Paul Cayard

Paul Cayard
Personal information
Full namePaul Pierre Cayard
Born (1959-05-19) May 19, 1959
San Francisco, California, U.S.
Sailing career
SportSailing
ClubSt. Francis Yacht Club
ClassStar
Medal record
World Championships
Bronze medal – third place1984 Vilamoura, PortugalStar class
Bronze medal – third place1985 Nassau, BahamasStar class
Bronze medal – third place1987 Chicago, USAStar class
Gold medal – first place1988 Buenos Aires, ArgentinaStar class
Bronze medal – third place1992 San Francisco, USAStar class
Bronze medal – third place2018 Oxford, Maryland, USAStar class
Bronze medal – third place2022 Marblehead, USAStar class
Gold medal – first place2025 Split, CroatiaStar class
Gold medal – first place2026 San Diego, USAEtchells class
Star Vintage Gold Cup
Gold medal – first place2017 Richland, USAStar class
Gold medal – first place2018 Richland, USAStar class
Gold medal – first place2021 Richland, USAStar class
Bacardi Cup
Gold medal – first place2026 Miami, USAStar class

Paul Pierre Cayard (born May 19, 1959) is an American yachtsman and professional sailor whose career spans Olympic sailing, the America's Cup, and offshore round-the-world racing. He is one of the most accomplished American sailors of his generation, with major victories across multiple disciplines of the sport.

Cayard competed in the Star class at the Olympic Games and was a long-time presence in the America's Cup, where he served as skipper, helmsman, and team leader for several prominent syndicates. He won the Whitbread Round the World Race in 1997–98 on EF Language, becoming the first American to win the event as skipper. In addition to offshore success, he has won sailing world championships in keelboat and one-design classes.

Biography

Paul Cayard was born May 19, 1959, in San Francisco, California.[1] His father, Pierre, was a carpenter for the San Francisco Opera.[2] Cayard began sailing in 1967, at the age of eight. Cayard attended Crestmore High School.[3] He graduated from San Francisco State University in 1981, with a degree in business management.[4]

He started sailing at a young age and at the age of 14, Cayard became North American champion in the El Toro dinghy.[2] He showed early promise as a sailor and, during his teenage years, competed successfully in high-performance dinghies such as the International 505 and the Laser (dinghy). As his skills developed, Cayard gained the attention of Tom Blackaller, who invited him to crew aboard his Star class yacht. Blackaller became an influential mentor, and the Star class would remain a central focus throughout Cayard's competitive career.

Sailing career

Olympics

Cayard was selected as an alternate for the United States sailing team at the 1984 Summer Olympics. He later returned to Olympic competition in the Star class, winning a silver medal at the pre-Olympic regatta in 2003 and finishing fifth at the Sailing at the 2004 Summer Olympics – Star in Athens.

World Championships

As of September 27, 2015[5]
YearCompetitionVenuePositionEvent
1978Star World ChampionshipsSan Francisco, United States4thStar class
1979Star World ChampionshipsMarstrand, Sweden17thStar class
1984Star World ChampionshipsVilamoura, Portugal3rdStar class
1985Star World ChampionshipsNassau, Bahamas3rdStar class
1987Star World ChampionshipsChicago, United States3rdStar class
1988Star World ChampionshipsBuenos Aires, Argentina1stStar class
Maxi class world championship1stIl Moro di Venezia III.
1989One Ton class world championship1st
1991IACC World ChampionshipSan Diego, United States1stAmerica's Cup
IOR 50 World ChampionshipMiura, Japan1stIntl. 50' Class
Abracadabra.
1992IYRU Match Racing World ChampionshipsLong Beach, United States5thMatch racing
Star World ChampionshipSan Francisco, United States3rdStar class
1996Star World ChampionshipsRio de Janeiro, Brazil4thStar class
2002Star World ChampionshipMarina del Rey, United States4thStar class
Farr 40 World ChampionshipParadise Island, Bahamas6thFarr 40 class
IMS World Championships1stIMS
2003ISAF Sailing World ChampionshipsCádiz, Spain8thStar class
2004Star World ChampionshipGaeta, Italy5thStar class
2009505 World ChampionshipSan Francisco, United States6th505 class
TP52 World ChampionshipPalma de Mallorca, Spain3rdTP52 class
2010RC44 World ChampionshipYaiza, Spain4thRC44 class
TP52 World ChampionshipValencia, Spain4thTP52 class
2018Star World ChampionshipOxford, United States3rdStar class
2022Star World ChampionshipMarblehead, United States3rdStar class
2024Star World ChampionshipSan Diego, United States4thStar class
2025Star World ChampionshipsSplit, Crotia1stStar class
2026Etchells World ChampionshipSan Diego, United States1stEtchells class

