Bill West, the son of an Anglican minister, was born and raised in the Kitsilano area of Vancouver, and first started sailing in his teens. He was the grandson of Walter Hepburn, a well-known contractor and city alderman. West began participating in sailing competitions around 1954, and was selected twice in the next ten years to represent his country at the Olympic games in the two-person Star class sailing events, alongside fellow clubmates Bill Burgess in 1960, and Dave Miller in 1964. His best result came in Tokyo in his latter appearance, where alongside Miller, he finished seventh in a field of seventeen competitors.