Erika Heineken

Erika Heineken (born 21 June 1986) is an American mechanical engineer and a competitive kitesurfer. She won a sailing event with her father at the US Nationals in 2006 before she switched to windsurfing and then Formula Kite. She was a Runner-up in the Rolex US Yachtswoman of the Year. She has been the women’s kiteboard racing world champion twice,

Life Heineken was born in 1986 and she was on a sailing boat when she was a month old. She lived at Larkspur. She attended the Marin Academy in California after she went to St. Patrick’s, Hall Middle School. Her father, Paul Heineken, was a member of a sailing club and she won a woman skipper event with him in 2006 in a 29er dinghy at the US Nationals.

She was a sailor and a windsurfer and she followed her younger brother, Johnny Heineken, when he moved on to the new sport of Formula Kite. While she was at college she went on a windsurfing trip to Sardinia. She tried kite surfing whils she was there and this resulted in her extending her stay by a month so she could get the knack of holding a kite while standing on a hydrofoil. When Heineken returned home she made the decision and bought her own kites

She was world champion at course racing again,

Private life She married John Tilney and they have a child.