, and then as skipper on Puma’s 2008-09 and 2011-12 editions of the race.
Yet throughout his competitive career Read has simultaneously operated at an executive level at North Sails, a position that he’s happy to openly discuss throughout the interview . . .
Click to hear part one and two with Ken Read :