America's Cup

Teams meeting the press before the 1992 America's Cup

Cayard first competed in the America's Cup in 1983 aboard Tom Blackaller's Defender as a jib trimmer, with the yacht finishing third in the defender selection series.

For the 1987 America's Cup, he advanced to the role of tactician and alternate helmsman aboard Blackaller's USA, which was eliminated by Dennis Conner's Stars & Stripes in the challenger selection process.[6]

Cayard served as manager and skipper of the Italian syndicate Il Moro di Venezia, backed by Raul Gardini. In 1991, he won the inaugural International America's Cup Class world championship. During the challenger selection series, Il Moro di Venezia defeated seven teams from six countries to win the 1992 Louis Vuitton Cup, earning the right to challenge for the America's Cup. The campaign included a successful protest initiated by Cayard regarding the use of a bowsprit by the New Zealand challenge.

In the America's Cup match races, Il Moro di Venezia faced the faster America³. Despite being outmatched overall, Cayard's team secured a notable victory in the second race of the series, winning by three seconds after leading from the start, which at the time represented the narrowest margin of victory in America's Cup history. Il Moro di Venezia ultimately lost the series 4–1.

In 1995, Cayard joined Team Dennis Conner's Stars & Stripes as primary helmsman. Although the yacht was slower than several competitors during the defender series, the team won the 1995 Citizen Cup, securing the right to defend the America's Cup. The syndicate subsequently elected to defend the Cup using Young America, resulting in a 5–0 loss to Team New Zealand, winner of the 1995 Louis Vuitton Cup.

For the 2000 America's Cup, Cayard formed and led the AmericaOne syndicate, representing the St. Francis Yacht Club. The team advanced to the finals of the 2000 Louis Vuitton Cup against Prada, narrowly losing the best-of-nine series 5–4 after equipment failures proved decisive.[7] Prada later lost the America's Cup to the defending Team New Zealand.

Following the 2000 campaign, Cayard advised the AmericaOne board not to pursue the 2003 America's Cup due to financial and recruitment challenges. The syndicate's assets were later sold to Larry Ellison, forming the basis of what became Oracle BMW Racing. Cayard served as skipper during the early stages of the program before transitioning into an administrative role and subsequently departing the team.[8][9]

In 2010, Artemis Racing became with Cayard appointed as chief executive officer.

Round the World Races

Pirates of the Caribbean winning the final leg of the 2005–06 Volvo Ocean Race

Cayard's most significant offshore achievement came in the 1997–98 Whitbread Round the World Race, where he served as skipper of Volvo 60 EF Language. Over a course of approximately 32,000 miles (51,000 km), the team won the event, making Cayard the first American to win the Whitbread Round the World Race as skipper.

In the 2005–06 Volvo Ocean Race, Cayard returned to round-the-world competition as skipper of Volvo 70 Pirates of the Caribbean, a syndicate sponsored by The Walt Disney Company. Managed by Cayard Sailing Inc., the team won the final leg into Gothenburg and finished second overall in the race standings.

Other sailing Title

  • Winner of the Kenwood Cup (1994)
  • Winner of the Sardinia Cup (1994, 1996)
  • Winner of the RORC Admiral's Cup (1995).
  • Star Class Events

Other sailing roles

Cayard in 2011

Following his active racing career, Cayard remained closely involved in professional sailing through advisory, leadership, and governance roles. In 2007, he participated in the 2007 America's Cup as a technical advisor to Desafío Español 2007 and also provided television commentary for the 2007 Louis Vuitton Cup and the 2007 America's Cup for La7, the Italian broadcast rights holder. Later that year, he was appointed sports director for Desafío Español for the 33rd America's Cup.

