Marin Kiteboarder Yachtsman of the Year

Week of January 7-14, 2013

Johnny Heineken, age 24, kiteboard course racing world champion and North American champion, has been named US Sailing's 2012 Rolex Yachtsman of the Year.

Heineken dominated the Kiteboarding Course Racing World Championship in Cagliari, Italy, where he topped 148 competitors to claim the world title for a second consecutive year. He bested 45 competitors in the Kiteboarding North American Course Racing Championship in San Francisco, and 34 competitors at the Pacific Pilsner Canadian Kiteboard Course Racing Nationals in Squamish, Canada. He set a new course record (14 minutes, 4 seconds) in the Ronstan Bridge to Bridge Race in San Francisco among 58 entrants, and posted victories at PKRA Mexico, PKRA Burn Kiteboarding World Tour, and Copa Mexico Regatta.

The selection panel was especially impressed by the fact that Heineken’s racing took him to venues across the globe – including Germany, France and Turkey—where his fellow kiteboarding competitors were considered the world’s best. One panelist pointed out that the term “yachtsman,” despite its allusion to the most traditional aspects of sailing, easily befits a sailor with Heineken’s talents and devotion to growing the sport.

"It’s pretty amazing how far the class has come in the last five years and exciting for me to be involved in the development of that,” said Johnny. Although kiteboarding narrowly missed becoming a sport for the 2016 Olympics, he said he would be very surprised if it were not included in the 2020 Games.

Heineken, who was born in Greenbrae and calls neighboring Larksput home, trains and travels with his sister, Erika Heineken, age 26, who was runner-up this year for the Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year and shared the top step on the podium with Johnny at the Kiteboarding Course Racing World Championship as the women’s division winner. Jennifer French of St. Petersburg, FL, the 2012 Paralympic Silver Medalist in the SKUD-18 class, was named Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year.

The winners will be honored on February 26 during a luncheon at St. Francis Yacht Club. Our congratulations to Heineken and French. For more, see US Sailing.