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West Country Tour Report

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Published 12:22 on 27 Jul 2021

Due to the ongoing problems with Covid19, it was decided this year in place of the biennial Biscay Race there would be a tour of the West Country and this has been a great success. Initially there were 28 yachts entered in 4 Classes, however this was reduced to 22 due to the virus.  The idea was to try to encourage some of the boats who do not regularly race to join in with more of the usual racing fleet and we were delighted with the response.

The first leg was the race from St Helier to Falmouth leaving Saturday morning and arriving Sunday. It was a superb downwind race with spinnakers flown from start to finish in a fresh easterly breeze. First to arrive in Falmouth was the trimaran Aquafly of Jeff Speller closely followed by Phil Burtons Arctic Tern. However, the overall winner on handicap and in the IRC, Class was Abracadabra (Rhys Perkins and Bob de la Haye) with Knight Star [Arthur Manning] first of the Class 3 boats and Jenna B (Richard Gale and Phil Brown) was first of the IRC two handed boats and Wandering Star [Mike Foreman and Steve Pearl] first two handed in Class 3.  In the multihulls Aquafly was first with Anderica [Andy Ravenscroft] second.

The following day we had a fantastic tour of Skinners Brewery in Truro. Steve Skinner gave a very interesting talk about the whole brewing process and the history behind the Brewery.  This was enjoyed by us all! Many thanks to Steve and also to Randall's who kindly provided some sponsorship towards the event.

The second leg was east along the coast to the lovely port of Fowey. The wind was forecast to be much lighter and into the wind. A shortened course was raced but unfortunately some of the slower yachts were not able to finish within the time limit. First to the finish line was Arctic Tern, very closely followed by Abracadabra but when the handicaps were applied the positions were reversed. This time first in Class 3 was Mystique (Chris Fritot and Deb Hutchings) followed by Wandering Star and again the first Two Handed IRC was Jenna B and in Class 3 Wandering Star. In the multi-hulls positions were reversed from race 1 with Anderica [Andy Ravenscroft] first and Aquafly second.

The following day was a lay day and people made the best of this with some wonderful walks around the Fowey estuary or simply making the most of exploring the town or sitting on the front of the Royal Fowey Y C where we managed to eat them out of food, but did not drink them dry!

The last race was a long upwind beat to Dartmouth in a steady force 3-4. This turned out to be a very tactical race especially when rounding Start Point at Salcombe. Grace [ Bob Milner] with her longer waterline length was fastest on the water and on handicap and won overall. Wandering Star was second overall and first in Class 3. Out of the two handers Jenna B was first Class 1 and Wandering Star in Class 3. The multihull class was won by Aquafly.

St Helier Yacht Club is very grateful to Royal Dart Yacht Club for laying on a great BBQ and prize giving reception. First overall and in Class 1 was Abracadabra, in Class 3a it was Mystique, in 3b it was Wandering Star. The multihull class was won by  Aquafly.  Out of the 2 handers first IRC was Jenna B and in Class 3 Wandering Star. Some of the fleet returned to Jersey the following day whilst others are planning to spend a few more days on the south coast.

For full results :-  https://halsail.com/Result/Public/55226
And for the photo Gallery:-  https://www.shyc.je/clubhouse/photo-galleries   Click on 'West Country Tour'
Please feel free to add your own pictures  to this photo gallery

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