After St Helier Yacht Club (SHYC) contacted the Guernsey Yacht Club (GYC) and threw down the gauntlet for an Inter-Island Virtual Regatta, it was time for both islands to get practicing.
Participants were keen to enjoy some inter-island rivalry and The Evolution Group stepped in and offered sponsorship of the event.
Qualifiers were held by both Yacht Clubs and the top ten finalists selected to race against the other island.
With both teams changing their boat and sail colours to match the island, the five races in J70 yachts had packed start lines of red and green yachts ready for the 09:00 start.
Race one
Race one saw three yachts from SHYC cross the start line first with Phil James (SHYC) picking up a penalty. On the first beat, Mikey Henning (GYC) kept to the far right of the course, with Joe Walters (GYC) and Kevin Coxshall (SHYC) favouring the left-hand side. This paid off as Kevin was the first around the mark, with Darragh Lee picking up a penalty just as he rounded.
The downwind leg and the bottom mark rounding did not bring any changes to the three leading boats, and the racing behind was evenly spread in 20 knots of breeze.
The final upwind mark rounding saw Phil James (SHYC) having to luff to squeeze around the mark, and downwind with Kevin comfortably in the lead and sea of green yachts trying to chase him down immediately behind him.
Race two
Race two and with both islands now having an idea of some of the tactics of their rivals, the competition was hotting-up. The start line was much more competitive, with Paul Outram (GYC) the first over the line but had a penalty, and Mikey (GYC) and Nigel Coxshall (SHYC) next. Darragh Lee kept to far right with no SHYC yacht covering, he had clear air until Darren Stower went and covered him.
In the middle of the course, there was close competition with Rhys Perkins (SHYC) and Phil Hargreaves (GYC) also James Briggs (GYC) and Jason Manning (SHYC) enjoying some close tacking. Mikey Henning had sailed up the course in clear air all the way and was the first around the mark, and with Joe, Darragh and Paul in quick succession GYC had to ensure they gave each other room at the mark. Again, some close duels upwind and the yachts further down the fleet were tightly bunched as they rounded the top mark for the last time.
The first three yachts to cross the line were all GYC, with Mikey, Joe, and Spike Whitaker, with first SHYC yacht Darren in fourth.
Race three
Race three in New York, saw a biased start line, and variable winds with a 30 degree shift just before the start. Nigel Coxshall (SHYC) hit the pin end and picked up a penalty, and Joe Walters sailed into a wind shift which saw him lifted all the way to the mark.
Ian Moisan (SHYC) was being strongly covered by Mikey Henning in the middle of the course, with Kevin Coxshall sailing clear along the lay line before Simon Watson (GYC) tacked in front of him.
First mark rounding saw GYC take the top three places, with SHYC 4th & 5th and Rhys Perkins quickly gybing away from Darragh Lee as they both rounded the mark. GYC split at the bottom gate, with Paul Outram dangerously close to the buoy on the port rounding. Back at the gate both islands were picking up penalties as they rounded, and the leg up to the mark saw the whole fleet on the left-hand side of the course. Spike Whitaker was in danger of being rolled by Rhys Perkins as they sailed downwind, which left John Brehaut (GYC) in lighter but clear air able to put in a good finish.
Rhys finished ahead of Spike who was now enjoying some close racing with Darren Stower as was Matthew Thompson (SHYC) and Dino Castro (GYC). Joe Walters was first across the line and first across the finish, with Paul and Kevin in second and third respectively.
Race four
Race four in Sydney saw a port hand bias but more wind on the right of the course.
Mikey Henning went for pin end start, and most of SHYC choosing committee boat start with the top three to cross the line first from SHYC. With nearly all the Guernsey boats going left and Jersey right, it looked like Jersey had made the right decision to the first mark. Jon Brehaut holding off Jason Manning, and Dino Castro causing some problems for his teammates as they rounded the mark. Paul Outram rounded first, followed by Jon and Jason. A sea of red behind Paul and Jon as they gybed at the leeward mark and Guernsey realising that they really needed to cover the competition.
Paul enjoyed clear air all the way upwind and Jason 28m away from him as they rounded the mark, then Jason rolled Paul and took the lead as they raised their spinnakers. Close racing downwind with Matthew Thompson in first, Paul second, and Nigel third with some very competitive gybes between Mikey and Darren.
Race five
The final race in San Francisco saw no bias on the start line, with Kevin Coxshall first to cross, followed by Jon Brehaut (GYC) and Matthew Thompson (SHYC). Although a few yachts tacked to the right of the course, there was more breeze in the middle, and Phil Hargreaves (GYC) ran into problems and ended up head to wind. Joe Walters played the shifts up the middle of the course, where a massive header affected everyone who had stayed left, and those who stuck to the right-hand side saw massive gains. Dino Castro rounded the mark first, quickly followed by Ian Moisan (SHYC) with Ian and Darragh Lee having to put in a quick tack just to get around the mark. The leeward gate was split, with Dino going left and Ian right.
Kevin rounded the top mark first, and as the fleet raised their spinnakers for the last time, we saw Jeff Speller gybe onto James Briggs, Darren Stower and Darragh Lee battling until Darragh picked up a penalty and Spike Whitaker being hunted down by Rhys Perkins and Jason Baker.
Overall results
The results saw 1st overall for Kevin Coxshall (SHYC), 2nd Joe Walters (GYC) and 3rd Paul Outram (GYC). On team points Guernsey won with 201 with Jersey 270.
Results were announced and a hasty Zoom call set up to discuss the morning’s racing, with both teams tired from their efforts. Commodore of the Guernsey Yacht Club, Anna Rivers said “we really miss both the camaraderie and the competitiveness that our inter-island racing brings. This was a lot of fun to watch and thank you to The Evolution Group Ltd for their sponsorship”. Jason Manning from St Helier YC said they had thoroughly enjoyed it and were looking forward to a rematch soon.
St Helier Yacht Club Team: Ian Moisan, Darren Stower, Kevin Coxshall, Nigel Coxshall, Rhys Perkins, Jason Manning, Phil James, Jeff Speller, Jason Baker, Matthew Thompson
Guernsey Yacht Club: Joe Walters, Paul Outram, Mikey Henning, Simon Watson, Darragh Lee, Spike Whitaker, Dino Castro, James Briggs, Phil Hargreaves, John Brehaut
