J-Cup at Guernsey Yacht Club - Day 2

J-Cup 2011 in Guernsey day 2 © Tim Wright / www.photoaction.com

J-Cup 2011 in Guernsey day 2 © Tim Wright / www.photoaction.com

Guernsey delivers blue skies and light airs

Wednesday morning in St Peter Port dawned bright and beautiful with blue skies contrasting sharply with the white sand of the islands off Castle Cornet. It was sunhats and shades all round the fleet of course, but this was in no small part due the copious number of cocktails which had been consumed at the end of racing on Tuesday night, courtesy of Universal Marina one of the sponsors who share extremely generous sponsorship support of The J-Cup with B&G, Dubarry of Ireland, North Sails and Nautical Guernsey. With 8 to 12 knots of breeze from the North East, racing for three classes took place in The Little Russell, whilst IRC2 took a spin around the beautiful island of Sark.

Three more races of The Lombard Marine Finance J/97 UK National Championship were sailed on windward-leeward courses and the day belonged to Grant Gordon’s team on board Fever. Three race wins for them secured the prize for the North Sails Boat of the Day. Tony Mack, owner and skipper of McFly said ‘It was a tricky day and sailing here is challenging: one minute you think you’re looking golden and the next you’re not!’. Stuart Sawyer of Black Dog had similar sentiments and explained that a large lead was lost due to a navigational oversight in one race. This first one-design event for the J/97s is being enjoyed by the whole fleet and the racing is close and competitive.

In Class IRC1 Nigel and Donna Passmore’s J/133 Apollo 3and Rob Craigie’s J/122 J Bellino were tied on nine points each at the end of the second day of racing with J Bellino’s 1, 4, 2 scoreline earning them the North Sails Boat of the Day prize. In third and fourth place, on twelve and thirteen points respectively are the two J/111s; J Spirit and True Love. Mick Holland and Carole Aylmer have got their J/122 Majic going nicely now as well, and were top local boat in IRC 1 at the end of five races.

William Newton’s J/105 still leads IRC 2, having completed four races, but Annie Kelly and Andy Howe’s J/92 Blackjack is snapping at their heels on six points, and just behind them on equal points is Marc Noel’s J/92 Dr Jeckyll, each scoring a race win on Wednesday. The North Sails Boat of the Day prize went to Dr Jeckyll who had totted up just one point less that Blackjack over the day. These were two tricky races for the J/105s in this class which really show their colours in slightly stronger airs, but Stan Fenton and his team on J/105 Fay J were the best performing J/105 on Wednesday.

Jeez Louise was leading the J/109 fleet right up until the end of the first race on Wednesday but an unfortunate graze with the St Peter Port granite put them out of the J-Cup in the second race on Wednesday. Topping this Class at the end of five races is Johnnie Goodwin and Bruce Huber’s Alexabelle on 12 points. This team have chartered the J/109 for the J-Cup and will be doing so again for Cowes Week later this year. Alexabelle was the North Sails Boat of the Day for the J/109s. Tony De Mulder’s Victric is just one point behind Alexabelle and so one would assume early nights for each crew. Seamus Fitzpatrick’s Mermaid V scored two bullets on Wednesday – an awesome day on the water!

A BBQ on the expansive deck of the GYC ensued once the fleet acme ashore and yet more cocktails were consumed! Dark and Stormies were the clear way forward for the fleet as the sun slowly went down and praise be to B&G, one of the longest serving sponsors of the J-Cup for their generosity. Racing continues on Thursday and by 2130 hours the winner of the J-Cup 2011 will have been announced.

Results after Day 2: