[4] Bruce was born in Kingston, Jamaica in 1933, before moving to Nassau, Bahamas after World War II.
[1] He then moved to Canada, where he attended Trinity College School in Port Hope, Ontario,[2] before studying at McGill University in Montreal.
[4][6] At the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, Bruce competed in the Finn event, where he finished in seventh place.
[4] He was involved in the design or development of many international classes, including the 29er, Byte, Contender, Finn and Laser Radial.
[1][9] Bruce was a two-time winner of the Prince of Wales Trophy in sailing,[10] and in 2009, he was honoured with the Order of Canada.