Kiwis clinch the Golden Ticket in a dramatic Repechage at the 2025 Offshore Double Handed World Championships

One final berth remained; the winner of the nerve-shredding Repechage Race. After 89 miles of nonstop drama, and a protest hearing that briefly cast doubt over the outcome, New Zealand’s Aaron Hume-Merry and Anna Merchant (NZL 1) emerged victorious, clinching the last golden ticket to Monday’s final. This was a brutal result for James Whelan and Stacey Jackson (AUS 1). The Australian team missed out in their qualifier as well as the Repechage Race, by a single place.

On the joy of making the final, Merchant and Hume-Merry commented: “It’s been a bit of a journey to get here for us, so to actually know that we’re on the start line for the final tomorrow is just super exciting. We’re stoked. The finish was epic, really close and to do it through the Repechage made it even more special. There was so much pressure knowing only one team could qualify, so we’re just thrilled to have pulled it off.”

The race delivered everything offshore fans could want, relentless lead changes, breathtaking duels, and a nail-biting finish separated by just over two minutes. With survival in the championships on the line, crews from New Zealand, Australia, France, Italy, and early on Jesse Fielding and Leandra Sweet (USA 1), went to war across the Solent and beyond.

Drama at the front

The battle at the front was epic. James Whelan and Stacey Jackson (AUS 1) stormed clear off The Needles, only for the Kiwis to claw back ground at Bembridge. Charles Henon and Clara Bayol (FRA 2) and Italy’s Arianna Liconti and Francesco Farci (ITA 2) pushed hard, refusing to let the Antipodean duel become a two-boat affair.

At Peveril Ledge four teams were still in the hunt, with AUS 1 looking fast on the charge back east. They held a quarter-mile lead at Bridge and still had the upper hand at St Catherine’s Point, but Hume-Merry and Merchant never blinked. FRA 2 and ITA 2 joined the breakaway pack, keeping the pressure high as the decisive final miles unfolded.

East of the Isle of Wight, with sheets cracked and speeds climbing, AUS 1 and NZL 1 were locked together in a duel worthy of a world championship final, while FRA 2 hugged the inshore line, threatening to steal the show. NZL 1 surged into the lead at Bembridge, only for AUS 1 to snatch it back moments later. By No Man’s Land Fort, it looked like a three-way fight with nothing to choose between them.

The final sprint through the Solent was pure tension: NZL 1 covering every Australian move, AUS 1 throwing everything at them, FRA 2 had fallen off the pace but ITA 2 made a late dramatic inshore surge to briefly snatch the lead.

Kiwis confirm victory

After over twelve hours of racing, Hume-Merry and Merchant (NZL 1) crossed the line just 2 minutes and 33 seconds ahead of James Whelan and Stacey Jackson (AUS 1), with Liconti and Farci (ITA 2) taking third. A protest lodged by AUS 1 briefly held the result in limbo, but once dismissed, New Zealand’s triumph was confirmed — and with it, a place in the world championship final.

The final ahead

The 2025 Offshore Double Handed World Championships will come to a dramatic conclusion with the Final scheduled to start at on Monday 29 September. One team will be crowned world champion at the RORC Cowes Clubhouse in Cowes— the culmination of an unforgettable week hosted by the Royal Ocean Racing Club in collaboration with Cap-Regatta and supported by LGL and Jeanneau.

Text and images courtesy of RORC.org. Read more here.