Presenting our new series of exclusive interviews with individuals across the sailing industry...
From an Opti in Crosshaven to the 37th Americas Cup in Barcelona, Cian is a Performance and Simulation Engineer for INEOS Britannia on the AC75 campaign.
The Americas Cup is the world’s oldest international sporting trophy – dating back to 1851 – and stands as one of the hardest sporting endeavours. The New York Yacht Club held the trophy for 132 years before losing it in 1983 to Australia. Since then, the Cup has only been won by teams from the United States, Switzerland, and New Zealand. The current Defender of the America's Cup is Emirates Team New Zealand, representing the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron. It is the ultimate sailing performance and design challenge.
The Louis Vuitton Cup, the Challenger Selection Series which decided which of the five challenging teams would take on who this year’s Defender, was won by INEOS Britannia representing Great Britain. The Kiwis and the Brits have been battling throughout the week in this exclusive match racing series which is taking place in Barcelona, Spain with New Zealand currently leading with four wins to Great Britain’s two.
Irish Sailing was lucky enough to sit down with Cian Byrne of the INEOS Britannia team to discuss his career, sailing and what it’s like to be part of the Americas Cup.
How did you first get into sailing/performance sailing?
I set my sights on performance sailing at a young age, in whatever form that took. Whether it be having a sick note ready to go if the wind looked good in Crosshaven to head out training or being a member of Irish Sailing’s Performance Academy. When I graduated from the academy, I went to UCC to study Maths but high-performance sailing was still very much the goal.
I had researched about a Masters in Maritime Engineering in Southampton as the course to get if you wanted work on a Cup team so after UCC I aimed for that.
You’re now part of a ten-person team of Performance Engineers who feed back to the sailors everyday, what’s that like?
I’m actually part of a wider team of 150 who all work together to make this cup happen in all different capacities of communications, logistics, hydraulics engineering, boat design, coaches and more.
But my work began three years ago after the last cup. Beginning with potential different designs of the boat and theoretical modelling, to then how those designs would perform out on the water. So, it has been a labour of love getting this boat out here to Barcelona and up to the optimal performance that you see today.
What is your daily race day routine then like over in Barcelona?
So we have actually been at this for nearly two months now as we had the Challenger series just before this and now that we are here in Barcelona all the work has been done on the boat dynamics and our strategic systems it’s really just about sailing and sailing the boat that we have to its full potential. We start every day off down in the INEOS Britannia base getting the sailors into the simulator for a quick training session:
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First we review the previous day’s performance in the simulator while outlining strategies for the day ahead with the information we have about that day's conditions. This includes inputting data into tactical software and assessing its reliability.
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Our team of Performance Engineers then present key findings to the sailors from the previous day’s racing
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Then it's time for DOCK OUT: A moment for the entire team to come together and celebrate their collective efforts before heading out.
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But then it’s straight back to work as we have roughly a 45-minute window of warm-up training, when the sailors first get out to the course, where we gather data from the boat and provide feedback on key focus areas to optimize performance for that day.
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Then it’s race time!
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After either one or two match races we collect and analyse data from that day's racing to inform future decisions.
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Finally, we compile feedback for the next morning’s briefing, ensuring continuous improvement and strategic adjustments.
No one asks us to stay late each day or work on Saturdays, but it’s just what ends up happening in this team as we all just want the best performance and outcome for our team.
What would you say is the biggest thing you have learnt from this sport and what advice you would give to young sailors aspiring to a career in sailing?
I’d say the wide range of valuable skills and thrilling experiences that sailing has offered me over the years has been fantastic, which is not only restricted to those who chase the Olympic pathway. There are so many alternative areas of sailing in which you can work and develop if you have the passion to see it through.
When I go home to Crosshaven, it’s always great to see how many kids are out on the water in their Opti’s, in Royal Cork Yacht Club, learning a new skill and testing their abilities.
And whether you want to pursue on-the-water performance or have academic ambitions, I do think it’s important to maintain the balance, so that if one door closes there is four more open.
Well thank you very much and the best of luck with the rest of the campaign!
We really enjoyed having the opportunity to sit down with Cian to get a little insight into the world of America’s Cup Racing and learn more about all the possible avenues a career in this industry could take you on.