Two former Northern Irish Sailing Team members, Daniel Corbett and Emma McKnight, have gone from strength to strength within the offshore sailing world following their selection for the Griffin Project last year.
The Griffin Project is a Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC) scheme which gives young sailors the opportunity to try offshore sailing, learning best practises for yachting and the chance to improve their overall crewmanship.
As part of the Griffin Project, Corbett (County Antrim Yacht Club) and McKnight (Strangford Lough Yacht Club) have received coaching from world class sailors such as Dee Caffari, Shirley Robertson, Steve Hayles and Ian Walker, and now race regularly on high-performance racing boats.
Daniel Corbett’s journey
Daniel began sailing at County Antrim Yacht Club and was a member of the Northern Ireland Topper and ILCA squads.
While studying Naval Architecture at Southampton University, he made the most of team racing and yachting opportunities and was then accepted for the Griffin Project in 2024.
The Griffin Project has given Daniel numerous opportunities such as racing a Sun Fast 30 One Design during three RORC races- The Cervantes Race, The De Guingand Bowl and The Cowes to Dinard race. This year he raced the Figaro 3 Nastro Rosa tour in Italy.
Speaking about his recent offshore sailing, Daniel said: “While many do Youth dinghy squads, few progress to senior campaigns and are left with no direct path of what to do with their sailing. Programmes like Griffin help sailors get access to a part of sailing which is slightly closed off from the outside and helps gain connections to pursue other sailing!
“On top of this, with my degree being Naval architecture, I think sailing helps me understand what makes a good race yacht which will hopefully one day enable me to work in yacht design.
“My goals for the next few years are to sail as much as I (reasonably) can while I am in university, jumping at any opportunities I can get to go racing! I have a goal to tick off all the major 600-mile offshore races, hopefully finishing my second one in August with the Fastnet but I think it will take a while to do them all!”
Emma McKnight’s Journey
Growing up, Emma sailed a range of different boats across the Northern Ireland Sailing Team, featuring in the Topper, ILCA and 420 classes. Then, while at Exeter University, availed of the Team Racing and Yachting opportunities available.
Her first major step into offshore sailing came in 2022, when she sailed from Gran Canaria to French Polynesia, which she previously stated: “Opened her eyes to the world of offshore sailing.”
Off the back her trip to French Polynesia, Emma secured a place on the 2024 Griffin Project and said: “Getting as much experience as possible on a range of boats is so helpful in not just building you knowledge base but also makes it easier to say yes to opportunities when they come up if you have done a bit of everything!”
Like Daniel Corbett, Emma took the opportunity with the Griffin Project to race a Sun Fast 30 One Design, however following this, she has joined an all-female crew who will compete in the 2025 Fastnet Race.
Ahead of the race, Emma said: “The Fastnet Race will be the longest race I have competed in so far, so I think I am most excited about the challenge of the distance. As a team we have only done a couple 24-48 hour races, so this will be a big step up and I am excited for the challenge.
“It is an incredible opportunity as we don’t often get the chance to sail as part of a majority female crew, but it is not something we are focusing on hugely. Our main focus as a crew has always been preparation, teamwork and the races we are doing.”
How to follow in the footsteps of Daniel and Emma
If you are interested in following in the footsteps of Daniel and Emma, why not apply for the Griffin Project yourself?
Click here to read more about the project and explore alternative pathways to develop your sailing
