#NSVICTORYLIST: OFFSHORE OCEAN RACERS, LOCAL HEROS, AND ONE DESIGN CHAMPS

A Collection of Results from Around the World is Motivation to Get On The Water

Call us competitive but sitting down to write this article is very exciting because it’s the first week in a while where we have a healthy dose of race results. The noteworthy point in sharing this news is the results below are a mix of high-performance offshore racing, close to home buoy racing, and ultra-competitive one-design racing. The summer sailing season is in full swing and the #NSVictoryList is back on the board.

North Powered Teams Top the Podium for Vendée-Arctique

Over 10 days, the battle for first was well-fought amongst IMOCA skippers in a highly competitive and closely matched fleet; but it was ultimately Charal, skippered by Jeremie Beyou who claimed first, followed by second-placed Charlie Dalin on Apivia and Thomas Ruyant on LinkedOut. The North-South racecourse meant crossing a number of weather systems and a variety of conditions, making the race the perfect test of boats and sailors in the lead up to the Vendée Globe. The racing felt more ‘around-the-buoys’ than offshore, with the talented IMOCA fleet staying closely packed and lead changes happening constantly.

“I didn’t feel like setting off on the Vendée Globe without at least having done a test race single-handed,” said second-placed Charlie Dalin on Apivia. “To do that the Vendée-Arctique fulfilled its role perfectly as we had lots of situations to deal with, transitions and sail changes. It was a perfect training race to prepare for the Vendée Globe and thus validate all the work undertaken on the boats.”

Over the next few months, teams will be downloading data learned during the Vendée-Arctique to fine-tune for the Vendèe Globe in November. Stay tuned!

Local Spotlight on the Lonely Tower Race

136 boats made up three classes racing on the Solent last weekend for the Junior Offshore Group (JOG) Lonely Tower Race. The 35 nm course had the fleet racing to and from Cowes, sailing around the Nab Tower which lies just east and offshore of the Isle of Wight. Built for anti-submarine protection in World War I, the tower marks the deep-water entry into the Solent for sailors.

A win-win for local sailing, the Lonely Tower Race saw the most entries for a Solent regatta this season, and the day also proved to be a great success for North clients. 26-year-old Sam Cooper who, alongside main trimmer Mike Haliburton, claimed the top spot with Gavin Howe’s J/88 Tigris in Class 1 after a total elapsed time of 5 hours, 45 minutes and 24 seconds.

Tigris gets her speed from a great crew and a 3Di RAW Mainsail, 2014 3Di RAW J2, and A2. Cooper commented: “The 3Di RAW Mainsail is remarkable; we’ve pushed it since our very first outing in 2016’s Round the Island Race. ”

Up next for Cooper and the J/88 Tigris is the JOG Great Escape Race this weekend, where he will be racing with bowman/mastman Tim Villain. We are looking forward to seeing more boats racing on the Solent – good luck to all competitors!

Competitive Sailing, Close to Home

Narragansett Bay (Rhode Island, USA) filled with a variety of vessels to compete in two different regattas, the 2020 Newport Cup and the Offshore 160 Single-Handed talent. Local talent, short-handed, and solo kiteboarding sessions were all on display in an effort to do whatever it takes to go sailing this summer.

“It doesn’t get much better than this,” remarked Newport RI based North expert Mike Toppa. “It’s easy to take local sailing for granted but, we are lucky enough sail on one of the nicest pieces of water in the world. Schooners, kiteboarders, multihulls, classics, double handers, 12 Metres, PHRF champs, and everything in between were for this past weekend. This is different from what we all had planned for our 2020 season, but summer is short and you don’t want to miss out.”

Caipirinha Crowned King of Lake Garda

Nine Melges 32 teams lined up on Lake Garda for their first fleet meeting this season. The Melges World League warm-up event saw a fierce one-design competition to collect their first win of the season and be named King or Queen of the Lake.

Giangiacomo Serena di Lapigio’s North Sails powered G-Spot set the pace, finishing the first day of racing in the lead after scoring two bullets in two races. But after six races, it was Martin Reintjes Caipirinha who fought their way to the top and celebrated their first win in the Melges 32 class after three years of hard work focusing on improving their performance.

North clients won five of the six races sailed and just one point separated the top three finishers, showcasing the competitiveness and intensity within the fleet. Next up for the fleet is MWL Event 1 on 22nd-24th August in Sardinia, Italy, a lead-in event to the World Championship at the same venue on the 26th-29th August. We look forward to seeing some more nail-biting racing next month!