Peter Burling (sailor)


Peter Burling is the 2017 America's Cup champion helmsman, and an Olympic gold and silver medallist.
He is a founder of Live Ocean - a registered New Zealand charity which supports and invests in promising marine science, innovation, technology and marine conservation projects. www.liveocean.com
He was named as male World Sailor of the Year at the ISAF World Sailor of the Year Awards in 2017. He and his 49er partner Blair Tuke also won the award in 2015, and were finalists in 2014 and 2016.
Burling has won six 49er World Championships, two 420 class World Championships and the 2015 Moth World Championships.
Burling sailed as watch captain and helmsman with Team Brunel on the Round-the-World 2017–18 Volvo Ocean Race finishing 3rd overall in the closest finish in the history of the race, with the top 3 boats going into the final leg effectively tied on points and finishing just 25 minutes apart. Team Brunel won 3 of the final 5 legs, including the leg from Auckland to Brazil, which the organisers say was the hardest leg in the history of the race.

Early life & education

Burling was born in 1991 in Tauranga. His education began at Welcome Bay School and Tauranga Intermediate School.
Burling started sailing at the age of six in the Welcome Bay estuary near his home in Tauranga, in an old wooden Optimist called Jellytip. At the age of eight, he joined Tauranga Yacht Club and started competing.
Burling attended high school at Tauranga Boys' College, also attended at the time by cricketer Kane Williamson.
He studied Mechanical Engineering at the University of Auckland where he completed half of the 4 year degree.

Early career

Burling sailed in his first Optimist nationals at age 9. At the age of 11 in 2002, Burling finished 2nd in the New Zealand Optimist Nationals. He competed in the 2002 Optimist World Championships in Texas at the age of 11.
In 2003 at the age of 12, Burling won the New Zealand Optimist Nationals and competed in the 2003 Optimist Worlds in the Canary Islands where he finished 40th. He stopped sailing the optimist at age 12.
At age 13, he was 2nd to Thomas Olds in the New Zealand P class Nationals. He won the NZ Starling nationals – twice – at age 14 and 15.
At the age of fifteen Burling won the 2006 420 Class Worlds in the Canary Islands – the youngest sailors ever to do so. They also won the under-16 and under-18 world championships.
At 16 years old Burling successfully defended his 420 title to win the 420 Class Worlds sailed in Auckland. He also won the under-18 world championship. Burling finished 6th in the 2007 470 Europeans – his first international 470 regatta and had his best world ranking in the 470 of 5th in 2008.

Adult career

Americas Cup

Burling was the helmsman for Emirates Team New Zealand's 2017 America's Cup campaign, which was raced in Bermuda. On 27 June 2017, he became the youngest winning helmsman in the history of the Americas Cup, when at age 26 he and his team won the 35th competition for the cup.
Burling skippered the New Zealand Sailing Team entry to victory in the inaugural Red Bull Youth America's Cup in San Francisco in September 2013.
Burling helmed for Team Korea's White Tiger Challenge, in the 2011–13 America's Cup World Series in San Francisco in 2012.

Olympic classes

Burling with Blair Tuke were Olympic flag bearers for New Zealand at the 2016 Olympics. They were just the 4th New Zealand flagbearers to win a gold medal at the same Olympics.
At age 25, Burling was the youngest ever 49er Olympic gold medal skipper. He and Tuke won the 2016 Olympics with two races to spare and by an overall 43 point margin – winning by the most points of any sailing class in the Olympics in over 50 years.
At the 2012 London Olympics, Burling was the youngest 49er sailor. He won the silver medal as helm in the 49er class alongside Blair Tuke.His silver medal was, jointly, New Zealand's 100th Olympic medal.
Burling and Tuke are the first sailors to win six 49er class World Championships. They won all 28 of the major regattas in the 49er between the London Olympics and the Rio Olympics. The only regatta they did not win in this time was when they finished 3rd in a short 2 day regatta prior to the Olympics. In all the major regattas in 2015 and 2016 they led into the medal races by over 20 points – effectively winning the regattas before the medal race.
Burling finished 11th in the 470 class at the 2008 Olympics. At 17 years old, he was the youngest sailor ever to represent New Zealand at the Olympic Games. Burling was the youngest sailing competitor at the 2008 Olympics and the youngest member of the 2008 New Zealand Olympic team.

Offshore sailing

2017–2018 3rd Volvo Ocean race sailing on Team Brunel.
2017 3rd Rolex Fastnet race
2014 4th Auckland-to-Fiji yacht race
2013 14th Sydney-to-Hobart race

Other sailing

Burling was the 2015 International Moth World Champion. He was 2nd in the 2017 Moth Worlds.
Burling finished 3rd in the 2014 A class catamaran Worlds.

