Displaying items by tag: Will Byrne
Nigel Young of Crosshaven and Will Byrne of Dun Laoghaire are “Sailors of the Month (International) for May
Time was when the name “Swan 36” meant a semi-classic Olin Stephens design that introduced one of the world’s most famous yacht marques, way back in 1967. These days, a Swan 36 is a white-hot day-racing boat that looks totally functional, and competes in a series of international semi-private regattas, which are the very opposite of the publicity-seeking logo-splashed razzmatazz which seems to pervade much top-level contemporary international sailing.
Yet when somebody does achieve an outstanding win in this rarefied yet extremely intense corner of world sailing, the news does seeps out. And the victory by Richard Thompson’s Black Seal in May’s Swan 36 Sardinia Challenge confirmed that Nigel Young of Royal Cork YC and Will Byrne of the National YC were in the crew, and very worthy winners as “Sailors of the Month (International) for May.
Right at the heart of it. Neil Young and Will Byrne in the midst of Black Seal’s victorious crew at the Sardinia Challenge prize-giving
Irish Sailors on Mathilde Lying Fourth in 50 Class of Swan One Design World Championships
The National Yacht Club's Will Byrne and Howth's sailmaker Shane Hughes (from North Sails Ireland) are racing on Mathilde in the Club Swan 50 division, one of the four racing classes at the Swan One Design World Championships in France.
Fitful easterlies rewrote the Swan class leaderboards in St Tropez with ClubSwan36 led by G Spot; ClubSwan42 - Natalia; Swan45 - From Now On and ClubSwan50 led by Hatari.
Sitting in fourth place, four points off the podium and six off the lead, it is all very close and, Dun Laoghaire's Byrne says there's "lots to play for" going into the final day of racing today.
The Gulf of Saint Tropez kept the surprises coming for the third day of the Swan One Design Worlds, with the wind swinging right round to the east again.
Signs of a good sailing breeze early on were scuppered as the winds began to drop. But there was still time to get all the classes away for one good race under blue skies.
It proved a day for upsets – the special magic of day three has struck. Leaders in every class put in mid-order finishes in the day’s race, giving hope to those snapping at their heels. It largely came down to whether the boats chose to go left or right off the start.
Club Swan 50 racing in Saint Tropez Photo: Studio Borlenghi
