Commodore's Cup and Cook Salver Race at Royal Channel Islands Yacht Club

Windward start - Commodore's Cup and Cook Salver Race to St Malo © William Harris

Fair weather blessed the Royal Channel Islands YC's Commodore's Cup & Cook Salver Race from Jersey to St Malo on Good Friday, the Club's first offshore foray of the new season.

Fourteen boats, with the welcome inclusion of three French visitors, came to the line in St Aubin's Bay for the nine o'clock start. The moderate north-easterly breeze was true to forecast, at the ou tset in any event. This promised a quick sail downwind, west of the Minquiers reef, to the finish line off the Grand Jardin lighthouse at the entrance to the St Malo roads.

With the committee boat lying in the west of the Bay, the race committee laid a windward mark some half mile distant from the start line. Whilst several boats were probably expecting a running start they quickly revised their tactics and were soon ready for the short beat. Nigel Coxshall's spanking new Sunfast 3600, Solis Ortus, was quickly away to be clear leader at the mark with the First 40.7, Euphorix, helmed by 16 year-old Alexander Dentskevich, just ahead of Marc Noël's Figaro Bénéteau II, Champagne.

With the wind now well aft, the leading boats quickly hoisted their spinnakers and were off into the strongly ebbing tide off Noirmont Point and onwards to the Passage Rock buoy, just south of St Brelade's Bay, where a gybe to port put boats on a course to the north-west Minquiers buoy. Champagne, with Charles Blampied's X40, Clara, in close company was first to the Passage Rock, quickly breaking away from the body of the fleet.

All was going well until mid-morning when the breeze collapsed not to return for a couple of hours but, then, from the southwest leading to several retirements and some frustrating spinnaker work, for others, with repeated drops and hoists as boats made their way southwards. Eventually, the errant airs backed north-easterly and the breeze built, enabling boats to gather speed and head past the Minquiers and on to the Grand Jardin.

Fortunes were very mixed across the fleet with the fast boats making good progress towards the finish line only to run out of wind on a strong east-going flood tide as they approached the French coast. Tactics were all. In virtually windless conditions Champagne found herself swept to the east with no way of getting back, sadly prompting her to retire. Clara, having sailed a more westerly course, had sufficient in hand to enable her to creep gingerly to the line and take line honours in a little under eight hours.

Victory in Class 1, however, went to Emmanuel Bunel's JOD35, Maupiti, sailing two-up to win the Commodore's Cup by three and a half minutes on corrected time. Clara was second with Bob Milner's Grand Soleil 46, Grace, third.

The race for the Cook Salver for the Class 2 fleet, was at least as competitive with arch-rivals Steve Pearl's Sadler 34, Almecha, Peter Crabb & Peter Williams' X95, Paper Tiger, and Jacques Minet's Symphonie 29, Gwez Gwern, maintaining close company throughout the race whilst mixing with the body of the Class 1 fleet. Almecha went on to take line honours in the class and the race, finishing just behind Grace. The existential threat, however, came from well behind in the form of Darren Stower's Sadler 29BK, Ficelle, who, whilst bringing up the rear, took second place just four minutes behind Almecha, beating Paper Tiger by almost four minutes on corrected time.

The vagaries of this race are well known, given the wind direction, and are clearly highlighted when the results of the two classes are compared. After what was deemed to be a very enjoyable race, overall, crews repaired to the SNBSM clubhouse in the Bas Sablons Marina for very welcome refreshment and relaxation.

Overall Results:

Class 1 (IRC)
1 Maupiti (FRA) - Emmanuel Bunel (8.08.16)
2 Clara - Charles Blampied (8.11.45)
3 Grace - Bob Milner (8.23.12)
4 Solis Ortus - Nigel Coxshall (8.38.23)
5 Euphorix - Alexander Dentskevich (8.47.51)
Retired Champagne (FRA) - Marc Noel

Class 2 (IRC)
1 Almecha - Steve Pearl (7.04.54)
2 Ficelle - Darren Stower (7.09.59)
3 Paper Tiger - Peter Crabb and Peter Williams (7.13.37)
4 Gwez Gwern (FRA) - Jacques Minet (7.17.39) (French)
5 Fillipene - Nick Bailhache (7.21.08)
6 Phar Lap - Mark Tucker and Ellie Haywood (7.56.36)
Retired - Ocean Star - Trevor Beaton

Class 3 (NHC)
Retired - Stella Maris - Chris Deahl