BALLYHOLME Yacht Club will welcome some of the UK’s leading Nacra foiling teams this August as they attempt to break the North Channel sailing world record.
Three elite Nacra teams – Kevin Dutch and Dave Banner, Mark Sewell and Will Smith, and Chris and Marcus King – will travel from the UK ahead of a record attempt from Ballyholme to Portpatrick, Scotland, planned for August 7-9.
The current record, which stands at 1 hour, 30 minutes and 41 seconds, was set by Team GB’s Olympic silver medallists, world and European champions John Gimson and Anna Burnett, in the Olympic foiling Nacra 17.
Gimson and Burnett’s record-breaking crossing was set in 2023. The duo were supported on their challenge by Belfast-based Artemis Technologies and accompanied on route by Pioneer, the world’s first 100% electric, commercially viable foiling vessel.
The latest challenge will see the teams take on one of the most demanding stretches of water in the region.
The North Channel presents significant challenges, with powerful tidal influences on both sides of the crossing creating steep waves, unpredictable conditions and a test of both speed and boat handling.
The teams will race aboard the highperformance Nacra 20 Carbon, a foiling catamaran capable of exceeding speeds of 25 knots.
Maintaining control at these speeds, across the challenging waters between Northern Ireland and Scotland, will make any successful record attempt a significant achievement.
If successful, the sailors hope their time will be recognised by the Guinness World Records
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