Past Events
01
HPYD1
HPYD1
December 2002
"The most informative technical conference I've been to as well as an exceptional opportunity to meet old friends and be educated at the same time." - Merfyn Owen, Owen Clarke Design, England
​
"You managed to attract the most prominent researchers in the field from all parts of the world. This must be one of the best conferences in yacht design ever held." - Professor Lars Larsson, Chalmers University, Sweden
HPYD2
February 2006
Jointly hosted by the Royal Institution of Naval Architects, the University of Auckland and Massey University, the second international conference on high performance yacht design showcased the latest developments in yacht research from around the globe.
02
HPYD2
03
HPYD3
HPYD3
December 2008
The 3rd High Performance Yacht Design conference was widely acclaimed to be even better than the first two. The conference saw 28 papers presented on a broad range of topics.
HPYD4
March 2012
The fourth HPYD conference was held during the Auckland stopover of the Volvo Ocean Race in March 2012. It was a great opportunity to meet the sailors, see the yachts and attend this highly acclaimed, world-class technical conference. The University of Auckland in conjunction with HPYD hosted a very successful public panel discussion on Volvo 70 Design and Sailability.
04
HPYD4
05
HPYD5
HPYD5
March 2015
The fifth HPYD conference was held during the Auckland stopover of the Volvo Ocean Race in March 2015. The University of Auckland in conjunction with HPYD hosted a very successful and lively Open Session. "PJ" Montgomery was master of ceremonies and interviewed Knut Frostad, CEO of the Volvo Ocean Race and Race Director, Jack Lloyd.
HPYD6
March 2018
On March 11th 2018, the HPYD committee organised a range of exciting, publicly accessible presentations and keynote addresses delivered by some of the top designers and engineers involved in the America’s Cup and Volvo Ocean Race.
06
HPYD6
The Conference
HPYD is a series of conferences on high performance yacht design organised by the Royal Institute of Naval Architects (RINA) NZ and the University of Auckland. The first conference was held in December 2002. Since then it has showcased the latest developments in yacht research from around the globe. The conference enables naval architects, engineers, designers and researchers to present and hear papers on the current state of high performance yacht and power craft technology.
​
The conferences feature papers related to the design of high performance power and sailing yachts, including:
​
-
Structural design and analysis
-
Aerodynamics and hydrodynamics
-
Performance prediction
-
Wind tunnel and towing tank testing
-
Computational methods
-
Hull and appendage design
-
Regulations and rating rules
-
Routing and tactics
Conferences are timed to coincide with an international yachting event. HPYD7 will coincide with the 36th America's Cup competition.
The Venue
Auckland, New Zealand
Auckland is New Zealand’s largest urban region and is home to approximately 1.3million people. It is also recognised as the largest Polynesian city in the world, so there are a variety of cultural experiences on offer. Auckland is built on an isthmus located between two beautiful harbours - the Waitemata, meaning "sparkling waters", which is the key to Auckland being known as the “City of Sails”, and the Manukau Harbour, which flows out to rugged black-sand beaches loved by surfers.
Our Sponsors
LEADING IN THE INDUSTRY
North Sails Since its beginnings in San Diego’s B Street Pier in 1957, North Sails has pioneered more technological advances than all other sailmakers combined: advances that have — time after time — defined the path forward in modern sailmaking. Going into its sixth decade, the company remains at the forefront of sail design and production technology.Their unique 3Di technology proved itself worthy of this epic adventure in the last two editions of the Volvo Ocean Race and has been the sail of choice for every VOR podium finisher since 2010.
Doyle Sails has secured its place as one of the world's leading sailmakers by establishing a reputation for producing high quality sails and for continually innovating. With a stellar reputation for impeccable attention to engineering detail and high quality construction, we utilise the latest technologies to create the most advanced sails on the market. Doyle Sails New Zealand is 100% New Zealand owned and operated by three of the most experienced names in Kiwi yachting: Mike Sanderson, David Duff and Richard Bouzaid.
Gurit specialises in the engineering design, development and manufacture of advanced composite materials, structures, related technologies and select finished parts and components. Gurit supplies the world”s top end performance race and superyachts with a comprehensive range of products including fabrics, core materials, coatings, resins and consumables. Some recent high performance launchings with Gurit Engineering are the exciting new Juan K Race Yacht “Rambler 88” built by NEB, the Cutting Edge Finot-Conq 100” Superyacht “Nomad IV” built by Maxi Dolphin, and the Dubois 50 fleet of match racing yachts being built for the Hainan Ocean yacht Race by Farnova Yachts.
Southern Spars specialises in the design and construction of carbon fibre spars and components, rigging and rig servicing. As the industry pioneer, Southern Spars built its first carbon spar in 1990. Since then the company has pursued a passion for delivering world class cruising and racing spars, carbon rigging and service. Its operation extends to four corners of the world with centres in the USA, Denmark, South Africa, Spain and Sri Lanka, with headquarters in Auckland, New Zealand. Southern Spars is backed by the international Oakley Capital Group, a company renowned for investing in leading technology companies.