Bruce Robert William Kirby, CM (2 January 1929 – 19 July 2021)[1][2] was a Canadian-born sailboat designer, dinghy and offshore racer and journalist.
His designs spanned in size from the single-handed Laser dinghy to the 12-meter class Louis Vuitton Cup yacht, Canada One.
A Canadian newspaperman and former editor of Yacht Racing (predecessor to Sailing World), he designed the Laser in 1969.
Kirby also served as both designer and skipper on Runaway, one of three yachts in Canada's 1981 Admiral's Cup campaign.
Kirby designed Norwalk Islands Sharpies, a line of high powered, shallow-draft sailboats from 18 ft. to 41 ft.