Ireland Among 16 Nations to Contest Offshore Double Handed World Championship

11th July 2024

The Sun Fast 30 OD is the boat chosen for the inaugural 2024 World Sailing Offshore Double-Handed World Championship Credit: Rick Tomlinson

The inaugural World Sailing Offshore Double-Handed World Championship (ODHWC) has attracted teams from 16 countries on four continents.

Member National Authorities have accepted the 22 team slots, and more teams are on the waiting list. The 22 confirmed entries, which are for mixed teams, come from Australia, Belgium (2), Canada, France (2), Germany, Great Britain (2), Greece, India, Ireland, Japan, Netherlands (2), New Zealand (2), Spain, Sweden, Turkey, and USA (2).

A competitor entry list has yet to be published.

Lorient Grand Large will organise the event with FFVoile, the Yacht Club De France, and the Royal Ocean Racing Club, with Cap-Regatta and Multiplast/Jeanneau support.

Lorient Grand Large will host the 2024 World Sailing Offshore Double-Handed World Championship. Lorient has been a centre of excellence for competitive sailing for decades. Lorient is home to elite level teams in the Ultim and IMOCA Classes, as well as the Mini 6.50, Figaro and Class40. The venue has hosted major events in recent years, including The Ocean Race, Solitaire du Figaro, and the Retour à La Base. From the legendary adventures of Éric Tabarly to the modern day hi-tech offshore foilers, Lorient is the epicentre for offshore racing in France.

The course area for the ODHWC will be north of Lorient, along the rugged Atlantic Coast, as far west as the Isles of Scilly, and to the east, the Western Approaches of The English Channel. In September, westerly winds and strong ocean currents are expected to produce complex and thrilling conditions for the Offshore Double Handed World Championship.

All teams in the ODHWC will take part in an Elimination Series consisting of two groups. Each team will take part in one overnight race. The first 5 boats of each group will qualify for the Final Race. The winner of the Final will be the 2024 Offshore Double Handed World Champion.

The teams will race One Design Sun Fast 30s supplied by the Cap-Regatta. The Sun Fast 30 OD is the brainchild of UNCL - Pôle Course du YCF in partnership with the Royal Ocean Racing Club and the Storm Trysail Club. The 10.4m monohull is a simple, affordable and sustainable in design. The Sun Fast 30 OD is built in a collaboration between Jeanneau and Multiplast.

The Sun Fast 30 OD was new for the 2023 season and has been racing in the world’s largest offshore racing series - the RORC Season’s Points Championship. Ten Sun Fast 30 ODs are entered for the Drheam Cup in July 2024. The Sun Fast 30 OD is one of the first production model sailboats built from a recyclable resin, which highlights the latest developments in sustainable boat building.

Published in Mixed Offshore Keelboat

Tagged under

Offshore Double Handed World Championship

About The Author

Afloat.ie Team

Email The Author

Afloat.ie is Ireland's dedicated marine journalism team.

Have you got a story for our reporters? Email us here.

We've got a favour to ask

More people are reading Afloat.ie than ever thanks to the power of the internet but we're in stormy seas because advertising revenues across the media are falling fast. Unlike many news sites, we haven't put up a paywall because we want to keep our marine journalism open.

Afloat.ie is Ireland's only full-time marine journalism team and it takes time, money and hard work to produce our content.

So you can see why we need to ask for your help.

If everyone chipped in, we can enhance our coverage and our future would be more secure. You can help us through a small donation. Thank you.

Mixed Two Person Offshore Keelboat

For the first time in sailing's Olympic history, a Mixed Two Person Offshore Keelboat event will be on the slate at the Paris 2024 Olympic Sailing Competition.

The Mixed Two Person Offshore Keelboat will join kiteboarding, windsurfing, multihulls, singlehanded and doublehanded dinghies and skiffs, promoting the diversity of the sport. This, in turn, will support World Sailing's desire to promote and grow universality in all disciplines and increase female participation with gender-equal medals and athletes.

Offshore sailing is the ultimate test of endurance, skill, discipline, navigation and critical decision making.

Embracing a major part of sailing in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games will enable new stars of the sport to come to the forefront.

Qualification

Offshore sailing is a universal discipline that every World Sailing Member National Authority (MNA) can participate in.

Up to 20 nations will be on the start line at Paris 2024 and sailors from every continent will be represented. To qualify for the Olympic Games, continental qualification events will be held and competition for a spot will be hotly contested.

Equipment

For qualification events, World Sailing will approve a list of one-design boats that are already regionally available and can be accessed as a charter boat. Boats will be equalised to ensure fair competition.

For Paris 2024, World Sailing's Council will select a list of different Equipment it considers to meet the key criteria by 31 December 2020 and then make a decision on the Equipment, selecting from the list, no later than 31 December 2023.

MNAs, Class Associations and Manufacturers have all been invited to propose Equipment for the list and a World Sailing Working Party will evaluate each proposal. A recommended list will be presented to Council for approval in November 2020.

This recommended Equipment list will ensure that event organisers, MNAs and the sailors have opportunities to train and compete in Equipment that is readily available and affordable within their continent and country. It will also ensure each MNA has a fair opportunity to prepare for qualification events and eventually, Paris 2024.

Format

Starting and finishing in Marseille, the Mixed Offshore event is expected to last for either three days and two nights or four days and three nights off the French coastline and whoever crosses the finish line first will be declared Olympic champion.

The race course and length will be announced in the lead up to the start so the competition can take advantage of the latest weather forecast. Current options proposed include long and short courses heading towards the West and East of France.

Safety and Security

The French Navy and Mediterranean forces have extensive experience of supporting major oceanic sailing races. They will provide safety and security at Paris 2024.