CAREY OLSEN JERSEY REGATTA
Race Report
(Oliver Kidman – All Island Media – JEP 2nd October 2025))
St Aubin’s Bay was lit up with top-tier sailing action over the weekend of 26th to 28th October, as the 2025 Carey Olsen Jersey Regatta took place. Jersey’s three premier sailing clubs came together to hold this bumper weekend of sailing, as the Royal Channel Islands Yacht Club (RCIYC), St Helier Yacht Club (SHYC), and St Catherine’s Sailing Club put on a show.
A grand variety of vessels squared off throughout the three-day event, including sport catamarans, sportsboats, cruisers, and dinghies, pursuing the prestigious titles up for grabs. Although conditions were not always on the sailors’ side, with winds sometimes deemed too light to race, race organiser Bill Harris was happy with the event, saying: “That was a jolly good regatta. Given the conditions we were dealt with, we did the best we could. I was very happy with how the event turned out, especially as this was Carey Olsen’s last year as the event’s sponsor. These past six years have been fantastic, and Carey Olsen have been a fine example of a sponsor.
“Across the board, competition was really brilliant. We are lucky to have very good sailors in all classes, with some regularly competing at the national standard and performing well.”
All contests were handicap races, meaning that they had to give their all to ensure the win; nothing could be left to chance.
Day one – Friday 26/09
Fair light easterly winds welcomed the sailors to the Jersey Regatta, as the cruiser classes commenced the action. In the joint Class 0 and 1 race, Allen Brown & Partners’ Melges 24, The Dog’s, raced to victory, with its blistering pace too much to handle for the other vessels. That wasn’t to say racing wasn’t close, as, after corrections were made, they won by a mere 56 seconds. Meanwhile, David Jones and Geoff Blackstone’s X332, JAX, were able to hold off their rivals by quite a margin, championing Class 1 with a time of two hours, 11 minutes, and 38 seconds.
Then, there was a great performance by Don Thompson’s beautiful historic vessel, Foxhound, as it reigned supreme to champion the YTC classes, with Nick O’Hare’s Honky Tonk in second and Paul Raimbault’s Ruby rounding out the top three.
Although the regatta got off to a thrilling start, the afternoon was a different story, as there were only a few knots of easterly then northerly breeze, keeping the packed dinghy and catamaran fleets ashore. However, the dayboats ventured out to try their luck, managing to complete two races. It was Malcolm Annan who stood out from the crowd, sailing his Oysterman, Jamesina, to the day’s top spot, bouncing back to win the day’s second race after narrowly missing out on the first place in the prior contest to Gary Hollick’s Tykki Duw. After a solid introduction opened the action with some exciting moments, all eyes were on Saturday, with more sufficient breeze promising even more action.
Day two – Saturday 27/09
Saturday saw a marked improvement in the weather, as southerly F3-4 winds allowed all classes to square off in the bay. Allen Brown & Partners’ The Dog’s picked up right where they left off, using their nimble size to pace ahead of the bigger Class 1 vessels and win the joint Class 0+1 clash, coming home over a minute clear.
Class 1 honours went to David Jones & Geoff Blackstone’s JAX once again, as they managed to topple Neil MachLachlan and Alex Ohlsson’s Jai Ho.
In Class 2Q, racing was extremely close, as they were neck and neck throughout the day, with some close cornering moments at the buoys making for thrilling viewing. Given the handicap had to be considered, it went down to the wire, with just six seconds between their finish times. With the corrections made, it was Justin Horton, Paula Boyle and Mike Surcouf’s 6309 Fahrenheit which took the spoils in the first race, coming out on top against Jason Manning’s Super Q by 45 seconds in the final results. The Race 1 winners showed no signs of slowing down, as Horton, Boyle, and Surcouf followed that up with another victory, putting them on top in the day.
Following their inability to compete on the opening day, Hani Salem’s Matchless returned with a bang, getting the better of Thompson’s Foxhound to win both races, while Nick O’Hare’s Honky Tonk finished in third place.
The dayboats once again returned to duke it out on the water. Although it seemed to be going the same way at the beginning, with Annan’s Jamesina taking the first race, Ben Jones’ Baloo had other ideas, reversing the play to win the next two races and thrust himself to top spot on the day.
Following that enthralling duel, the electrifying Hobie fleet wasted no time introducing themselves, sprinkling that touch of colour in the bay while producing great races. Ollie Voak and Megan Roworth never relented in their chase for glory, building on their second consecutive British Championship win in August to top the lot in the Hobie 16 class. After Voak and Roworth, aboard Ships and Giggles, got off to a fast start and claimed the first race win, a fierce adversary presented itself in Luke Paxton-Garnier and Steph Egan’s Time 2 Spare, as they wasted no time to reply with a race victory of their own. Holding a win apiece, it all went down to the last one of the day. Despite a valiant effort from both, who were duelling at the front throughout the day, it was Voak and Roworth who just had the edge to prevail and take the honours. In the F18 sport catamaran class, sailors had to tackle higher speeds, yet the vessel’s lacking cornering, meaning it was all in the strategy. At the end of the day, it was Adrian Jesson and Paul Martin who triumphed.
The fleet’s young up-and-comers also got a good run out on the water, showing the exciting talent rising through the ranks in the Hobie Dragoon event. Although the battle was tight, it was Lottie Ohlsson and Capucine Bacquet who prevailed.
Meanwhile, the dinghies presented many thrills for the onlookers, with a packed fleet promising crammed and fiery starts. After three entertaining races in the laser category, Ollie Boyle was a step above to claim top spot on the day, after winning all the contests, followed by Island Games star Morgan Surcouf in second and Nick Queree in third. Young talent shone bright in the Open Dinghy Optimist category, as Izzy Ohlsson revelled to dominate the field, with exceptional starts allowing the youngster to build strong leads.
Day three – Sunday 28/09
Following that strong, all-out day of racing, hopes were high for the regatta to reach a fitting conclusion, as attention shifted to the illustrious event’s final day.However, the very light southerly to north-westerly winds wouldn’t have been what the sailors were hoping for, as the cruiser and F18 classes had to race on shortened courses to combat the challenging light airs. Even though the dayboats made the venture out to sea, they quickly then headed off, disappointed that they were unable to sail on the climactic day, especially given Jones’ surge on the leaderboard the previous day.
After the obstructive weather forced a long break in competition, sailors were left waiting on the water. Although a pick-up in winds allowed for racing to resume, many vessels had retired in the interlude, meaning competition was had between a reduced field.
Jones and Blackstone’s JAX triumphed in Class 1 once again, pacing ahead of Jai Ho and continually building on the lead to win the SHYC Commodore’s Cup.
Before Class 2Q retired, the morning’s race saw Horton, Boyle, and Surcouf’s Fahrenheit do enough to secure victory, seeing them take home the Day 2 Salver, while Salem’s Matchless built on the prior day’s event to seal the RCIYC Morgan Grenfell Trophy 2 in Class 3. Although the Hobie 16 and Dragoon fleet scrapped the day’s races, the F18s still headed out, which saw Andy Hart and Michael Kinross win the RCIYC Lazard Trophy.
The day came to a thrilling conclusion, as the patient dinghy fleet finally made their way out. In the laser field, an exciting duel between Boyle and Surcouf at the top made for great entertainment, but it was the former that had the edge, lining up everything perfectly to top each race and secure the SHYC Canadian Club Trophy.
Izzy Ohlsson didn’t skip a beat in the Optimist fleet, picking up right where she left off to champion the young prospects’ Class 9, and take home the RCIYC Enterprise Trophy.