In the same period, Cayard and Russell Coutts announced the creation of the World Sailing League (WSL) in partnership with Portuguese sports promoter João Lagos. Although the series was ultimately not held, the initiative reflected broader efforts to expand professional sailing into a global, commercially focused format. During the 33rd America's Cup, Cayard also served as a commentator for Eurosport.

In 2009, Cayard joined Artemis Racing, owned by Torbjörn Törnqvist, where he served as skipper of the Louis Vuitton Trophy team and as tactician aboard the TP52 Artemis.

He also helmed the RC44 Katusha on the RC44 Championship Tour from 2010 to 2012.

From 2019 to 2020, Cayard served as chairman of the board of the St. Francis Yacht Club. He is an ambassador for Rolex and the One Ocean Foundation.

Cayard was appointed vice president of the International Star Class Yacht Racing Association (ISCYRA) in 2020.[11] His tenure as executive director of the U.S. sailing team concluded in February 2023.[12][13] In 2023, he was elected president of ISCYRA, succeeding Tom Londrigan.[11] Of his sailing achievements, Cayard has identified his victory at the 1988 Star World Championship as his most personally significant.[4]

Awards

  • Inducted into the National Sailing Hall of Fame in 2011.[14]
  • Inducted into the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame in 2020[15]
  • Inducted into the America's Cup Hall of Fame in 2025.
  • Named 1991 Yachting Magazine Yachtsman of the Year
  • Named 1992 Rothmans Yachtsman of the Year
  • Named 1998 US Sailing Rolex Yachtsman of the Year
  • Named 2025 US Sailing Rolex Yachtsman of the Year[16]

Personal life

Cayard married Icka Petterson, daughter of Swedish sailor Pelle Petterson, in 1985, and the couple had two children together.[3] They divorced in 2010.

Cayard is a member of several international yacht clubs, including the St. Francis Yacht Club, the San Francisco Yacht Club, Yacht Club Costa Smeralda, and Yacht Club de Monaco.[4]

He speaks English, French, and Italian. He also holds a pilot certification with an instrument rating for both single- and multi-engine aircraft.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Paul Cayard". Olympedia.
  2. 1 2 "America's One The best sailor in the U.S., Paul Cayard, may have mellowed some, but he's applying his trademark intensity to bringing home the America's Cup". Sports Illustrated Vault | SI.com. Archived from the original on June 16, 2025. Retrieved January 30, 2026.
  3. 1 2 Dufresne, Chris (May 7, 1992). "Going Overboard: Cayard Joins Italians, Tries to Take America's Cup from America". Los Angeles Times.
  4. 1 2 3 "Paul Cayard Profile". Cayard Sailing. Archived from the original on June 1, 2010.
  5. ↑ "Sailor Biography".
  6. ↑ "History of the America's Cup – The Cup Down Under".
  7. ↑ "americaone.org".
  8. ↑ "Cayard Laments Oracle Move". CNN Inside Sailing. December 11, 2002. Archived from the original on June 29, 2011.
  9. ↑ Roberts, Rich. "Cayard: the AC from the Outside". Archived from the original on September 29, 2007.
  10. ↑ "Paul Cayard and Frithjof Kleen * Crowned 99th Bacardi Cup Champions". Sail‑World. Retrieved March 10, 2026.
  11. 1 2 "Star Class Selects Paul Cayard as President". International Star Class Yacht Racing Association. October 16, 2023.
  12. ↑ Pline, Lexi (February 25, 2023). "US Sailing Team Announces Operational Restructuring". US Sailing.
  13. ↑ "U.S. Sailing Settles with Paul Cayard, America One". May 23, 2024.
  14. ↑ "Paul Cayard". The Sailing Museum and National Sailing Hall of Fame. Retrieved April 11, 2020.
  15. ↑ "Paul Cayard, Class 2020 BASHOF". Sail Sport Talk. August 4, 2020.
  16. ↑ https://www.ussailing.org/competition/awards-trophies/us-sailings-rolex-yachtsman-yachtswoman-of-the-year-awards/
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