Awards

Volvo Ocean Race

World Championship titles

2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016 Unbeaten in major 49er regattas worldwide.
2013 Skipper of the winning boat in the Red Bull Youth America's Cup.

2020 49er regattas:-

2020 1st 49er World Championships – Geelong, Australia
2020 2nd 49er Oceanias

2019 49er regattas:-

2019 1st 49er World Championships – Auckland, New Zealand
2019 3rd 49er Oceanias
2019 7th Princessa Sofia Regatta
2019 3rd World Cup Regatta Genoa
2019 1st 49er Europeans
2019 1st 49er Olympic test event

2017:-

2017 Rolex Fastnet race 3rd
2017 2nd – 2017 – 2nd Int Moth World Championships – Lake Garda, Italy
2017 1st Americas Cup. – Helm
2017 1st Louis Vuitton America’s Cup Challenger Playoffs Finals – Helm
2017 1st Swan River Match Cup – helm, sailing with Blair Tuke, Glenn Ashby, Josh Junior.

2016 49er regattas:-

2016 1st 49er Rio Olympics
2016 3rd 49er Rio de Janeiro International Sailing week
2016 1st 49er Kieler Woche regatta, Germany
2016 1st 49er Sailing World Cup Hyeres regatta, France
2016 1st 49er European Championships – Barcelona, Spain
2016 1st 49er World Championships – Clearwater, Florida, USA
2016 1st 49er NZL Nationals

2016 America's Cup World Series regattas

Helm for Emirates Team New Zealand
2015–2016 3rd overall in 2015–2016 America's Cup World Series.
2016 1st America's Cup World Series regatta, New York
2016 3rd America's Cup World Series regatta, Oman
2016 4th America's Cup World Series regatta, Chicago
2016 5th America's Cup World Series regatta, Toulon, France
2016 4th America's Cup World Series regatta, Japan

2015 49er regattas:-

2015 1st 49er World Championships – Buenos Aires, Argentina
2015 1st 49er South American Champs, Buenos Aires
2015 1st 49er Olympic Test Event, Rio de Janeiro
2015 1st 49er Rio de Janeiro International sailing week
2015 1st 49er Europeans
2015 1st 49er ISAF Sailing World Cup Weymouth regatta
2015 1st 49er ISAF Sailing World Cup Hyeres regatta
2015 1st 49er Princess Sofia Regatta
2015 1st 49er Sail Auckland
2015 1st 49er NZL Nationals

2015 America's Cup World Series regattas

Helm for Emirates Team New Zealand – overall leader of 2015 America's Cup World Series.
2015 2nd America's Cup World Series Bermuda
2015 1st America's Cup World Series Gothenburg
2015 2nd America's Cup World Series Portsmouth

2014

2014 1st 49er Intergalactic Championships, Rio de Janeiro
2014 1st 49er South American Championships, Rio de Janeiro
2014 1st 49er World Championships – Santander, Spain
2014 1st 49er Rio International Regatta, Rio de Janeiro
2014 1st 49er European Championships, Helsinki
2014 1st 49er Hyeres World cup regatta
2014 1st 49er Mallorca World cup regatta
2014 3rd Extreme Sailing series St Petersburg, Russia
2014 3rd Extreme Sailing series Qingdao, China
2014 4th Auckland-to-Fiji yacht race
2014 1st A class NZ Nationals

2013 and previous

2013 14th Sydney-to-Hobart race sailing on Pretty Fly 3
2013 1st – Red Bull Youth America's Cup
2013 1st 49er European Championships
2013 1st – Australian Moth Nationals
2013 2nd China cup
2013 1st 49er Sail Auckland
2012 1st China cup
2010 1st 49er North American Championships
2009 Completed 120 nm Coastal Classic course in 49er with Blair Tuke
2009 New Zealand National Youth Matchracing Champion
2008 2nd New Zealand Keelboat Nationals
2008 New Zealand Champion in Elliot 5.9
2006 New Zealand Champion in Starling
2006 New Zealand Champion in 420
2006 New Zealand Champion in Elliot 5.9
2006 1st 420 Junior Europeans
2005 New Zealand Champion in Starling
2005 New Zealand Champion in 420
2005 New Zealand Champion in Elliot 5.9
2004 2nd NZ P class Nationals
2003 1st NZ Optimist Nationals
2002 2nd NZ Optimist Nationals