A LLYN sailor has been given one of Ireland’s top sailing awards in recognition of his efforts to support the sport on both sides of the Irish Channel.

Stephen Tudor, secretary at Pwllheli Sailing Club and RYA Cymru Wales board member, is well known in Wales as one of the driving forces behind the Welsh National Sailing Academy and Event Centre in Pwllheli.

Stephen was nominated for the prestigious ‘2016 Irish Sailing Association Sailor of the Year Award’ and last September he became the first non-Irishman to win a Sailor of the Month award from Afloat magazine.

He has been secretary of the Irish Sea Offshore Racing Association (ISORA) since 2010 and has helped it grow to 54 competing boats last year, a membership of more than a thousand and an organisation seen as being on the cutting edge of offshore race management.

“It is quite an honour to have received an award from ISA for being the sailor of the month but then to be in the line-up of top Irish Sailors, nominated for the Sailor of the Year, was fantastic and something I will cherish forever,” said Pwllheli chartered surveyor Tudor.

He also won the Wolf’s Head, ISORA’s top award for the challenging series of races across the Irish Sea, as his boat Sgrech came first overall this year. This is the third time Tudor has won the ISORA Championship title.

Read the full story in this week’s north editions of the Cambrian News