Ian Bruce (sailor)
Canadian sailor
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ian Bruce, CM (7 June 1933 – 21 March 2016) was a Canadian sailor.[1] He competed at the 1960 Summer Olympics and the 1972 Summer Olympics.[2] Along with Bruce Kirby, he invented the laser dinghy,[3] which has been used at the Olympics since 1996.[4]
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Born | 7 June 1933 |
| Died | 21 March 2016 (aged 82) Hamilton, Ontario, Canada |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Sailing |
Biography
Bruce was born in Kingston, Jamaica in 1933, before moving to Nassau, Bahamas after World War II.[1] He then moved to Canada, where he attended Trinity College School in Port Hope, Ontario,[2] before studying at McGill University in Montreal.[4] He married his wife, Barbara, in 1958. Her brother was Donald Brittain, a film director for the National Film Board of Canada.[5]
Bruce competed at two Olympic Games.[4][6] At the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, Bruce competed in the Finn event, where he finished in seventh place.[7] At the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, he raced in the Star event, finishing in twelfth place.[8]
Outside of competing as a sailor, Bruce along with Bruce Kirby designed the laser dinghy in 1970.[2] It was made available for commercial use the following year,[4] before being used at the Olympics in 1996.[2] His company was producing up to 18,000 boats per year during its peak.[4] He was involved in the design or development of many international classes, including the 29er, Byte, Contender, Finn and Laser Radial.[1][9]
Bruce was a two-time winner of the Prince of Wales Trophy in sailing,[10] and in 2009, he was honoured with the Order of Canada.[11] He died in Hamilton, Ontario from cancer, at the age of 82.[12]
