2026 IQ-EQ Inter Island Yacht Race
Published 12:41 on 1 Jul 2026
The annual Inter Island race, very kindly sponsored by IQ-EQ, was held on Saturday 27th July in what can only be described as very light and variable conditions, as indeed were forecast. Forty boats started the race at 11.00, this year from Guernsey to Jersey, from the usual start line, running east from Castle Cornet. An early decision to shorten the race to finish at La Corbière was made by the race officer, which was undoubtedly correct, as without this, no boats would have finished within the time limit.
There was no consensus on where was the best place to start on the line, some boats choosing what appeared to be the favoured end for an upwind race, near the castle, whilst others chose to start further east, hoping for stronger tide to benefit them. The castle end of the line looked to be more favourable for a short time, with some boats having to tack west to clear Lower Heads buoy. However, the light winds experienced at the start soon died, particularly towards the west of the course and those boats that went east benefited.
Martin Ozards Blackjack (Guernsey) seemed to keep the breeze that nobody else had and pulled well way, heading south into the distance. However, that wind line also died leaving Blackjack barely moving for quite some time. Rhys Perkins and his crew in Abracadabra (Jersey) and Roger Martel in Kaya (Guernsey) then seemed to pull away from the rest of the fleet. Boats that had stayed west seemed to lose out and fell behind those that were further east, some boats being swept westwards towards Les Hanois.
Midway through the race, a number of skippers realised that they were highly unlikely to finish by the cut off time of 17.00 and retired, others carrying on in the hope that the wind would pick up. Drifting with the tide continued and more boats retired as the afternoon wore on. However, at about 15.00 the wind started to fill in, as forecast, although it could no way be described as a gale! Skippers were happy to see 5 knots being recorded on their wind instruments.
As those remaining in the race approached La Corbiere those to the west of the course held the breeze better than those closer to St Ouens bay, who again experienced drifting conditions. Blackjack, which sailed south started to regain ground lost and overhauled boats nearer the Jersey coast, as did other boats, such as Fandangle and Sun of a Gun (Guernsey), the former over hauling Seventh Sun (Guernsey) and Kaya, who previously were well ahead of her.
As the 17.00 deadline approached, it became apparent that many boats still sailing would not finish in time, Kaya and others thus retiring. Others persevered in the hope that the wind would increase further. By this time Abracadabra, although seeming to lose the wind off St Ouens, managed to pick up sufficient breeze to finish very close to La Corbiere lighthouse with less than nine minutes to spare. Blackjack and Fandangle both persevered, hoping to finish by 17.00. Martin Priest in Fandangle thought that their only chance was to sail as close to the lighthouse as possible and engaged in some rock hopping inside the reef to the west of the lighthouse, to finish with 87 seconds to spare, observing a heady 9 knots of breeze for a short time. Blackjack, which sailed further south, hardened up towards the lighthouse and finished just over a minute after Fandangle, with only 20 seconds to spare. Unfortunately, all of the other boats still racing were out of time.
The overall winner on corrected time was Rhys Perkins and his crew in Abracadabra, their third time of winning the race. Second was Martin Ozard and his crew in Blackjack with Martin Priest and his crew in Fandangle placing third. However, the prestigious Sir James Knott trophy, awarded to the best placed first three boats for either island this year went to Guernsey, having two finishers to Jerseys one. The team trophy, awarded to pre-determined teams, went to Blackjack, Fandangle and Jostler, the only team to have two finishers.
In spite of the very challenging and frustrating conditions, many competitors remarked that they thoroughly enjoyed their day on the water and the party at St Helier Yacht Club afterwards. The champagne destined to be prizes for the numerous other class winners being instead generously shared amongst all of the crews.
The organisers are very grateful to IQ-EQ for facilitating the race, involving over 200 competitors, all of whom are looking to benefit from more wind next year.