Guernsey dominated the men’s event over the 19 nautical miles, with the eventual winners, Guernsey’s FRM (Geoff Gavey, Matthew Harradine, Ian Atkinson, Daniel Harradine) finishing in 2 hr 39 seconds, just eight seconds ahead of Guernsey’s Julius Bär (Simon Johns, Tom de Kooker, Shaun Kelling, Jamea Coquelin and cox Lloyd Le Page).
‘It became a much harder row after the Paternosters,’ said wiinning cox Jane Menzies afterwards. ‘The wind was really driving into us and we were conscious that there was another fours’ boat behind. But all of the boats, by then, were really spread out. It was only on the last stretch that we realized we were a couple of lengths in front which is why we sprinted to the finish.
The first Jersey men’s crew home were the Jersey Post’s men’s sixes, who placed fourth.
Jersey’s The Islands Insurance crew of Christine du Heaume, Helen Tylyer, Alison Smithurst, Frankie Le Quélénec and cox Kimberley Ashplant were delighted to be the first women’s team home in the race, held on Saturday.
‘I was really happy this year,’ said Le Quélénec, who was competing for the 18th time in the annual event. ‘Kimberley kept us on a decent course and although we had five tough minutes at the Pats, after that it was like rowing through golden syrup and the beauty of it was that we took on and beat, more than one men’s fours in doing so. The conditions weren’t perfect, but they were enjoyable. So I’ll be back again next year.’
Around 50 boats completed the race from Dixcart Bay in Sark to Bonne Nuit.
• Full results in today’s Jersey Evening Post
• Pictures by Peter Mourant and Tony Pike
• Picture sales: Click here
