Lorient gears up for Offshore Double Handed World Championship

Mixed teams of two sailors from 16 nations will race offshore in One Design Sun Fast 30s. The race area starting from Lorient covers the rugged Atlantic Coast, capable of producing spicy conditions at the best of times. Racing in One Design Sun Fast 30s, the course area will be as far west as the Isles of Scilly, and to the east, the western approaches of The English Channel.

With teams assigned by World Sailing, two elimination races will decide the ten teams to make the World Championship Final. The first overnight elimination race is scheduled for Wednesday, 25 September, the second elimination will follow on Thursday 26 September. The top five boats of each elimination race will qualify for the Final Race, scheduled to start on Sunday 29 September.

Département du Morbihan Race – Elimination Race One

Start: Lorient 1600 CET Wednesday 25 September

Elimination Race One, the Département du Morbihan Race has a full-on weather forecast of gusty, strong westerly or south-westerly wind. The race of about 12 hours will have 11 starters from Belgium, Canada, France, Great Britain, Greece, India, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Uruguay, and the United States.

France 2 – Charlotte Yven & Loïs Berrehar

France 2 can be considered among the favourites for the World Championship. Charlotte Yven & Loïs Berrehar are both members of the MACIF Skipper Programme, following in the footsteps of François Gabart, Charlie Dalin and Yoann Richomme. This year, In her second Solitaire du Figaro, Charlotte came fifth and is ranked 7th in the French Elite Offshore Racing Championship. Loïs Berrehar has been a MACIF Skipper since 2022, racing in six Figaros, Loïs was second this year and third in 2023. Loïs is ranked 3rd in the French Elite Offshore Racing Championship.

Belgium 2 – Djemila Tassin & Jonas Gerckens

Racing in the Sun Fast 30 OD, Djemila Tassin & Jonas Gerckens were in fine form for this year’s Dhream Cup coming third in a windy race. Djemila and Jonas have plans to race around the world in 2025 with an entry in the Globe40 Race.

Great Britain 1  – Maggie Adamson & Cal Finlayson

Scottish pair Maggie Adamson & Cal Finlayson are normally rivals in different two-handed teams. Maggie has raced thousands of miles with Gavin Howe’s Sun Fast 3600 Tigris, winning the doublehanded class in the 2024 RORC Transatlantic Race. Cal Finlayson races on a rival Sun Fast 3600 Diablo owned by Nick Martin, which was third out of 400 boats for the 2024 RORC Season’s Points Championship. Maggie and Cal have raced together before, coming third in the 2023 Nastro Rosa Tour.

New Zealand 2 –  Aaron Hume-Merry & Anna Merchant

Aaron Hume-Merry & Anna Merchant have amassed over 6000 miles racing together two-handed over the last six years. Aaron represented New Zealand in the ILCA 7 and was included in Yachting New Zealand’s programme campaigning for the Olympics in the 49er class. Anna is a product of the highly regarded RNZYS youth training programme, she competed in her first offshore event at 17 and has podiumed at two World Match Racing Championships.

Uruguay –  Federico Waksman & Justina Pacheco

Federico has been travelling the world working on sailing yachts for a number of years before deciding to campaign a Mini Transat 6.50. Winning  the 2023 Mini Transat, Frederico became first South American to do so and has now set his sights on the Solitaire du Figaro. Justina Pacheco won national titles as a youth in Uruguay.

India – Sweta Shervegar & Atool Sinha

Atool is from Mumbai and has competed at the top level in match racing in India and the Far East. Sweta has competed at top level in the 470 and 49er FX Classes including runner up in 2018 Asian Games in the 49er. Atool is Captain in the Indian Armed Forces.

Japan – Yoshihiko Murase & Naho Takahara

Murase competed in the 1991 and 1995 Melbourne to Osaka two-handed race and contested six consecutive Transpacific Yacht Races, as well as three Sydney Hobarts as skipper of his 54ft racing yacht. Naho Takahara is a new Mini Transat sailor and aims to become the first Japanese woman, and the youngest Japanese person, to complete the solo transatlantic crossing.

Canada –  Sarah Nicholson & Ben Daniel

Ben and Sarah are a new double-handed team but have thousands of offshore miles between them. Ben Daniel is a 27 year old sailor from British Columbia and has been racing offshore since he was 15. Sarah Nicholson is a 25 year old New Brunswick sailor with a passion for offshore racing. Alongside her current engineering role at North Technology Group, Sarah has been racing many offshore miles in recent years including skipper for the Newport to Bermuda Race.

Netherlands 2 –  Tim Lemeer & Lisa Vos

The Dutch team have ties with The Magenta Project, an award-winning global charity, created to build a sustainable network and programme for more equity and inclusion for women in sailing. Tim is on the Board of the Magenta Project and former Rear Commodore of  Scheveningen YC. Lisa Vos is a Magenta Mentee who was part of The Ocean Race. In 2023, Lisa became a sailor and logistics manager for VO65 Team Jajo.

Greece –  Gerasimos Petratos & Evi Delidou

From Greece sail Gerasimos Petratos & Evi Delidou race their Dehler 30 Aether doublehanded which is a similar hi-tech design to the Sun Fast 30, the pair won the Doublehanded class at this year’s Aegean 600.

USA 1 –  Barbara Karpinski & Kevin Morgan

Barbara Karpinski has completed in just about all the major offshore races in the western hemisphere and has been a key figure in promoting the offshore double handed discipline since the movement began in the United States.

