Citco Round Jersey Race 2025 at the Royal Channel Islands Yacht Club
by Bill Harris 29 Aug 15:23 UTC
17 August 2025
Top Kat off Corbiere during the Citco Round Jersey Race 2025 © RCIYC(Jersey)
The Royal Channel Islands Yacht Club's annual Round Jersey race, the third to be run under leading fund management company Citco's banner, held on Sunday, 17th August saw an all-time record of forty-one entries.
This number was bolstered by a strong entry of boats hailing from both Granville and St Malo. Strong easterly conditions leading up to the race, however, saw attrition in both the cruiser and sport catamaran classes with a number of boats dropping out. On the day, thirty boats came to the line in St Aubin's Bay for this near fifty mile circumnavigation of the Island.
Under clear blue skies and a fresh to strong easterly breeze, the race committee sent the fleet away in flights, the IRC Class 1 fleet at ten o'clock followed by the combined IRC Class 2 and Quarter Ton fleet and YTC Class 3 with the sport catamarans bringing up the rear some forty minutes later. The course took boats on a short windward leg to the Baleine buoy rounding to starboard for a very short run to the Diamond Rock buoy and a port hand rounding to start the circumnavigation.
Starting three hours before high water meant that it was going to be anything but a smooth ride to the eight-mile distant Violet Channel buoy off the Island's southeast coast. Wind over tide meant a very lumpy sea on this leg providing everyone, especially the sport catamarans and their escorting guard boats, with an interesting ride. Conditions eased once boats, the sport catamarans already going through the body of the fleet, rounded the Violet and settled to a reach up the east coast to Rozel, settling into a run along the north coast, goose winging or with spinnakers flying. This was a great spectacle for viewers on shore! On rounding Grosnez, boats settled into a fast reach through St Ouen's Bay, en route to La Corbière and the final leg leading to the finish line back at the Diamond Rock buoy.
This final leg is always the trickiest because boats run into the ebbing tide, the early birds having less against them than those arriving later. With high water at a little before one o'clock, those in the lead had some advantage but with boats well bunched strategy was all on the beat from Corbière to the finish. This would have would have favoured local boats but the French cohort was no stranger to the ins and outs of tides in coastal waters.
Line honours in Class 1 went to last year's winner, Granville's Jean-Pierre Pronier's First Class 10, Les Rapetous, finishing in a little over five hours with St Malo's Jean-Pierre Josso's Pogo RC, Aruba, just fifteen seconds later. Victory however went to David Jones' X332, JAX, finishing some ten minutes later but taking the race by forty seconds on corrected time with Granville's Jan Legallet's Karibario Kunkel-Palettes second.
Indigo, Dufour 34, skippered by Peter Crabb took line honours and the race in Class 2 with Robin Jenkins' First 31.7, Jack Rabbit, second. Racing with the Class 2 boats, the Farr 727 Quarter Tonner, Fahrenheit, skippered by Justin Horton, returned the best corrected time in the group.
Jeff Chinn's First 36 (22) 2.25, Bumblebee, took line honours well ahead in Class 3 but it was Hani Salem's UFO 27, Matchless, that claimed a clear victory some forty minutes ahead of last year's winner, Nick O'Hare's Westerly Fulmar Honky Tonk.
Despite the energetic conditions, capsizes in the sport catamaran fleet were very few with boats quickly righted. First home in Class 4, victory went to Andy Hart and Michael Kinross' Wildcat 517, finishing in just under four hours with Adrian Jesson and Paul Martin's Wildcat 618 some ten minutes behind. A super race but the race record of three hours seven seconds stands. Aaron Le Cornu and Rachael Smith' Hobie 16, Top Kat, took Class 5 after four and a half hours, just twenty seconds ahead of Tom Newman and Lucca Gentilli's Tom Cat. Handicap-wise, both boats returned better corrected times, overall, with Top Kat winning by seven minutes to take the handicap trophy.
This very successful event drew to a close with the place prize-giving at the Royal Channel Islands Yacht Club when Commodore Jeremy Swetenham congratulated the winners and thanked all who had contributed to such a great day, competitors, guard boat crews and race committee, alike. He also thanked all those who had joined the race from Granville and St Malo saying that the Club looked forward to their return for Citco 2026. Rear Commodore Charles Millard-Beer, representing Citco, added his thanks and congratulations before proceeding with the presentation of the place prizes.
Overall Results:
Class 1 (IRC) (Jesse Boot Trophy)
1 JAX - David Jones (5.11.13)
2 Karibario Kunkel-Palettes - Jan Legallet (YCG)(5.11.54)
3 Les Rapetous - Jean-Luc Pronier (YCG) (5.13.01)
4 Callisto - Antoine Guerin (YCG) (5.21.29)
5 Altair - Darren Stower (5.22.51)
6 Puma Credit Agricole - Jérôme Desvaux (YCG) (5.24.38)
7 Abracadabra - Rhys Perkins (5.24.41)
8 Lady Penelope - David Carter (5.30.08)
9 Aruba - Jean-François Josso (SNBSM) (5.32.38)
10 Arctic Tern - Philip Burton (5.45.16)
11 Morrina IV - Peter Funk (6.08.28)
Class 2 (IRC) (Cabot Memorial Trophy)
1 Indigo - Peter Crabb (5.29.48)
2 Jack Rabbit - Robin Jenkins (5.30.24)
3 Lara-Croft - Jean-Yves Yvenat (YCG) (5.57.35)
Class QT (IRC)
1 Fahrenheit - Justin Horton (5.08.32)
2 Super Q - Jason Manning (5.16.35)
Class 3 (YTC) (Citco Trophy)
1 Matchless - Hani Salem (5.51.51)
2 Honky-Tonk - Nick O'Hare (6.27.41)
3 Foxhound - Don Thompson (6.28.14)
4 Fillipene - Nick Bailhache (6.35.36)
5 Bumblebee - Jeff Chinn (6.44.17)
6 Aha! - Clive Le Marquand (7.08.10)
7 Stella Maris - Chris Deahl (7.17.12)
8 Bollinger - Charles Millard-Beer (7.17.41)
9 White Rose - Kevin Holden (7.49.09)
Class 4 - Sport-catamaran F18 (Round Jersey Trophy)
1 Hobie Wildcat 517 - Andy Hart & Michael Kinross (3.45.10)
2 Hobie Wildcat 618 - Adrian Jesson & Paul Martin (3.58.30)
Class 5 - Sport-catamaran Hobie 16 (Round Jersey Trophy)
1 Top Kat - Aaron Le Cornu & Rachael Smith (3.42.52) (Overall winner Class 4 & 5)
2 Tom Cat - Tom Newman & Lucca Gentilli (3.43.08)
3 Cœur d'Or - Antoine Bacquet & Margaux Bacquet (4.00.33)