IT was, as they say, a game of two halves. Day one of the 2026 Jersey Electricity Gorey Regatta saw very little wind, as evidenced by the drooping flags on Mont Orgueil Castle and the fact that the yachts waiting to race were able to keep all their sails up while moored.
Day two and the 169th anniversary of the Channel Islands’ oldest sailing event came alive with blue skies, calm seas and a very welcome steady Force 3 breeze.
Saturday’s challenging conditions had an early impact when the cruiser fleet set off at 7am from St Helier for the race around to Gorey via the Violet Channel. In very light winds the fleet – Fahrenheit, Arctic Turn, Foxhound, Indigo, Fillipene and Giselle – managed only around four knots, even with tidal assistance, resulting in a shortened course and a finish at the Violet Channel Buoy.
’Challenging’ then became the byword for Race Officer Bill Harris and his team on the end of Gorey Pier as racing for the dinghies and dayboats got under way, with boats drifting rather than racing over the start line and the north-running tide having a big impact, taking at least one dayboat backwards towards France.
With some races being abandoned and others cancelled crews had to wait until lunchtime before there was enough of a breeze for racing to recommence. Short courses were the order of the day as sailors young and old tried to make the most of the gentle zephyrs – tricky at best but especially so when the tidal current was on the nose.
Sunday saw the regatta at its best with the steady wind ensuring that a full programme of races could go ahead, yachts and sails of all shapes and sizes scudding across the Royal Bay of Grouville providing a great spectacle for the many people sunbathing and swimming nearby.
At the Sunday evening prize-giving ceremony, held at The Pembroke, Gorey Regatta Association Captain Justin Horton thanked all those who had participated in the regatta, making a special mention of the many young sailors who had taken part – ‘the future of sailing’ – before inviting JE’s Head of Health, Safety and the Environment, Ross Muir, to present the trophies.
Mr Horton concluded by thanking all the many people whose hard work had made the regatta possible, including the race committee, the general committee, the shore team and the time-keepers before presenting the Morning Cloud Trophy – a special award in the gift off the GRA Captain – to ten-year-old Emma Winchester in recognition of her perseverance and improvement throughout what was her first regatta.
MAIN RESULTS
Cruisers: Fahrenheit (Team Fahrenheit) – Stevens Centenary Challenge Cup, Commodore’s Cup and Le Riche Challenge Cup; Filipino (Nick Bailhache) – Betty Bruce Challenge Cup and C Austin Potter Trophy; Foxhound (Don Thompson) – Yangtze Cup.
Dayboats: Tykki Duw (Gary Hollick) – Orviss Challenge Cup and Frank Jeune Trophy.
Dinghies: David Carter and Ian Simpson – Norman Challenge Cup, Assinder Cup and Marmotier Trophy; James Tilley – Perchard Memorial Cup; Jack Hewgill – Fifth Gorey Cup; Izzy Ohlsson – George Labey Memorial Cup; Henry Edwards – Rosel Bowl; Finn Rogers – Fourth Gorey Cup; Lottie Ohlsson – Ecrehos Trophy.
Fast Cats: Wildcat (Andy Hart and Michael Kinross) – Trophy 3 and Trophy 4.
Multi-Hulls: Sunbeam (Horton Family) – Horton Trophy.
Captains’s award: Emma Winchester – Morning Cloud Trophy.
