Logicalis Gorey Regatta 2021
by Philip Jeune 7 Jul 2021 00:16 NZST
2-4 July 2021
Boats of all sizes, crews of all ages and friendly keen rivalry can always be guaranteed at the Logicalis Gorey Regatta on the east coast of Jersey. Less predictable, however, is the weather and so it proved for the 164th running of this historic event.
Virtually no wind at all for Friday evening's 'feeder race' for the dinghies from St Catherine's to Gorey followed by light and variable winds on Saturday and strong winds gusting up to 30 knots on Sunday all played their part in making this year's regatta a challenge for both the organisers and the competitors.
Such was the strength of the wind on Sunday that the Race Committee were finally forced to abandon all racing after two initial postponements, their patience not being rewarded as the gusts continued to scud across the picturesque Royal Bay of Grouville throughout the afternoon.
A full race programme did go ahead on Saturday, however, with the light and variable wind, regularly shifting between west and south-west, proving lucky for some and less so for others, especially on the upwind legs towards the West Mark close to the beach.
In the cruiser classes there was close competition among the Class 2 quarter-tonners. Jeff Speller's 2Farr took the lead in their two races but lost out to Steve Manning's Tom Bombadil and Julian Barber's Super Q in the wind shifts, the latter eventually claiming both victories.
The two Class 1 races went to Alex Ohlsson and Neil MacLachlan's Jai Ho, her imposing black sails making an impressive sight as she sped around the bay beneath the imposing 13th century Mont Orgueil Castle, while Roger Atkinson's Dirty Harry and Debs and Chris Fritot's Mystique shared the Class 3 honours.
With a record ten entries this year the dayboat class, easily spotted thanks to its preponderance of red sails, saw intense rivalry not just among friends but also among families, Will Carnegie in Soda facing competition this year from his father Peter, who recently entered his ninth decade, in Pod.
Ben Jones, always consistent in Baloo, once again took overall victory in this class after three races but youth gave way to experience in the Carnegie clan with Peter taking second place and Will third.
Saturday's breeze certainly suited the dinghies, the upwind beat providing plenty of opportunities for races to be won or lost. In the juniors Oliver Boyle and Kai Surcouf had a close battle, rounding the West Mark within a few boat lengths of each other, Kai claiming first place.
Other dinghy victories went to Jason Romer and James Tilley in their Lasers and Grace Sherrington and Richie Forbes in their Feva XL, and it was good to see former St Catherine's Sailing Club Commodore Dave Jones leading the fleet in his 505 with crew Geoff Blackstone.
Windsurfers are also catered for in the regatta - Michael Millar took the honours this year but a special award was made to ten-year-old Kobe Gilmore, probably the youngest windsurfer ever to compete. He didn't manage to complete the first race but he came back for more and with a good dose of determination completed the second course and was awarded the Morning Cloud Trophy for his efforts.
At the prize-giving ceremony on Sunday evening, held at Bella's Café at Haut de la Garenne, Gorey Regatta Association Captain Justin Horton thanked all those involved in making the 164th regatta a success, despite the vagaries of the weather, and in particular paid tribute to long-standing sponsors Logicalis and also the team led by Race Officer Bill Harris.
Trophy Winners
Cruising yachts
- De Faye Memorial Trophy & Glendewar Challenge Cup, Jai Ho (Alex Ohlsson)
- Stevens Centenary Challenge Cup, Le Riche Challenge Cup & Richardson Trophy, Super Q (Julian Barber)
- Betty Bruce Challenge Cup & Fairey Cup, Dirty Harry (Roger Atkinson)
- C Austin Potter Trophy & the 150th Gorey Regatta Trophy, Mystique (Debs & Chris Fritot)
Dayboats
- Orviss Challenge Cup, Baloo (Ben Jones)
Windsurfers
- Windsurfer Extra Cup, Michael Miller
Dinghies
- Assinder Cup, Jason Romer, Laser standard
- Fifth Gorey Cup, Grace Sherrington & Richie Forbes, Feva XL
- George Thomas Labey Memorial Cup, Kai Surcouf, Laser Radial
- Norman Challenge Cup, James Tilley, Laser Standard
Special trophies
- Tommy Horton Memorial Trophy, Kirk Ingram, Optimist
- Morning Cloud Trophy, Kobe Gilmore, windsurfer