Département du Morbihan Race – Elimination Race Two

Start: Lorient 1600 CET Thursday 26 September

Elimination Race Two, the Région Bretagne Race, has a weather forecast of light variable winds at the start with a building breeze from the west or south west. The race of about 12 hours will have 11 starters from Australia, Belgium, France, Germany, Great Britain, Netherlands, New Zealand, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, and the United States.

Australia – Scotty & Phillippa Cavanough

Husband and wife from Gold Coast of Australia both with big experience offshore in Class40 and Mini Transat. Both have competed in the Global Ocean Race but on different boats. Phillippa has sailed the TJV Double handed and thousands of offshore miles. Phillippa works for a large commercial rope business supplying big ships. Scotty is a pro-rigger working on racing and superyachts around the world.

France 1 – Elodie Bonafous & Basile Bourgnon

France 1 can be considered among the favourites for the World Championship. Elodie Bonafous, a passed J/80 World Champion, has competed in five Solitaire du Figaros and was 8th in the 2024 edition. Elodie is the first French woman to reach the podium of a stage in the Solitaire du Figaro and is aiming for the Vendee Globe 2028. Basile Bourgnon is a rising star at just 21 years old. Basile has come through the Mini Transat ranks to race in the Solitaire du Figaro coming 7^th in 2024. Basile is ranked 2^nd in the French Elite Offshore Racing Championship.

Belgium 1 – Timothée Deplasse & Alix Schouller

Timothée Deplasse is from Lorient and is a preparer  for IMOCA APICIL, skippered by Damien Sequin. Co-Skipper Alix Schouller and Timothée have just returned from competing in the Tour Voile and both our sailors in the Figaro 3 Class.

Spain –  Aina Bauzá & David Paul

Aina is from Mallorca and has competed in the Figaro and Mini Transat. This year Aina set a  new solo transatlantic sailing record in a monohull from Cádiz to the Bahamas of 30 days, 22 hours, and 34 minutes. David is a young Offshore Sailor originally from London, currently competing in the French Elite Offshore Championship aspiring to race in the Figaro.

Great Britain 2 – Peter Bacon & Louise Clayton

A Corinthian Team  with thousands of racing miles shorthanded. Peter has raced twice across the Atlantic, the second occasion was double handed with his son in the RORC Transatlantic Race. Louise has competed in four Fastnet campaigns, and one Transatlantic. In 2021 Louise started double handed racing on Stuart Greenfield’s classic S&S 34 Morning After. They won the Cowes-St Malo double handed fleet and completed the 1800-mile Round Britain and Ireland Race with a crew of four.

Germany –  Lina Rixgens & Sverre Reinke

Lina Rixgens is a young doctor working in Hamburg and is a member of the city’s long established youth sailing organisation HSV. Lina has competed in two editions of the Mini Transat and her co-skipper Sverre Reinke has also competed with Lina in two-handed races. The pair intend to purchase a Sun Fast 30 which will be based in Kiel and will compete in European offshore events.

Netherlands 1 –  Yvonne Beusker & Erik Van Vuuren

Yvonne and Erik first raced as a duo in the 2012 Global Ocean Race and have now raced thousands of miles together. Yvonne skippered J/105 Panther in the 2015 Rolex Fastnet Race doublehanded  with Edith Voskamp, becoming the first all-female team to complete the race. Erik has won numerous national titles in the Netherlands and also captained the 2014 Atlantic kite Challenge; the first non-stop ocean crossing by kite.

New Zealand 1 –  Andrew Hall & Sandra Bees

Andrew Hall, 56 and Sandra Bees, 59  will be flying the burgee of the Richmond Yacht Club in Auckland, New Zealand. Hall and Bees have financed the campaign and relied on the goodwill of the Auckland sailing community to assist, including providing boats to train on before the championship. Their first goal will be to reach the final.

Sweden – Anna Drougge & Martin Angsell

Anna Drougge is a highly experienced Swedish sailor including racing in the 2001 Volvo Ocean Race with Amer sports 2 with all women crew led by Lisa McDonald. Martin Angsell has won multiple Swedish championships and international medals in various disciplines, from match racing to shorthanded offshore racing. The pair have raced together numerous times, including the ORC Double Handed Offshore Championship.

Turkey – Onur Tok & Pelin Keskin

Onur and Pelin raced against each other as children in Optimists before Pelin took up rowing a sport. Onur continued to race including the International Dragon Class and J/70 One Design. During the Coronavirus lockdown Onur and Pelin started to make plans to race together doublehanded. They have been racing together in Beymetal Team LR for about three years.

USA 2 – Erica Lush & Tim Kent

Erica Lush has sailed since she was a child and during her adult years raced extenbsivley in the 12 Metre Class. On Maiden and other Maxis, Erica has amassed over 85,000 nautical miles offshore, including racing through the Southern Ocean via the 3 Great Capes, becoming part of the first all-female crew to win an Around the World yacht race. Lush began racing double handed in 2020 as an effort to improve her all-around skills and challenge herself at a higher level and was immediately hooked. Tim Kent began racing solo in 1997 in the inaugural Chicago-to-Mackinac solo race, winning the 1999 edition. Kent entered the solo Around Alone Race in 2002 with an IMOCA 50 and placed second in Class 2. Kent also has a proven commitment to bringing more women into this sport at a high level.

Keep up to date with all the action in the Offshore Double Handed World Championship with LIVE TRACKING. For more information visit: www.lorientgrandlarge.org

Text and images courtesy of RORC.org.