2025 Offshore Double Handed World Championships | Golden Ticket Remains Undecided
Cowes, UK (28 September) – After two qualifying races, ten teams from nine different nations had qualified for the final of the 2025 Offshore Double Handed World Championships. One more team is set to join them, as the winner of the Repechage Race.
The Repechage Race started in light airs at 14:00 BST on Saturday 27 September, right outside the RORC Cowes clubhouse. The race for the remaining berth for the 2025 Offshore Double Handed World Championships Final was a white-knuckle 89-mile showdown where every tack, gybe, and surge of tide mattered. With just one ‘golden ticket’ to the final on the line, tenacious crews from New Zealand, Australia, France, Italy and the USA all challenged for the win, trading blows around the Solent and beyond.
Lead changes came thick and fast: AUS 1 surged clear off The Needles, NZL 1 struck back at Bembridge, FRA 2 threatened inshore, and ITA 2 briefly stole the spotlight. In the final sprint through the Solent, the Kiwis covered every Australian move, holding their nerve as rivals closed in.
Aaron Hume-Merry and Anna Merchant (NZL 1) © Paul Wyeth/RORC
After nearly twelve hours of racing, Aaron Hume-Merry and Anna Merchant (NZL 1) crossed the line just two minutes and thirty-three seconds ahead of James Whelan and Stacey Jackson (AUS 1). But the drama is not over — AUS 1 has lodged a protest against NZL 1, with the result pending a hearing which will be held later today, Sunday 28 September. …. Watch this space for the winner of the Golden Ticket into the 2025 Offshore Double Handed World Championships Final.
James Whelan and Stacey Jackson (AUS 1) © Paul Wyeth/RORC
