British Airways Round Jersey race

Richard Gale’s Prima 38, Jenna B wins IRC 1 in the British Airways Round Jersey race © Elaine Burgis

Adrian Jesson during the British Airways Round Jersey race © Elaine Burgis

Toby Orpin during the British Airways Round Jersey race © Elaine Burgis

Conditions for the Royal Channel Islands Yacht Club’s annual British Airways Round Jersey race were forecast to be wet and windy and so it proved to be for the fleet of keelboats and sport catamarans that came to the line in St Aubin’s Bay on Sunday 15th August.

With lowering grey skies and a moderate northerly breeze, the keelboat fleet was sent on its way at eight forty five on a spinnaker start to the Diamond Rock buoy. Allen Brown and partners’ Melges 24, The Dog’s ........!, led the way closely followed by Richard Gale’s Prima 38, Jenna B, these being first to round the mark for the reach to the five-mile distant Violet Channel buoy. With the race starting two hours before high water (as usual), this was always going to be a fast leg, given the strong flood tide and a cracking breeze. Several boats persisted with their spinnakers for a time but dropped as they hardened up for the distant mark. French boat Gwez Gwern clung doggedly to her spi but her skipper later admitted that this had not been a good idea.

Conditions at the Violet Channel were predictably sloppy as boats rounded for a very wet beat up the east coast. The sea started to flatten out after St Catherine where the visibility had started to deteriorate as mist and rain moved in and both Island and boats became shadowy figures as they reached along the north coast. Boats eased sheets on rounding Grosnez for what for many was a glorious spinnaker run down St Ouen’s Bay to Corbiére. On navigating the corner, they were met by a strongly ebbing tide when places can change rapidly depending on a boat’s strategy, to rock hop or to stand out and make the most of the northerly breeze.

The Dog’s ........! and Jenna B kept close company throughout the race to finish in just over four and a half hours with The Dog’s .......! returning the fastest time of the day for a keelboat. Further down the field, Charles Blampied’s X-40, Minx, Werner Toporis’ J105, Jubilee G, and Jersey Sailing’s Dufour 34, Aurora, skippered by Julian Barber were having their own tussle until the wind suddenly died and the heavens opened. Those caught out had a thirty minute wait before the breeze returned whilst the fortunate leaders were already home, if not dry! This sealed the fate of those yet to finish, giving Jenna B a very comfortable win in Class 1.

Last year’s Jersey Handicap class winner, Bruce Harrison’s classic IOD, Aphros, put in another strong performance to keep the constant challenge of Nick Bailhache’s Moody 31 Fillipene at bay. Sailing somewhat further back than the IRC class boats, all in this class suffered the agony of having the wind drop on a fast-ebbing tide. Once the wind returned, Aphros went on to finish with Harry Hickling’s Westerly Falcon Fernweh second and Fillipene third on corrected time

Starting ten minutes after the keelboats, nine Hobie Cats raced in the sport catamaran class. Six F18s and three Hobie 16s set off at a blistering pace, soon overhauling even the fastest of the keelboats, with the top boats averaging over thirteen knots and finishing within sight of the three-hour target. These boats, including two Hobie Tigers from Guernsey and an English crew on a borrowed Wildcat, arrived at the Violet within minutes of each other with Wildcat 1, helmed by Toby Orpin, rounding first swiftly followed by Guernseyman Benn Garnham’s Poker Face and Darren Stower’s Angry Turtle. Hobie 37, a 16 helmed by Adrian Jesson, was tracking well to maintain contact, albeit some way astern of the F18s.

The F18s made short work of the beat up the east coast with Angry Turtle and Andy Hart’s Breaching 69 having taken the lead as they bore away for the reach along the north coast. Here they were met with a mixture of flat and very choppy seas as they negotiated the rips off the headlands. Poker Face squeezed through to take the lead at Grosnez, closely followed by Angry Turtle, the latter maybe pushing a little too hard and pitch-poling just before the calmer waters of St Ouen’s Bay.

After trading places with Poker Face on a very fast spinnaker run down the Bay, Breaching 69 chose the inshore route along the south coast to stay out of the tide whilst Poker Face stayed out for a more direct course to Noirmont. This proved to be the paying tactic with Breaching 69 suffering fickle winds as she negotiated the bays and headlands.

Poker Face went on to take line honours and finish in three hours seven minutes, an undoubted record for a circumnavigation under sail and demonstrating that sub-three hours is distinctly possible. However, it was Jesson’s 16, Hobie 37, which took second place on corrected time, finishing just thirty minutes after the lead boat on elapsed time and by four minutes corrected. Breaching 69 took third, just one minute behind on corrected time. Guernsey’s Matt Atkinson’s Tiger was fourth with Angry Turtle having to settle for fifth.

The prize-giving was held in a packed RCIYC club-house Sunday evening when, after thanking British Airways for their long-standing sponsorship of the Round Jersey race, Vice Commodore Sandra Carroll presented the place prizes.

A diary date: The Brewin Dolphin Jersey Regatta running concurrently with the UK Melges National Championships takes place from 3rd to 5th September; see www.jerseyregatta.com for the Notices of Race and other details.

Overall Results:

Class 0 - Sportsboat
1 The Dog’s ........!, A Brown & ptnrs, 4.47.55

Class 1 – IRC Cruiser/racer
1 Jenna B, R Gale, 5.15.25
2 Aurora, J Barber, 5.50.01
3 Jubilee-G, W Toporis, 5.51.22
4 Minx, C Blampied, 5.56.05
5 Jack Rabbit, M Seguss/A Jelley, 6.16.35
6 Morrina IV, P Funk, 6.30.41

Class 2 – IRC Cruiser/racer
1 Aphros, B Harrison, 5.37.56
2 Fernweh, H Hickling, 5.45.50
3 Fillipene, N Bailhache, 5.51.18
4 Rondo of Cowes, C Fritot, 5.55.07
5 Gwez Gwern, J Minet, 6.21.47
Dogcockle, M Winchester, DNF

Class 3 – Sport catamaran
1 Poker Face (H Tiger) B Garnham, 3.06.25
2 Hobie 37 (H16) A Jesson, 3.10.32
3 Breaching 69 (H Tiger) A Hart, 3.11.23
4 2324 (H Tiger) M Atkinson, 3.13.36
5 Angry Turtle (H Tiger) D Stower, 3.15.45
6 Wildcat 1 (H Wildcat) T Orpin, 3.26.58
7 Double Trouble (H16) J Smith, 4.14.23
Fearful Symmetry (H Tiger) J Fullerton, DNF
Girls on Top, Y Winspear, DNF

Full details have been posted in the RCIYC clubhouse and on www.rciyc.je