Professional sailing is a tough world to get into but, as Joan Malloy discovered, having endless amounts of drive and determination with a bit of luck thrown in for good measure, is one of the best ways to succeed.
As well as her ambitious nature, it’s her happy, kind demeanour that gives this 36-year-old native from County Mayo her appeal as an inspirational sailor. She has worked hard both sailing and academically, and it is clear that nothing on her long journey to reach the professional sailing scene has been taken for granted.
She studied at University of Galway (NUI Galway) and obtained a degree in engineering, which has proved an extremely useful asset as a solo sailor and something that Malloy highly recommends. “It’s certainly not essential but what my engineering degree gave me was the confidence to sit down and logically sort problems without getting in a flap.”
Malloy’s sailing career began at a young age at Mayo Sailing Club competing in Lasers, Mirrors, and the occasional national championship. After she finished school, she took a bit of a break from sailing and moved to Sheffield to concentrate on another sport close to her heart – rock climbing. But back at university a couple of years later, she really embraced the dinghy racing
