Northern Irish sailors Liam Glynn and Zoe Whitford produced some outstanding results at the Wilson Trophy as they went toe-to-toe with some of the World’s best team racers between the 2nd and 4th of May.
Liam Glynn was part of the ‘George Jesters’ team which finished 2nd overall and Zoe Whitford was part of the ‘Royal St George Youth’ team which finished 23rd overall, but first U21 team.
The Wilson Trophy, hosted at West Kirby Sailing Club, is arguably the World’s premier team racing event with numerous world champions competing and 6 of the 34 teams travelling from the United States to compete.
This was the 76th edition of the Wilson Trophy and the last time the Royal St George were in a final of the Wilson Trophy was 1974. Naturally, this highlights just how difficult reaching this stage of the competition is and John Sheehy, who runs the annual Royal St. George Yacht Club Elmo Trophy, described the result as “The best Irish team racing result since the ‘70s.”
Liam’s team, ‘The George Jesters’ were beaten by a very strong ‘Biscayne Yacht Club’ team who had travelled over from United States. The final was a windy battle, which can be viewed back here, and the quality of team racing from both teams was very high.
As a youth sailor, Liam Glynn competed in the ILCA class, but he has since spent more and more time team racing and won the 2023 BUSA team racing final with University College Dublin. Historically, it is rare for an Irish team to win this event, and it highlights the alternative pathways in Ireland which are now developing to offer different forms of racing. Liam also now coaches for Irish sailing and the Northern Irish Sailing Team.
Zoe Whitford’s victory in the U21 section of the competition caps of a stellar season for the East Antrim Boat Club sailor. Last summer she placed 23rd at the ILCA 6 Youth European Championships in Ballyholme Yacht Club and 3rd girl at the Irish ILCA 6 National Championships.
Both sailors can feel immensely proud of their results at The Wilson Trophy, and it is exciting to see how team racing across the island of Ireland is continuing to develop.
If you would like to see the full results from the event, click here.
