ZTL Channel Week 2009

Racing at Petit Bateau Limited held its 6^th annual Channel Week during from May 29 to June 6 2009. This year’s event involved six races, covering 305 miles. The event started and finished in Lymington and all ports; Alderney, St Peter Port, Treguier, Brixham and Weymouth were visited as planned.

 

There were a total of 11 skippers that started in Lymington and these ranged from the new 40 foot J122 Oojah to its smaller sister the 30 foot J92s.

 

The event started with a briefing in the sunshine on the roof top at Royal Lymington Yacht Club, followed by a meal at the club.

 

The first race was started by Mike Saqui who kindly volunteered to get the fleet underway at the early 07:00 start. The race involved either a close spinnaker reach or fetch from Lymington to Alderney. Initially there was some concern that Alderney may have to be by-passed due to the forecasted North Easterly winds, however thankfully the winds had enough East in them to ensure the moorings in Alderney were tenable. During the race the Race Directors boat Solan Goose suffered engine failure (engine ultimately deemed a total write-off) and after an amazing show of support for towing, electrical replenishment etc from all skippers decided to press on with the entire series. An excellent meal was enjoyed by all in the superb The First and Last restaurant at Braye Harbour.

 

Race two was a short race from Alderney to St Peter Port in what could only be described as Champagne sailing conditions in 15 to 22 knots of wind from the East / North East, enabling boats to carry large Spinnakers the whole way from start to finish. Such conditions lead to a very early arrival in St Peter Port, which provided the opportunity for a light lunch and a few drinks followed by an afternoon siesta. In the evening dinner was organised at the Guernsey Yacht Club.

 

Race three lead the fleet south to the delightful town of Treguier. The race started in very light conditions and again in clear blue skies. The wind remained light throughout the race and was generally from the East / North East, however there were some considerable wind shifts. Spinnakers were flown the whole way and the fleet finished in good time for dinner at very nice Creperie in the marina side of the town. The following day, in preparation for the longest race of the week, the fleet had an enjoyable rest day in Treguier, followed by a meal in one of the towns top restaurants, here we were delighted to be accompanied by previous years Race Director Paul Peggs and his wife who now live in France.

 

Race four from Treguier to Brixham was the longest race (88 nm) of the series and given the initial light conditions the race continued throughout the hours of darkness. At one stage the wind dropped to zero but the forecasted strengthening winds from the east kicked in at about 23:00 and ensured a much speedier night time passage. The fleet arrived in Brixham in the very early daylight hours and after a couple of hour’s sleep, the skippers headed to the Breakwater bistro for a very nice and well earned full English breakfast. Dinner was arranged at the Brixham Yacht Club.

 

Race five from Brixham to Weymouth was postponed due to the very light winds. At Petit Bateau we always try to ensure we keep the event moving to the next destination, hence the fleet motored until the Race Director felt there was enough wind to ensure a reasonable race could be completed. After about three hours of motoring a reasonable breeze built up and the ‘self starting at sea process’ was instigated. A few gates were built in to the course in case the breeze failed but thankfully these were not required and the fleet made it to Weymouth via an 8 knot beat with a nice reach to the finish after we rounded Portland Bill. That evening the strong preference was for a visit to one of the towns Indian restaurants which proved to be very good.

 

Race six proved to be the sting in the tail for the series and the fleet were faced with an easterly breeze and hence a beat the whole way from Weymouth to Lymington. This breeze averaged around 20 knots but gusts of 28 knots were experienced at the headlands. Due to the wind and tidal conditions before Anvil point the favourable route involved tacking up the beautiful Dorset coastline. However the never ending salty spray, attention to navigation and high physical demands when solo sailing in such conditions ensured a limited amount of time could be spent admiring the countryside. Sadly three boats retired back to Weymouth due to the conditions and one boat hit a rock but thankfully was able to complete the race. A further three boats with engine failure had to sail up into Lymington harbour and dock at the Dan Bran Pontoon without the benefit of power, just the test that is needed after such a race! When the fleet arrived in Lymington there was a very light hearted and adrenalin fuelled bunch of skippers delighted to have finished such a gruelling race in one piece. Once the fleet were all safely accounted for a dash was made to the warmth of the Mayflower for dinner and refreshments, this was followed by the series prize giving on the very nice new Oojah.

 

The series results were as follows;

 

The Overall IRC prize went to Simon Curwen on the very well sailed J105 Voador. The prize for 2^nd and 3^rd under IRC was once again very closely contested by Chris Rustom on his Stuart 37 Ding Dong and Race Director Peter Olden’s J92s Solan Goose for the third year running with Ding Dong taking 2^nd and Solan Goose 3^rd after allowing for the series discard.

 

The overall Open Trophy and the Class 1 Open 1^st prize was retained by Chris Rustom on the Stuart 37, Ding Dong. 2^nd place went to Peter Tanner on his J122 Oojah and 3^rd was Noj White on his X37 S X Girl.

 

In class 2 it was a J Boat 1, 2 and 3 with the Open 1^st prize going to Simon Curwen on the J105 Voador. 2^nd was Peter Olden on the J92s Solan Goose and 3^rd was Rod Knowles on another J105 Juliette.

 

The Rookie prize which is awarded to the best skipper who has not previously competed in a significant off-shore solo race went to Alessandro Caricato on the JOD 35 Audacious. 2^nd was Herve Dupriez on his Beneteau 31.7 Penrod and 3^rd was Luke Bond on his J 92s Dragonfly.

 

Special mention to all Rookies mentioned above and John Twiggs on his JOD 35 Ticktock, all of whom put in a very impressive showing for their first major solo event. Also Chris Elliot on his Rustler 36 had some very impressive results given the cruising orientation of his boat.