Midnight Madness and the Parade of Lights, 2025

My favourite event of the summer just got better!

I’ve been taking part in Midnight Madness ever since I had a boat at NSC, but this year the organizers added something new — a Parade of Lights before the race. It was a huge success and a lot of fun. Many boats got very creative: some strung multiple rows of lights along the lifelines, others ran strings up the stays, and a few hung lanterns from their booms. I even saw a crew member on Makai climb the mast to attach large lanterns to the spreaders!

My friends on Odyssey (see photo) took it a step further with full classic crew outfits. On Xel-Ha, we rigged a long string of LEDs from a spare halyard to form an inverted V outlining the rig, and thinner strings along the lifelines to outline the hull. The parade in the harbour was beautiful. Special thanks to everyone who cheered from the galley, and to the small but mighty group on the Able Sail dock.

The race itself has often been tricky because the course was usually set before sunset, meaning it sometimes didn’t align with the wind by the 2200 start. Not this year! Many thanks to Hugh, Luke, and the race committee for setting the course in the dark so it matched the wind. That made all the difference — the downwind angles were perfect for spinnakers, giving everyone a chance to contribute.

Speaking of spinnakers, 10 of the 18 boats in PHRF flew theirs. It might sound daunting, but sailing on the river at night isn’t as hard as one might think, thanks to the ambient city lighting. The windward-leeward course was set to two laps at the skippers’ meeting, but conditions were so good that Xel-Ha kept her spinnaker flying for another mile after the finish — just for the sheer fun of it.

All in all, this was a fantastic edition of Midnight Madness, with great pre-race spirit and a well-run race. We had an outstanding turnout of 18 boats — well above the historic average of 11.5, and only matched in 2020, the year of COVID. A huge thank-you to the organizers for clear instructions, smooth execution, and for somehow arranging such perfect weather. I’m already looking forward to next year’s Parade of Lights and race!

🎉 Congratulations to the crew of the C&C 27 Windscot for winning Best-Lit Boat.

👉 [Check out the results]
👉 [See the pre-event announcement]

Georges-André Chaudron
C&C 27, “Xel-Ha”