Earlier this fall, two teams from the U.S. took part in the first-ever Double Handed World Offshore Championship in Lorient, France. Erica Lush/Tim Kent, and Barbara (Basia) Karpinska/Kevin Morgan joined 20 other teams from 16 countries for a first-of-its-kind test of might between the best doublehanded offshore sailors in the world. Each team was given an equalized Sun Fast 30 One Design boat, allowing competition to be as fair as possible.
Erica Lush and Tim Kent, each accomplished offshore sailors in their own right, teamed up to represent the U.S. on the world stage. They were placed in the second of two elimination races, which was an epic, high speed battle over 87 nautical miles in winds over 30 knots. Starting downwind, the international fleet was at maximum velocity for a 40-mile blast south through the islands south of Lorient and then a reaching leg offshore, west of Belle-Île into Atlantic swell for a 30-mile beat. At the break of dawn, as the fleet approached the finish, the breeze eased to about ten knots, creating a tantalizing final flourish for the teams looking to place in the top five.
While they did not finish in the top five to make the final, both Lush and Kent are hungry for more in the Doublehanded Offshore space, using the lessons they learned at this year’s World Championship to help them grow and advance. US Sailing spoke with Erica and Tim to see what they’re up to going into 2025 and how their experience at Worlds has shaped their future plans.
How was your experience at Worlds? What was your biggest positive and your biggest thing to work on?
Erica: My experience at Worlds was invaluable. Thanks to our supporters we were able to train for two weeks before the event with a dedicated coach. Since these boats were completely new to us, we used every day to trial sail selections and to run speed tests with other competitors. We worked very hard to sail the boat fast and go the right way.
My biggest positive was being able to commit fully to training and bury my head in development – with strong competition to train with. It’s my dream scenario, being able to knuckle down and work as hard as I can. I have big goals, and opportunities like this play a huge part in my pathway towards them. My biggest thing to work on is what I call “managing the meters.” Amongst good competition, losses often don’t come from any one disastrous mistake but through moments where you could save some meters of sailing – and sometimes maintain better positioning as a result.
I can give an example of our leeward mark rounding. While very simple in concept, the reality was more challenging: Our approach to the mark was on a very dark night, looking for a lighted buoy against the backdrop of a wind farm (which all have bright flashing lights). Our AIS was not showing the boats around us – we knew boats were very close to us but could not see them. We had called our layline from some distance, so we would have liked to gybe twice. It was also still quite windy.
Our choice here was to be conservative with risk management, do a controlled early takedown (we still needed to set up a letter-box), and gybe to the mark. If I were to do this again, I would have gybed with the kite, then quickly set up the letter-box and takedown on the new gybe. Even if our takedown had been a little bit late, the next leg was upwind on one tack – so even with a potential late takedown, I think we would have been better positioned out of the mark.
Tim: The experience at Worlds was superb – leaving out the gut-wrenching failure to qualify for the final. With a few minor glitches, the event itself was well-run by a team eager to get it all right. The boats themselves were underwhelming, but they were well-equalized, so everyone had the same platform with which to work.
What was your biggest takeaway?
Erica: I need to spend more time on the racecourse. It’s not easy to find support for events, but I learn so much from every tactical decision I make. I’m very focused on setting up my next year to make as many of those decisions as possible.
Tim: Sailing with Erica was the biggest positive. She’s a force of nature and a superb sailor. One thing she organized was a coach with whom we logged many days of practice, all of which were very worthwhile. Personally, I needed many more hours – before the event – on smaller boats to maximize our chances of success.
What did you learn being able to compete on a world stage with the other best Double-handed Offshore Sailors?
Erica: This discipline is quite exciting because in most countries, it’s still gaining traction. While double-handed racing has certainly grown in popularity over the last 5 years, I would say this opportunity is unique for most of us: Competing offshore in one-design boats against a strong fleet is an absolute privilege.
Tim: That for the most part they were all as outgoing, helpful and dedicated as we were. Everyone worked hard, almost everyone had tips or a willingness to help. In many ways it was like any high-level competitive regatta.
How are you preparing for your next double-handed offshore race?
Erica: I am planning to compete in my first single-handed races next year. Solo sailing is great training for double-handed racing, because the challenge is amplified – it’s immensely difficult to manage the boat, the navigation, tactics, and your own fatigue all at the same time for several days straight. I look forward to taking on this steep learning curve, because I know by the end of it I will have unlocked a level of skill and confidence which otherwise could take years to develop.
Tim: I just brought my Class 40 to Charleston to prepare for the SORC (Southern Ocean Racing Congress) races that unfold over the coming months. I learned a lot from our coach and from Erica about the finer points of boathandling and will be spending some good hours practicing those skills. Most of all, I was – and am – honored to have been able to represent US Sailing at this event. I certainly wish the results stood up to our hard work, but not all success is linear. As in any regatta, I left as a better sailor.
The next annual Double Handed World Offshore Championship will take place in Cowes, UK in September of 2025, and US Sailing intends to nominate another U.S. team to participate. If you are interested in participating, or doing more Doublehanded Offshore sailing, please contact Betsyalison@ussailing.org.