Darren Wright of Howth rounded out an exceptional year of achievement in 2019 with a courageous bareboat charter campaign in the especially challenging 75th Rolex Sydney-Hobart Race. Nearer home, his year had already seen success with the Classic Half Tonner Mata (which he co-owns with his brother Michael and Rick De Neve) winning her class in both the Scottish series in May and the ICRA Nationals in Dublin Bay in June.

Then in the Sovereigns Regatta in Kinsale, Mata emerged as the 2019 Irish Half-Ton Champion. The Australian campaign with a Howth-based crew with the First 40 HYC Breakthrough inevitably brought long-distance logistical challenges, yet they were overcome and HYC Breakthrough was second of all the First 40s, and tenth overall in the large and very hotly-contested Corinthian Division.