2024 Offshore Double Handed World Championship – Great Britain 65 Seconds to Victory
by 2024 Offshore Double Handed World Championship 2 Oct 00:49 PDT
24 September – 1 October 2024
Maggie Adamson & Cal Finlayson (GBR) emerged as the 2024 Offshore Double Handed World Champions. They won the 151NM Lorient Agglomération Race, finishing just 65 seconds ahead of runners-up Elodie Bonafous & Basile Bourgnon (FRA), with Charlotte Yven & Lois Berrehar (FRA) taking third place. Jonas Gerckens & Djemila Tassin (BEL) missed the podium due to a technical issue.
The Lorient Agglomération Race, which concluded the 2024 Offshore Double Handed World Championship, featured fierce competition in conditions that varied from 30 knots and two-meter swells to calm, windless waters.
The wind shifted by 180 degrees during the race, with the offshore islands and the Brittany Coast creating significant impacts on the prevailing wind conditions. Of the ten teams that began the World Championship Final, eight were competitive in the top three spots at various points of the race.
A thrilling final leg in light winds saw the lead change multiple times. Just a few miles from the finish line, the four top boats battled closely to deploy their spinnakers, but Adamson & Finlayson maintained their Code Zero. Winning a world championship often comes down to narrow margins; in the race’s final mile, the British duo did just enough to secure their slight advantage and clinch the Offshore Double Handed World Championship title.
“I can’t truly believe this has happened,” said Maggie Adamson. “We persevered and never gave up. At the end, a slight breeze towards the shore helped us as we ventured in. We held the Code Zero a bit longer and had both our spinnakers ready, but believed we were faster with that setup. It’s the small details that count; keeping our heads out of the boat worked, and we just stayed focused.”
“I’m too exhausted to fully grasp it,” said Cal Finlayson. “It was a tough fight; we were all bobbing around the final mark, 24 miles from finish, trying to get the boat moving in the shutdown, which can be tricky. The two French teams got rolling and pulled ahead, leading up to a nail-biting finish. It’s surreal to beat such talented sailors, especially here in Lorient, the hub of French offshore racing.”
The Offshore Double Handed World Championship Prize Giving took place at the Éric Tabarly Sailing City Museum. All competing teams were invited onto the stage to collect mementos and goodie bags.
The top three boats were presented with medals amidst enthusiastic applause from the audience, with the loudest cheers going to Maggie Adamson and Cal Finlayson, followed by the United Kingdom’s national anthem. After the awards ceremony, champion fiddler Maggie Adamson performed a medley of songs from The Shetland Islands, her birthplace in the UK’s furthest north region.
Details in the Devil
The initial leg of the Lorient Agglomération Race was a 50-mile fast reach south in heavy winds and towering waves. Elodie Bonafous & Basile Bourgnon (FRA) thrived in these challenging conditions, opening over a three-mile lead. Sadly, Erik Van Vuuren & Yvonne Beusker (NED) had to retire due to gear failure after a strong start. Lina Rixgens & Sverre Reinke (GER) and Maggie Adamson & Cal Finlayson (GBR) chased the French leaders.
After dark, the fleet entered Quiberon Bay, where wind shadows from islands and local currents created a strategic game of cat and mouse. Bonafous & Bourgnon maintained their lead, although a miscalculation cost them about a mile. Navigating north of Belle-Île proved intricate; Bonafous & Bourgnon went west, expecting a northward wind shift, which didn’t materialize for another ten hours, allowing the following boats to close the gap. For the first time, they appeared vulnerable. Jonas Gerckens & Djemila Tassin (BEL), along with Benjamin Daniel & Sarah Nicholson (CAN), emerged as significant contenders.
At the closing mark, 24 miles from the finish, Bonafous & Bourgnon were finally overtaken after leading for 127 miles. The determined British team of Adamson & Finlayson took the lead, contending against the two French teams: Bonafous & Bourgnon and Charlotte Yven & Lois Berrehar (FRA). As they headed east towards the finish, the winds nearly died down entirely. The top five boats, led by Great Britain, clustered closely on the water, with both French teams challenging the Brits and consistent performers Gerckens & Tassin and Waksman & Justina Pacheco (URU) also threatening the lead.
A dramatic finish ensued, won by just 65 seconds by Maggie Adamson & Cal Finlayson (GBR). The British team’s use of the Code Zero against the spinnakers of their French and Belgian rivals could have been the decisive difference. Perhaps the British found a slightly better breeze? The rest, as they say, is history!
Event website: www.lorientgrandlarge.org/fr/evenements/offshore-double-handed-world-championship
Organized by Lorient Grand Large in partnership with FFVoile, the Yacht Club De France, and the Royal Ocean Racing Club, and supported by Cap-Regatta and Multiplast/Jeanneau.
In September 2025, the Royal Ocean Racing Club will host the Offshore Double Handed World Championship in Cowes, UK.
