Mike Birch Obituary

Mike Birch was a Canadian navigator. Birch, who was born in Vancouver, became an offshore sailing legend in 1978 when he won the inaugural Rhum by an astonishingly small margin after 23 days at sea.

Birch began offshore racing when he was in his mid-40s. After working as a delivery skipper in Dartmouth in the 1970s, he competed in the 1976 OSTAR in the 32ft trimaran Third Turtle, finishing second, just behind Eric Tabarly’s 73ft Pen Duick VI.

He won the Route du Rhum two years later in the smallest boat in the fleet, the 30ft tri Olympus Photo.

Birch spent the next several decades innovating in multihull offshore racing. Beginning with the 50ft Vital, he built several Nigel Irens designs.

Birch continued his long career in offshore racing, finishing 16th in the Transat Jacques Vabre in 2007.

Mike Birch passed away on 25 October 2022, at the age of 90. Race organisers said he died “peacefully” at his home in northwest France on Tuesday night.

The offshore racing community has shared fond memories of Birch. The Route du Rhum, which begins on November 6, 2022, will pay tribute to Birch by projecting his photo on the ramparts of Saint-Malo every evening.