Many Finn sailors may not remember Ken Ryan from Ballsbridge, Ireland - he wasn’t actually a Finn sailor, but the Finn class does owe him a lot. He passed away on 22 February 2022 at the age of 88.

Ken’s first involvement in international sailing came in 1968 while the Finn class prepared for the 1970 Europeans in Dun Laoghaire. Following the success of this event where 21 countries were represented across a 34-boat fleet, Ken was invited to travel to Cascais, Portugal for the Finn Gold Cup. He assisted in the event management of that regatta where 180 boats from 34 countries competed.  Josje Hofland writes.

Ken’s relationship with the International Finn class continued and while attending the 1971 Gold Cup in Toronto, Canada he was persuaded to take on the role of Honorary Secretary, a position he held for five years.

Those were eventful years, to say the least. Think of the introduction of the first aluminium masts (and the opposition that caused in the Finn administration – see FINNatics, pp. 33-34); the revolutionary Lamboley swing test; the first double-bottomed Finns; and the terrible loss of Gold Cup winner Jörg Bruder from Brazil who was killed in an airplane crash near Paris on his way to the 1973 Gold Cup in France to defend his third title.

Ken was frequently invited to assist with event management around the world and attended every Olympic Games from 1972 to 2008, either as a member of the Irish team, chef de mission or Olympic Jury Member. After his active years in Finn administration he was instrumental in establishing the International Judges programme. Thanks to him the winner of a major regatta is indeed the winner by the time of the prizegiving (no appeals possible).

Finally, in the 1990s he was a quiet but effective diplomat supporting the Finn class in its campaign to remain Olympic. Ken was undeniably a true Finn sailor at heart.

RIP Ken Ryan 1934-2022

A full obituary has been published here: https://afloat.ie/sail/sailing-clubs/national-yacht-club/item/53644-ken-ryan-1934-2022