Governor's Cup 2016 – Brilliant racing in gloomy conditions

by Bill Harris – RCIYC on 6 Jul 2016 Lieutenant Governors' Cup – Following the exertions of Saturday’s Carey Olsen yacht race from Guernsey to Jersey, when boats were blessed with favourable winds and sunshine, certain of their number were destined to turn out Sunday morning, possibly rueing the celebrations of the previous evening.

Sunday dawned very dull indeed with a fresh southerly breeze blowing over a fairly confused sea and with poor visibility. Fortunately, the rain that fell during the night had eased by the time that boats set off from the marina for the 10 a.m. start in St Aubin’s Bay. Nevertheless, for the beginning of July, crews dressed in full sailing kit did not look as though they were racing at the height of summer.

This event dates back to 1931 when the Islands’ Lieutenant Governors presented the Cup to be competed for annually between teams from Jersey and Guernsey. Each team comprises three boats crewed by some of the Islands’ top sailors. The competitive spirit is, not surprisingly, very much to the fore with no quarter being taken by either side.

The forecast for Sunday morning gave the winds starting in the southeast and veering to the southwest by midday. It proved to be very accurate, leading to a not insignificant amount of mark shifting in between races. With three races scheduled, the scene was set for a brilliant morning’s racing albeit in very gloomy conditions.

Due to time constraints, racing was confined to St Aubin’s Bay where the race committee set an olympic-type course that provided opportunities for both windward/leeward and triangular legs.

Jersey’s Allen Brown and partners Melges 24, The Dog’s ……..!, won the first race clear ahead of Guernsey’s Martin Ozard’s J109, Black Jack, that beat Jersey’s Alex Ohlsson’s J109, Jai Ho by a narrow margin of four seconds.

The second race went to Black Jack, a clear minute ahead of Jai Ho with The Dog’s ……..! taking third. This race provided the single unfortunate incident of the day when Guernsey’s Richard Babbé’s JPK1010, Mr Scarecrow’s spinnaker blew on snagging The Dog’s ……..! mast up near the windward mark. Mr Scarecrow retired at this point and set course for home.

The third race got under way shortly after midday with two boats fewer on the line. As the rules of the challenge require, Jersey dropped a boat to maintain the balance in numbers. On this occasion Rhys Perkins and partners’ Archambault A35, Abracadabra, stood down. Black Jack took her second win of the day eighteen seconds ahead of The Dog’s ……..! with Guernsey’s Martin Priest’s J97, Fandangle, third.

Whilst Black Jack raced brilliantly to be the top scoring boat in the event, it was the Jersey team that held the day with overall wins in races one and two whilst Guernsey clinched the third.

Having returned to La Collette Marina, crews set off to the RCIYC clubhouse, at St Aubin, where they were joined by His Excellency General Sir John McColl, Lieutenant Governor of Jersey, for the presentation of the Cup. He had been a keen spectator of the event having been afloat and close to the action witnessing, at close hand, Mr Scarecrow’s sad undoing. In presenting the Cup to Jersey’s team captain, Alex Ohlsson, Sir John said that he had been unaware that sailing was a contact sport. He congratulated both teams on their outstanding performance, expressing his understandable pleasure on Jersey carrying the day. RCIYC Commodore James Wilding expressed his thanks to everyone involved and added his congratulations to the competitors. He thanked His Excellency for attending the event and for presenting the Lieutenant Governors’ Cup.

Results
Race 1 (Jersey 8 – Guernsey 13)
1 The Dog’s ……..! (39.20)
2 Black Jack (41.04)
3 Jai Ho (41.08)
4 Abracadabra (41.23)
5 Fandangle (42.18)
6 Mr Scarecrow (45.44)

Race 2 (Jersey 10 – Guernsey 18)
1 Black Jack (40.38)
2 Jai Ho (41.27)
3 The Dog’s ……..! (41.41)
4 Fandangle (42.02)
5 Abracadabra (42.09)
DNF Mr Scarecrow

Race 3 (Guernsey 4 – Jersey 6)
1 Black Jack (34.45)
2 The Dog’s ……..! (35.03)
3 Fandangle (35.55)
4 Jai Ho (36.29
DNS Mr Scarecrow
DNS Abracadabra

Overall team result:
1 Jersey 37
2 Guernsey 48