NEWS
SILVERRUDDER 2024
The fastest sailing time overall in the Silverrudder 2024 solo race was achieved by the Dragonfly 40C Performance “Tripple Star,” sailed by Jens Quorning (CEO), with a time of 21 hours and 51 minutes.
Here is Jens’ report after the Silverrudder race:
In terms of weather, this race was one of the most challenging in Silverrudder’s history, due to the very difficult conditions with light, shifting winds and currents, as well as thick fog. In short, the race was largely decided just south of the Great Belt Bridge. Here a significant later shift to easterly winds favoured the boats positioned furthest east in the Great Belt. Many of the smaller boats had planned to take the shorter route under the low bridge of the Great Belt, However they had to sail further east this year, to pass under the high bridge.
The weather was incredibly beautiful, with lots of sunshine followed by a full moon. However a dense fog settled over northern Funen at night. This caused poor visibility, which challenged many participants. The Little Belt, near the two bridges, as often before, was characterised by very little or sometimes no wind. Combined with adverse currents, this created a real challenge.
Racing continued southward through the Little Belt, with light easterly to northeasterly winds toward Helgenæs. Again, all boats in the lead group were challenged by a lack of wind near the land at Helgenæs. Those boats that had anticipated this, and sailed in a wider arc around Helgenæs, gained a significant advantage.
After Helgenæs, the wind shifted again to the east, resulting in upwind sailing in fresh winds all the way to the finish in Svendborg.
During the race, the boat performed fantastically— the Dragonfly 40 is an amazing boat to sail singlehanded. With the help of the 4 standard electric winches, the super-fast electric Code-O furler, and all lines within reach from the helm position, sail handling becomes a breeze, which was essential in the variable wind conditions. The large, calm, and stable DF40 also ensures that you conserve more physical energy. This is a big plus in a race like Silverrudder.
The Dragonfly 40 once again proved that it sails very fast in light air. This is due to its very tall rig, which stands 22.5 meters above the waterline, allowing for a large sail area. However, despite the boat’s powerful design, the cockpit layout makes sail handling easy for singlehanded sailing.
A total of 21 multihulls participated in the race, with Dragonfly represented by 10 boats. This included our 800, 25, 28, and 40 models, and Dragonfly trimarans took 3 of the top 5 places in both of the Multihull – Large and Multihull – Small classes. Congratulations to all the Dragonfly skippers, but also to all the finishers in this gruelling but magical event.
Thank you for a fantastic race, and we are happy to see so many Dragonfly owners participating in the Silverrudder. We look forward to following Silverrudder 2025.
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