Jersey Electricity Gorey Regatta

The spirit of the Jersey Electricity Gorey Regatta – 168-years-old this year – is well and truly alive judging by this year’s event held over the weekend of 19-20 July.

Sailors of all ages, ranging from youngsters getting a taste of the historic regatta for the first time to highly experienced sailors including two former skippers from round-the-world yacht races, faced challenging conditions that in no way diminished the sheer fun that makes the event so popular.

Saturday saw light and variable winds, though thankfully there was enough to enable the cruiser fleet to enjoy a pleasant spinnaker run coming around from St Helier. With the breeze rarely above ten knots and often lower, Race Officer Bill Harris and his team on the end of the pier had tricky decisions to make as to what courses to select but, like the sailors on the water battling light wind against tide, they rose to the challenge and succeeded in running the full programme of races.

Sunday, however, saw everyone facing a very different challenge with much stronger winds that had peaked at near gale force during the night. The wind continued at Force 5-6 during the morning but the race team’s patience was rewarded with a slight lull at lunchtime enabling racing to get under way about an hour late. Diminished fleets in both the dinghies and cruisers enjoyed fast and exhilarating sailing during the first session of races but the wind picked up again and the rain arrived leading to difficult sailing conditions in the second session that saw gusts up to 32 knots (Force 7). It was, perhaps, no coincidence that the only cruiser sailing at this time was Matchless, helmed by Alex Thomson who in the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race in 1998/99 became the youngest skipper to win a round-the-world yacht race at the age of 24, while the only dayboat left racing was Soda helmed by Will Carnegie, skipper of the yacht Veritas in the 2000/21 BT Global Challenge.


RESULTS

Cruisers: The Dog’s (Allen Brown) – Glendewar Challenge Cup, De Faye Memorial Cup & Stevens Centenary Challenge Cup; Indigo (Peter Crabb) – Richardson Trophy & Le Riche Challenge Cup; Matchless (Hani Salem) – Yangtze Cup, Betty Bruce Challenge Cup, Fairey Cup, C Austin Potter Trophy & 150th Regatta Cup.

Dayboats: Tykki Duw (Gary Hollick) – Orviss CHallenge Cup; Soda (Will Carnegie) – Frank Jeune Trophy.

Dinghies: James Tilley – Norman Challenge Cup, Fourth Gorey Cup & Perchard Memorial Cup; Ollie Boyle – Assinder Cup & Gorey Cup; Lottie Ohlsson – Fifth Gorey Cup & Ecrehous Trophy; Richie Forbes And Liv Sherrington – Marmotier Trophy; Luke Haydon – Rosel Bowl.

Captains’s award: Imogen Heart – Morning Cloud Trophy.

by SIMON ROPERT

More news from All At Sea