British Airways Round Jersey Race at Royal Channel Islands Yacht Club
by Bill Harris 21 Aug 2014 12:42 BST
17 August 2014
The Royal Channel Islands Yacht Club's annual British Airways Round Jersey race was held on Sunday, 17th August. The forecast had been predicting a bit of a blow for several days ahead leading to the postponement of racing for the sport-catamaran class. Indeed the only sport-catamaran to venture out for a spin in St Aubin's Bay that Sunday morning capsized twice and was dismasted in a thirty knot gust. As it transpired, winds were somewhat stronger that the forecast had predicted and there were no protests from the sport-catamaran sailors who now look forward to their rescheduled race late in September.
As they say, every cloud has a silver lining and this was to the advantage of top F18 sailor and RCIYC Commodore Darren Stower who had also entered his Projection 762, Crumpet, whose crew included some of his fellow F18 sailors.
So it was that force six westerly winds with occasional gusts to seven greeted the diminished fleet that came to the line for what is, in quieter times, one of the most popular races in the calendar. Stationed in the lee of the land in St Aubin's Bay, the race committee sent the boats off on their anticlockwise circumnavigation shortly before 0930. The seemingly gentle start gave the lie to what awaited crews as they headed off to the Diamond Rock buoy, the first mark of the 45 mile-or-so course. Alan Stevens' First 44.7, Zanzibar, was first to the mark, establishing a lead that she held for the first few hours of the race. Rounding the Diamond, with wind aft and favourable tide boats had a fast spinnakerless run down to the Violet Channel buoy before a sharp left turn took them on a reach to St Catherine's and the north coast where wind over tide and sloppy seas awaited them.
Now with the wind ahead and still with a favourable tide, a good strategy was paramount. After sampling a tack well clear of the coast, Crumpet chose to stay in tight as she short-tacked towards Grosnez. Zanzibar probably tacked fewer times but stayed further out than her rival. This was the bigger boat's undoing, Crumpet managing to edge ahead as they beat to windward. With wind over tide the seas towards the northwest corner of the Island were, as usual, unpleasant, nor were they any better as the fleet, led by Crumpet, headed southwards through St Ouen's Bay. By now the squally weather had cleared and the sun deigned to make an appearance, albeit with no lessening in wind strength.
Some way back, the only entrant to turn out in Class 2, Nick Bailhache's Moody 31, Fillipene, kept close company with the RCIYC Team on the Dufour 34, Venustus, skippered by Mark Tucker, and Dan Le Marquand's J35C Jabot.
With her boat speed touching fifteen knots and over ten minutes ahead of Zanzibar, Crumpet and several of those chasing chose to pass through the boat passage tight under La Corbière lighthouse. Bearing away into the ebbing tide and with the wind dead aft, boats were treated to an exciting sleigh ride over big seas, especially as they passed through the rip under Noirmont Point, to arrive back in St Aubin's Bay and the finish line off the Diamond buoy.
Crumpet had taken just five and a half hours to sail around the Island to win the race in Class 1 and clinch the Club's magnificent and ancient Jesse Boot trophy. Venustus was second, finishing just ahead of Jabot, beating her by seven minutes on corrected time Fillipene sailed home shortly afterwards to take the Class 2 Cabot Memorial trophy.
The place prizegiving was held in the Clubhouse that evening when a victorious Commodore Darren Stower congratulated all who had shared the experience of such a challenging and boisterous sail round the Island. He went on the express the Club's great appreciation of British Airways' continuing and much-valued sponsorship of the Round Jersey race and was looking forward to 27th September, the date when the sport-catamarans would also fly British Airways.
Overall Results:
Class 1
1 Crumpet - Darren Stower (5.26.27)
2 Venustus - RCIYC Team (6.11.56)
3 Jabot - Dan Le Marquand (6.18.29)
4 Zanzibar - Alan Stevens (6.21.05)
5 Aurigny Solace - Mark Earley (6.29.05)
Class 2
1 Fillipene - Nick Bailhache (5.54.23)
And for your diary... UBS Jersey Regatta & Spinlock IRC Channel Islands Regional Championships – 12 to 14 September. See www.jerseyregatta.com for the Notice of Race and Entry Form. Closing date 9th September.