Chris Draper

Chris Draper (born 20 March 1978) is a British sailor who has won multiple World and European championships and a bronze medal at the Sailing at the 2004 Olympic competing in the mixed 49er. He has been a winner of the Extreme Sailing Series and was helmsman for Luna Rossa, Italy's America's cup challenger 2011 to 2015. In the 34th Americas cup he became the first Britain to helm in the Louis Vuitton cup final. For the ACWS & 35th America's Cup between 2015 and the Cup event in Bermuda in June 2017 he held the position of Sailing Team Manager / Tactician and Wing trimmer for Softbank Team Japan. In 2019 he became CEO and Wing trimmer for the Great Britain team racing in the newly formed SailGP, racing the F50 hydro foiling catamarans in a global racing circuit. In 2021 he joined the Japanese SailGP team as a Wing Trimmer. winning multiple events during the 2021/2022 SailGP season and finishing runners up overall.

His current home town is Lytchett Matravers, Dorset, UK. He is married, with two children. He started sailing aged 7 in an Optimist and describes his father and Jim Saltonstall (former RYA Youth Program Leader and Coach) as the key to his current career. Other interests outside of sailing include Surfing and Mountain biking.