5th annual Alderney Regatta
by Ilona Soane-Sands 28 Aug 2023 10:32 PDT
26-27 August 2023
As always, weather and wind conditions around Alderney are unpredictable, and last weekend was no exception. Nevertheless, 13 yachts, including 4 from Guernsey and 3 from Jersey, took part in this year's 5th Alderney Regatta which started on Saturday morning 26th August with a club race to Ortac.
Six Alderney yachts competed in this race which was won by the all-ladies team of POLAR STAR with a time of 1.30h. Line Honours were claimed by Commodore Nigel Vooght and his crew onboard GRACE and A ROAMER IN ALDERNEY came 3rd.
That same day, four Guernsey yachts taking part in the POLYGON GUERNSEY TO ALDERNEY PURSUIT RACE, were heading for Alderney and three yachts from Jersey also arrived that afternoon for a warm welcome at the Alderney Sailing Club, enjoying a BBQ, live music and socialising until late evening.
The POLYGON GUERNSEY TO ALDERNEY PURSUIT RACE was won by BLACKJACK. In second place was FANDANGLE, and in 3rd Place KILLING TIME. The return race to Guernsey took place on Monday morning 09:00h.
On Sunday morning strong winds did not deter 13 yachts and over 60 crew from taking part in the AROUND THE ISLAND RACE.
The race proved both challenging and exciting and was won by A ROAMER OF ALDERNEY in a time of 1hr. 30 mins.
Line Honours went to Guernsey's KILLING TIME
2nd: FANDANGLE (Guernsey)
3rd: BLACKJACK (Guernsey)
And the overall winner of the 5th Alderney Regatta was POLAR STAR. Skipper Tess Woodnutt and her all-ladies crew found it very hard to contain their excitement and absolute delight when being presented with the much coveted trophy.
Feedback from all participants was extremely positive and enthusiastic and both Guernsey and Jersey yacht clubs look forward to taking part with more yachts in Alderney's 6th annual regatta.
Alderney Sailing Club Commodore Nigel Vooght said: "The Alderney Regatta is our most important annual sailing event, putting Alderney firmly on the nautical map. All visiting sailors who took part thoroughly enjoyed their weekend racing, the challenges of our waters, and socialising and discovering Alderney. They will be back for next year's regatta, when we would also like to welcome more sailors from nearby France and Southern England to join us. To ensure the Alderney Regatta is in everybody's 2024 nautical events diary, we will shortly be confirming the date."