Richard Bicknell

• Office Phone: 09 359 5999
• Mobile Phone: 64 21 2222 141
• Email Address: Richard.Bicknell@northsails.com

Richard started sailmaking straight out of school, completing a four year apprenticeship while heavily involved in local sailing. He won numerous national keelboat titles and also competed in many offshore races between Auckland and Fiji, Noumea and Japan.

Richard was employed by the New Zealand Challenge in 1991 and competed in the build-up to the 1992 America’s Cup, making it to the Louis Vuitton finals. He left NZ in 1992 for the UK and worked there with Williams and Lancaster sailmakers, which merged and became Diamond sailmakers. Diamond merged with North Sails in 1995-96.

Richard returned to New Zealand and worked as a boat builder for 12 months before taking a job with North Sails NZ as production manager in 1997. From 2000-13 he worked as the loft general manager, and since then he’s been selling sails full time. Over the years he has competed in 5 Fastnet Races, 8 Sydney Hobarts, and 4 Transatlantic Races, along with many other sailing events around the world.