Commodore's Cup and Cook Salver race to St Malo 2023 at Royal Channel Islands Yacht Club
by Bill Harris 14 Apr 2023 15:20 BST
7 April 2023
Aquafly and Lady Penelope 2 - Commodore's Cup at Royal Channel Islands YC © Bill Harris
Fair conditions greeted the nine-strong Commodore's Cup fleet that turned out for the Royal Channel Islands Yacht Club's annual Good Friday race from Jersey to St Malo. Whilst the sun shone gloriously from an almost cloudless sky and the sea was slight, there was a serious lack of breeze in St Aubin's Bay for the scheduled 0930 hours start.
With the forecast showing little prospect of an early improvement, the race committee opted to motor on for thirteen miles to the Northwest Minquiers buoy and then a further five miles to the Southwest Minquiers buoy where a start line was successfully established, albeit in continuing light airs.
With an easterly breeze struggling to make just three knots, the race got under way at 1420 hours, the fleet setting off, for a slow drag race, accompanied intermittently by dolphins and porpoises, to cover the seventeen miles to the finish line off the Grand Jardin lighthouse at the entrance to the St Malo roads.
However, the forecast for a little more breeze from mid-afternoon onwards came true and with the breeze backing and slowly increasing spinnakers blossomed, as if choreographed, for the shy reach on the flood tide to the finish. Concentrated tweaking was the order of the day!
Despite being chased hard all the way by David Carter's family-crewed Sunfast 3200, Lady Penelope, Jeff Speller's family-crewed Aquafly, a Dragonfly 32, clinched line honours in a little over three and a half hours with Lady Penelope just two and a half minutes behind. Competing in IRC Class 1, however, it was Lady Penelope's day finishing well ahead of Clara, Charles Blampied's X4.3, whilst Nigel Coxshall's Sunfast 3600, Solis Ortus was third.
Honours in IRC Class 2 went to Chris Fritot and Deborah Hutchings sailing their Dehler 39, Mystique of Jersey, two handed, finishing well clear of Robin Jenkins' First 31.7, Jack Rabbit.
This was the first event held under the RYA YTC rating system for non-IRC boats. Unfortunately, due to the lack of meaningful progress, two boats dropped out soon after the start leaving Aquafly and St Malo-based Jacques Minet's 1978-vintage Symphonie Q, Gwez Gwern, to battle it out for the Class 3 title.
Also sailing two-handed, Gwez Gwern worked her way through the fleet to be a creditable third over the line, some thirteen minutes after Lady Penelope and with Clara hot on her tail. Also racing in Class 3, with a provisional club rating, Aquafly took second on corrected time.
The RCIYC is most grateful to the Société Nautique de St Malo for their very warm welcome following the race and to the Port des Sablons for their help in guaranteeing berths.
The event concluded with the place prize-giving held in the RCIYC Clubhouse on Thursday evening when Commodore Kevin Newman congratulated all who had taken part in what had been, clearly, a very successful start to the Easter weekend.
Diary dates:
- Saturday 13th & Sunday 14th May - Nick Cousins Memorial Spring Regatta for cruisers, dayboats, dinghies, sport catamarans and windsurfers (NoR on www.rciyc.je/racing)
- Saturday 27th & Sunday 28th May - 166th Gorey Regatta also for mixed fleets (NoR on www.goreyregatta.org)
- Friday 8th to Sunday 10th September - Carey Olsen Silver Jubilee Edition of the combined clubs' Jersey Regatta (NoR on www.jerseyregatta.com)
Detailed results are available through www.rciyc.je/sailing
Class 1 (IRC) (Commodore's Cup):
1. Lady Penelope - David Carter (3.37.03)
2. Clara - Charles Blampied (4.08.10)
3. Solis Ortus - Nigel Coxshall (4.12.34)
Class 2 (IRC) (Cook Salver):
1. Mystique of St Helier - Deborah Hutchings & Chris Fritot (3.49.18)
2. Jack Rabbit - Robin Jenkins (4.00.02)
Class 3 (Club YTC):
1. Gwez Gwern - Jacques Minet (3.56.54)
2. Aquafly - Jeff Speller (4.27.50)
RTD. Divergence - James Wilding
RTD. Fillipene - Nick Bailhache