Ireland’s Richard Bretherton and Inka Luhrs begin their challenge at the 2026 Offshore Double Handed World Championship in Marseille on Saturday, 26 September, as Ireland makes its debut at the event.
The Irish pairing, racing as IRE01, are among 17 teams representing 13 nations at the championship, which gets underway with the first qualifying race on Thursday.
However, Bretherton and Luhrs have been drawn in the second qualifying group, meaning their first race is scheduled to start at 11am CET on Saturday.
The pair were selected to represent Ireland in August after building their offshore campaign together on the RORC circuit.
RORC Class Winners Arrive in Marseille
World Sailing's championship preview highlights the Irish pair among the crews bringing recent offshore form to Marseille, noting that Bretherton and Luhrs arrive as class winners of the RORC Season’s Points Championship.
Their Sun Fast 3200 Zanzibar won IRC Four in the 2026 RORC Season’s Points Championship, capping a campaign that included a series of strong class results.
The pair also won IRC Four in the season-ending Cherbourg Race, finishing more than 31 minutes ahead of their nearest class rival on corrected time.
Afloat first reported Ireland's championship debut in July, when the country had been confirmed among the international entries but its two-person crew had yet to be announced.
Five Final Places at Stake on Saturday
The championship is being raced in identical Sun Fast 30 One Design yachts supplied by the organisers.
Thursday's opening qualifier comprises nine teams, with the first five securing places in the 11-boat championship final.
Bretherton and Luhrs are in Saturday's eight-boat second qualifier alongside teams from Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Norway, Sweden and Uruguay.
The group includes defending champion Thomas André of France and 2023 Mini Transat winner Federico Waksman of Uruguay.
Again, the top five will advance directly to the final.
Crews that do not qualify from the first two races will have one further opportunity in the repechage on Monday, 28 September, with its winner taking the 11th and final place.
48-Hour Final
The championship final is scheduled to start on Wednesday, 30 September and is planned as a 48-hour offshore race, subject to weather conditions.
The winner-takes-all decider is due to conclude on Friday, 2 October.
The Marseille championship brings together sailors from Olympic, professional and offshore backgrounds, including three-time Volvo Ocean Race sailor and two-time America's Cup winner Simeon Tienpont of the Netherlands.
Belgium's Djemila Tassin holds the Class40 24-hour distance record set during the 2025/26 Globe40, while Germany's Lina Rixgens arrives following a class victory in the Race to the Arctic.
For Ireland, attention turns to Saturday when Bretherton and Luhrs begin their bid to secure one of the five direct qualifying places available from their eight-boat group.
