Bretherton and Luhrs Selected for Ireland's Double-Handed Worlds Debut

16th August 2026

Afloat.ie Team

Zanzibar, the Sun Fast 3200 campaigned by Ireland's Richard Bretherton and Inka Luhrs

Ireland will be represented by Richard Bretherton and Inka Luhrs at the 2026 World Sailing Offshore Double-Handed World Championship in Marseille, France, from 23 September to 2 October.

The pair have been selected by Irish Sailing for Ireland's first appearance at the championship, which will be raced in a supplied fleet of Sun Fast 30 One Design yachts.

Bretherton and Luhrs have been campaigning together on the RORC offshore circuit aboard the Sun Fast 3200 Zanzibar, building a series of results ahead of their selection for Marseille.

RORC Campaign

Their 2026 campaign has included a class victory in the Cervantes Trophy, second in class in the Myth of Malham Race and class and mixed overall honours in the Celtic Triangle Race.

The pair also raced together in the 2025 Rolex Fastnet Race aboard Lord of the Dance.

Bretherton, an Irish citizen, was a National Cadet Champion as a teenager, while Luhrs has extensive keelboat experience including offshore, IRC and classic yacht racing.

Irish Sailing invited expressions of interest from sailors with appropriate offshore experience in April as part of the process to nominate an Irish crew for the championship.

Supplied Sun Fast 30 OD Fleet

As Afloat previously reported, the Marseille championship will be sailed in supplied Sun Fast 30 One Design yachts, putting the emphasis on crew performance rather than differences in equipment.

The event is being hosted by the Cercle Nautique et Touristique du Lacydon (CNTL), alongside the Royal Ocean Racing Club, Yacht Club de France and Cap Regatta, with support from the Fédération Française de Voile.

The championship format brings mixed two-person crews together for offshore racing from Marseille, with Ireland joining the international line-up for the first time.

Published in Mixed Offshore Keelboat, Offshore, Irish Sailing

Published in Mixed Offshore Keelboat

Tagged under

Offshore Double-Handed Worlds

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Ireland Set for Offshore Double-Handed Worlds Debut
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Offshore sailing is the ultimate test of endurance, skill, discipline, navigation and critical decision making.

Embracing a major part of sailing in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games will enable new stars of the sport to come to the forefront.

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Offshore sailing is a universal discipline that every World Sailing Member National Authority (MNA) can participate in.

Up to 20 nations will be on the start line at Paris 2024 and sailors from every continent will be represented. To qualify for the Olympic Games, continental qualification events will be held and competition for a spot will be hotly contested.

Equipment

For qualification events, World Sailing will approve a list of one-design boats that are already regionally available and can be accessed as a charter boat. Boats will be equalised to ensure fair competition.

For Paris 2024, World Sailing's Council will select a list of different Equipment it considers to meet the key criteria by 31 December 2020 and then make a decision on the Equipment, selecting from the list, no later than 31 December 2023.

MNAs, Class Associations and Manufacturers have all been invited to propose Equipment for the list and a World Sailing Working Party will evaluate each proposal. A recommended list will be presented to Council for approval in November 2020.

This recommended Equipment list will ensure that event organisers, MNAs and the sailors have opportunities to train and compete in Equipment that is readily available and affordable within their continent and country. It will also ensure each MNA has a fair opportunity to prepare for qualification events and eventually, Paris 2024.

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