The 2026 Offshore Double Handed World Championship gets underway in Marseille, France, this week, with a highly competitive fleet of 17 teams representing 13 nations preparing to take to the water.

The first qualifying races begin at 11:00 CET on Thursday 24 September, with two qualifiers and a repechage to determine the 11 teams that will progress to the winner-takes-all final, planned as a 48-hour race concluding on 2 October.

Racing in a fleet of identical Sun Fast 30 One Design yachts supplied by the organisers, the World Championship has attracted an exceptional depth of talent from across the sport, with accomplished offshore, Olympic and professional sailors taking on the challenge.

Among the competitors is Simeon Tienpont (NED01), a veteran of three Volvo Ocean Races, including one as skipper, and a two-time America’s Cup winner. He is joined by Federico Waksman (URU01), winner of the 2023 Mini Transat, and Djemila Tassin (BEL01), who holds the Class40 24-hour distance record set during the 2025/26 Globe40 round-the-world race and recognised by the World Sailing Speed Record Council.

There is also significant recent form from the offshore double-handed circuit. Lina Rixgens (GER02) won her class in the Race to the Arctic aboard a Sun Fast 30OD, while Lena Having and Eivind Bøymo-Malm (SWE02) finished third in class in the same event.

Richard Bretherton and Inka Luhrs (IRE01) arrive as class winners of the RORC season points, while Clara Witthinrich (GER01) won her class in the Baltic 500. Among the leading returning competitors is Thomas André (FRA01), winner of the event in 2025.

The breadth of experience across the fleet is striking, with competitors bringing backgrounds ranging from Olympic dinghy racing to transatlantic IMOCA 60 campaigns. For some, the Sun Fast 30OD represents a relatively small offshore platform; for others, it is among the largest boats they have raced competitively.

The fleet also includes several sailors who have received national recognition. Jonas Gerckens (BEL01) is a four-time Belgian Sailor of the Year, while Spain’s Hugo Ramón (ESP01) and the Netherlands’ Simeon Tienpont (NED01) have also been recognised at national level.

The mixed format provides a valuable opportunity to showcase female talent in a discipline where women remain underrepresented. Several competitors are also drawing on experience from careers in science, technology, medicine and engineering.

Clara Witthinrich (GER01), now in the final year of her medical studies, says the rapid decision-making required in emergency medicine has helped develop skills that transfer directly to offshore racing. Catherine Kerians (CAN01) and Annie Stevenson (AUS01) bring experience from computer engineering, applying systematic thinking and data-led decision-making onboard. The fleet also includes astronomer Dr Gráinne Costigan (ESP01).

The first qualifying race is scheduled for Thursday 24 September at 11:00 CET, with the top five teams securing places in the final. A further five places will be decided in Qualifying Race 2 on Saturday 26 September at 11:00 CET. The final place will go to the winner of the repechage race on Monday 28 September.

The 11 qualifiers will then contest the winner-takes-all final, which is planned as a 48-hour offshore race, subject to weather conditions, before the Championship concludes on Friday 2 October.

All boats are fitted with trackers, allowing followers to watch the racing unfold in real time. The race tracker is available at https://solusport.solustop.com/worldchampionship/carto

Live content from onboard the boats will also be shared throughout the event as sailors give followers an insight into the twists and turns of the racing on Instagram at @cap_regatta.

The 2026 Offshore Double Handed World Championship is organised by the Cercle Nautique & Touristique du Lacydon (CNTL), Yacht Club de France (YCF), Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC) and Cap Regatta, with the support of the French Sailing Federation (FFV).