Alan McIlroy
Senior Yacht Broker Alan McIlroy, who also works on Solaris New Yacht Sales (UK), grew up in Mid Ulster—far from the sea—but sailing was in his blood thanks to his father, an amateur boat builder. His first taste of coastal sailing as a teenager, racing from Bangor to Crinan in a freshening northwesterly, hooked him instantly. After years of club racing and Scottish regattas, a move south in the late 1990s led to a Yachtmaster qualification, seasons teaching and racing in the Solent, and time aboard an 80ft Farr sailing between the USA and Caribbean. Returning to the UK, Alan ran a yacht for an educational trust off Scotland’s west coast—“a dream job” in world-class waters. In the early 2000s, he joined Berthon, swapping Mull for the New Forest with his wife. Now, 17 years later, Alan remains deeply rooted in both family life and yachting, still as passionate about the sea and yachts as he was on that first night sail across the North Channel.