Offshore: Canadians Finish Strong at Mixed Doubles

Nov 7, 2024

Benjamin Daniel and Sarah Nicholson took the 8th position overall at the first-ever Offshore Double Handed World Championships held in Lorient, FRA last month.

After taking the fifth and last spot available for the Final Race in their overnight elimination race including 11 boats, the Canadian Team finished 8th out of ten in the Final Race held Monday to Tuesday.

“We’re very happy with our result and honored to have represented Canada at this event,” said Benjamin and Sarah. “Qualifying for the final race and battling into the middle of the pack led us to an 8th place finish amongst 22 of the best double-handed teams in the world. We are really proud of this achievement! We think it is very important for Canada to have a presence in these events, especially with the possibility of double-handed offshore racing being added to the Olympics. We learned so much throughout this event and can’t wait to bring that knowledge back home to inspire more Canadians to join offshore racing. .”

Ben and Sarah are a new double-handed team but have thousands of offshore miles between them. Benjamin Daniel is a 27 year old sailor from Nanaimo, British Columbia. Ben completed his first race to Hawaii at 15 years old in the Vic-Maui International Yacht Race and has since gone on to complete both TransPac and the Pacific Cup. Additionally, Ben has completed multiple Carribean 600’s, represented the Canadian Team at the SSL Gold Cup and has been racing in the Caribbean regatta circuit for the last two seasons. 

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, she is actively pursuing her offshore sailing dreams. Sarah’s most recent experience lies with a Halifax-based J/133, as she led its 2023 race campaign, participating in offshore events such as the RORC Caribbean 600, Antigua to Bermuda, Marblehead to Halifax. This year, she was able to skipper the Newport to Bermuda Race, and is looking forward to gaining more double-handed miles ahead of the World Championships through the 600nm Dream Cup Race in France and Eurosaf Female Offshore European Championships.

Lorient Grand Large, Yacht Club de France and the Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC) hosted the 2024 Double Handed World Offshore Championship with a a fleet of Sun Fast 30 One Designs off the coast of Brittany. The Sun Fast 30 production model sailboats is built from a recyclable resin, which highlights the latest developments in sustainable boat building.

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