Royal Channel Islands Yacht Club Spring Regatta
by William Harris 26 Apr 2018 19:10 BST
21-22 April 2018
RCIYC Spring Regatta - Saturday - Hobie 16s start © Elaine Burgis
Jersey's regatta season got off to a good start over the weekend of 21st and 22nd April with the Royal Channel Islands Yacht Club's annual Spring Regatta, sponsored for the third year running by the Salty Dog Bar and Bistro, a close neighbour of the Club at St Aubin's Harbour. The venue, as ever, was the beautiful setting of St Aubin's Bay.
True to the forecast, heavy rain early on Saturday morning quickly gave way to brilliant sunshine accompanied by flat seas and no wind. This was to change as the morning wore on but never to the extent that the feeble easterly airs would not affect the sport catamaran, dayboat and dinghy classes' programme. Courses for these classes were set well inshore where conditions were even more benign than those for the cruiser and F18 sport catamaran classes racing in the south of the Bay.
Happily, Sunday proved to be a different story with the wind still light but eminently sailable once the early morning stillness gave way to the light southwesterly breeze. These conditions persisted through the day but a rapid veer to the west, late in the morning, saw boats reaching on what was intended to be a windward-leeward course. This change in the wind was accompanied by fog rolling into the Bay, fortunately patchy but enough to bother the two race committees but, fortunately, not dense enough to halt racing. A near thing!
So it was that the Regatta started with racing being postponed on day one. The sportsboat and cruiser/racer classes, racing under IRC, were eventually started an hour late once the light easterly breeze set in. Racing went well with both races being successfully completed despite boats having to contend with a very dead patch towards the leeward mark, south of Belcroute Bay, in the first race. The F18s had abandoned any thought of racing given the prevailing windless conditions.
With a steadier breeze, day two was much better, the only blot affecting Allen Brown and partners' Melges 24, The Dog's........!, that retired after snagging a line joining two well-separated pot marks in the first race.
However, it was the Melges, sailing with the Class 1 boats, that won both races in the combined class, on the first day, with David Myatt's truly elegant 8-metre, Erica, winning Class 1 from Darren Stower's Projection 762, Crumpet. Day 2 saw Erica winning both races in both the combined class and Class 1 to take the overall honours.
Julian Barber's Farr 727, Super Q' and Jeff Speller's Farr 727, 2Farr, were very closely matched throughout the weekend with the two boats constantly racing neck and neck. This was gripping stuff with each skipper very alert to every movement that other made. Super Q carried the day on Day 1, winning both races, and again on day two although being beaten by 2Farr by just one second in the first race.
Day two saw the three F18s on the scene, racing over windward-leeward courses. Andy Hart and Michael Kinross' Hobie Wildcat 517 took the first two races to win overall whilst Adrian Jesson and Paul Martin's Hobie Wildcat 565 won the final race by one second after a storming finish. James Fullerton's Hobie Tiger, Fearful Symmetry was third.
The dayboats ventured out on day one but concluded that the very light airs were not for them and went home. Day two was more to their liking, particularly that of Ben Jones and his Cornish Coble, Baloo, who won both races just ahead of Malcolm Annan's Oysterman, Jamesina.
The first of three races for the open sport catamaran class got under way following a two and a half hour postponement, on Saturday, the sea having been mirror calm to that point, with no wind to speak of. Only five of the fleet of fifteen boats had come to the line with Malin Nilsson and Sandrine Swetenham sailing their Hobie 16, Matou, to victory in the first two races. Gordon Burgis and Kenny Snell sailing their 16, Pure Energy, having had a poor showing in the first race were back on form for the third with a very clear win over second placed Gemma Newman and John Vautier on their 16, ZigZag. With all fifteen boats on the line on Sunday, Pure Energy took the first race but it was Grant Neale and Karen Larose on their 16, i-Gatto, who won races two and three to take the day. The overall winner, as in 2017, was the Burgis/Snell duo.
Top spot in the junior sport catamaran class went to Club Cadet Finlay Arenz sailing the Hobie Dragoon, 1078, with Archie de Carteret on Saturday and Nick Holt on Sunday. 1078 won all but the first race on Saturday that went to Else Blakeley and Kyla McDonagh on Dragoon 1034. Will Dengate and Alex Cooper were third on Dragoon 1077.
The fast dinghy fleet numbering eighteen boats, including four from Guernsey, sailed two races on Saturday. Guernsey's Henrik Asplund, sailing the RS200 Surprise Surprise and David Aslett's 505, Shock, tied for first place in the first race with Martin Speller's Laser Standard, Liquid Impulse, first in the second. Sunday saw all eighteen boats out. This was Tom Pollard's day, sailing his Laser Why Knot?, taking two firsts and a second. It was, however, Surprise Surprise that took the overall title ahead of Why Knot? Liquid Impulse was third overall just one point behind.
Saturday saw just one race for the 'slow' dinghy fleet with Clemmie Carnegie's Optimist, Boom!, taking the honours two seconds ahead of Jack Horton's Optimist, Little Dipper. Ollie Cadin was third on his Optimist, Blue Fin. All three races were completed on Sunday with Boom! taking the first with Blue Fin second and Little Dipper third. Little Dipper then went on to win the final two races with Blue Fin and Boom each gaining a second and third place. Little Dipper squeezed in to be overall champion having beaten Boom! on countback.
With racing over and boats stowed, the Regatta came to a close in a packed and very animated Clubroom on Sunday evening when Commodore Ian Flambard invited Mrs Natalie Duffy of the Salty Dog Bar & Bistro to present the many place prizes to the winners and those who had come second and third. Mrs Duffy said how much she and the Salty Dog enjoyed being associated with and sponsoring the Spring. The Commodore closed proceedings by thanking Mrs Duffy, the Regatta organisers and all those who had contributed to the success of the event.
Principal Results:
Saturday
Class 0+1 - The Dog's........! - Allen Brown
Class 1 - Erica - David Myatt
Class 2 - Super Q - Julian Barber
Class 6 - Pure Energy - Gordon Burgis & Ken Snell
Class 7 - Dragoon - Finlay Arenz & Archie de Carteret
Class 8 - Fast Dinghy - Liquid Impulse - Martin Speller
Class 9 - Slow Dinghy - Boom! - Clemmie Carnegie
Sunday
Class 1 - Erica - David Myatt
Class 2 - Super Q - Julian Barber
Class 4 - Baloo - Ben Jones
Class 5 - Hobie 517 - Andy Hart & Michael Kinross
Class 6 - Pure Energy - Gordon Burgis & Ken Snell
Class 7 - Dragoon - Finlay Arenz & Nick Holt
Class 8 - Fast Dinghy - Why Knot? - Tom Pollard
Class 9 - Slow Dinghy - Boom! - Clemmie Carnegie
Overall Trophy Winners
Class 1 - Erica - David Myatt
Class 2 - Super Q - Julian Barber
Class 4 - Baloo - Ben Jones
Class 5 - Hobie 517 - Andy Hart & Michael Kinross
Class 6 - Pure Energy - Gordon Burgis & Ken Snell
Class 7 - Dragoon - Finlay Arenz
Class 8 - Fast Dinghy - Surprise Surprise - Henrik Asplund (Guernsey)
Class 9 - Slow Dinghy - Boom! - Clemmie Carnegie
Diary dates:
7 - 8 July – Savills Channel Islands Hobie Cat Championships
14 – 16 September – UBS 20th Jersey Regatta