Design and Construction by Jason Ker
Profile - Ker Design has been steadily building its international reputation with the considerable success of its designs on the race-course which stems from a rigorous technical approach that takes full advantage of the most innovative and current technologies. A fundamental philosophy of the office is that all members of the Ker Design team are passionate and capable sailors and that spirit and enthusiasm flows through all our design work. Ker Design seeks to leverage its technology and skill to provide clients with the best designed yachts possible and strongly believes that it represents the future of advanced yacht design.
History and Background - Ker Design stepped up onto the international stage in the Admirals Cup of 2003, where the Ker 55 “Aera” (renamed “Bribon” for the event) won all seven inshore races at the Admirals Cup. Ker’s designs have continued to dominate under the IRC rule, winning many important regattas and offshore races throughout the world (see Racing Results). The 2009 Fastnet Race featured four Ker designs in the top nine boats of Class Zero, while at the most recent Rolex Commodores Cup five out of six yachts in the top two teams were Ker designs and the Sydney Hobart race appears to favour Ker designs with three class wins (and an overall win) from only three entries.
America's Cup - The success of Aera was shrewdly spotted by Salvatore Sarno of Team Shosholoza and Ker was asked to assemble and lead a design team for the high-tech/low-budget South African America’s Cup team. Over the course of three years, Ker’s team rapidly surpassed all reasonable expectations and the speed of the boat was highly respected during the Americas Cup racing in 2007.