Royal addresses

Ken Read and Tom Ehman to speak at Growth Through Innovation Sailing Industry Conference in Newport

Puma Ocean Racing Skipper Ken Read and America’s Cup veteran and BMW Oracle Racing executive Tom Ehman will share their insights and expectations about the Volvo Ocean Race and America’s Cup, respectively, during presentations at the inaugural annual 'Growth Through Innovation' Sailing Industry Conference presented by GE Capital Solutions and Sail America on June 11-12 in Newport, RI.

Sail America and Sail Magazine are presenting Puma Ocean Racing Skipper Ken Read as the featured speaker at the conference’s Welcome Reception on June 11 from 6-10 pm at the Newport Yachting Center.

"There's no better way to kick off the Sailing Industry Conference than with some inspiration from Rhode Island's favorite sailing son, Ken Read," says Sail Publisher Josh Adams. "Widely regarded as one of the top American professional sailors, Read has won at every level of the sport. He's a world champion, America's Cup helmsman, and now skipper of Puma Ocean Racing, a competitor in the Volvo Ocean Race. Like many of us in the sailing industry, Read is constantly thinking about innovation, as he and his team prepare to sail their boat around the world faster than the competition. A longtime leader at North Sails, he also brings a wealth of industry knowledge to our Conference kickoff."

The Sailing Company, publishers of Cruising World and Sailing World magazines, are presenting Tom Ehman, head of External Affairs for BMW Oracle Racing, as the after-dinner speaker at the conference’s Gala Dinner June 12 from 6:30-11 p.m. at the International Yacht Restoration School. He’ll share his thoughts about America’s Cup 33, which marks the tenth straight campaign for this consummate veteran of yachting affairs. Currently, Ehman finds himself, as he says, “on the pointy end” of the controversy with Golden Gate Yacht Club’s ongoing court challenge of the America’s Cup defender, the Swiss team Alinghi, and their sponsoring club, the Societe Nautique de Geneve (SNG) over the team’s alleged “self-dealing.”

“Tom Ehman has been on the front lines of the America’s Cup and he will be joining us at a particularly timely moment, since the next court hearing is due June 5 that will impact the future of the Cup,” said Sally Helme, publisher of Cruising World and Sailing World magazines. “We also invited Tom because he has been involved in many of the changes and innovations that have transformed top-level sailing into the modern, professional and more media-friendly sport that it is today.”