Sail Canada Sailor of the Month

Sail Canada’s Sailor of the Month award acknowledges sailing achievements by Canadians involved or associated with the sport in all its forms. Here is the latest recipient.

On January 1st, 2019, Canadian sailors Charles and Bastien Mony (father and son), joined by Frenchman Gilles Lamire took to the waters around the coast of Tanzania. Launching for the first time in their Ngalawas, the crew of Village Monde began the 8-day adventure that is the Kraken Cup.

The Cup tests the seamanship of sailors as they sail in Ngalawas, traditional African fishing boats which hulls are carved by hand from mango trees and outriggers lashed on. To add to the adventure, the course, which is made up of a series of compulsory checkpoints, includes a couple of ‘free-sailing’ sections. Crewmember, Charles Mony mentions “sailing in Ngalawa is closer to windsurfing than sailing. We had to come back to the basics and relearn”.

Racing from 6:30 in the morning until 17:30 at night, sailors not only had to contend with the challenges of sailing Ngalawas but also had to find their own accommodations for the night – roughing it on uninhabited islets, camping on islands with inquisitive locals or staying in a traditional fishing village, the options were limited.

The first three days of racing were calm, little winds and still seas. But on the 4th day everything shifted. With big gusts of winds ranging from 15 – 20 knots, and massive waves, the crew of Village Monde faced some complications:

“On the 4th leg, one of the longest (11 hours of navigation), we broke the foot of the mast, which fell into the sea in waves of up to 6 feet. We had to anchor to avoid drifting towards the Reef. Using straps, rope and a little imagination, we were able to find a way to reconstruct the mast, and ensure that it would stand. Delaying us by an hour and a half, we went from first to last.”

Able to catch up on the time lost, Charles, Bastien, and Gilles were the first boat to cross the finish line, bringing home the Kraken Cup.

To read more about their journey, follow their page here.

Event website can be found here.

Congratulations to the Helly Hansen Sailor of the Month Village Monde.
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Sail Canada’s Sailor of the Month award acknowledges sailing achievements by Canadians involved or associated with the sport in all its forms. Sail Canada encourages the submission of noteworthy Canadian sailing activities to sailorofthemonth@sailing.ca.