JERSEY’S sailors battled valiantly at the 2025 Orkney Island Games, facing strong competition on the Orcadian tide.
Team manager Justin Horton, alongside his daughter Tyler Horton, competed in the ILCA 6 class, while brothers Kai and Morgan Surcouf squared off in the ILCA 7s.
Orkney defied all expectations on the conditions front, trading in the usual grey clouds and wind for radiant sun.
“We had some excellent sailing all week. The Orkney Sailing Club put on an absolutely fantastic event,” said Justin Horton.
“Due to the magnificent weather, which really played ball and was amazing all week, we managed to get through all ten races for each class, so 20 races in total.”
“It really was great sailing in warm weather, which went completely against our expectations, and the facilities were so impressive, making for a well co-ordinated event.”
However, even though conditions played into the Caesareans’ favour, the high-level competition more than compensated in bringing adversity, creating a challenging week of racing for the outfit.
“Racing was top level throughout the week. We had some sailors who were on the Team GB pathway, others who are national champions and, in the ILCA 7 class, there was actually a world champion [Arthur Farley].”
“The Isle of Wight, who took home gold, were really a class above the rest, it was plain to see. Having their own support boat, as well as the team manager briefing and debriefing on the water, culminated in a very professional way of sailing.”
“The standard was very high. It was a great privilege to actually sail with these guys, and I think we stood our ground in many races.”
Day one saw the Surcouf brothers start off on the right foot in the ILCA 7 category, as Kai Surcouf finished the opening day in sixth place, after consistent back-to-back finishes of sixth and seventh.
Morgan Surcouf didn’t have the smoothest of starts, finishing 15th in the first race. However, it’s fair to say he more than bounced back in the day’s second outing, climbing an impressive ten spots to finish fifth and end the day strongly.
Although the Surcoufs started things off the right way, Justin and Tyler Horton experienced a difficult start to competition in the ILCA 6 class. The team manager finished 12th out of 22 places in the first race.
However, things went against him the second time around, as he finished 19th in race two, which saw him end the day at 17th in the standings.
Tyler Horton experienced a bit more consistency, but unfortunately results weren’t on her side, tallying 18th and 17th place finishes to rank 19th overall on day one.
The second day proved Jersey were more than capable to hang with some of the best, as they continued to post some respectable performances.
Morgan Surcouf carried on in the same vein to his day-one closing performance, finishing tenth and eighth respectively on the day to complete the day in eighth place on the rankings.
His brother wasn’t far behind, as his finishes of 13th and 17th saw him slip slightly to tenth.
Fortune picked up a bit for the ILCA 6 sailors, as the Hortons enjoyed a much less turbulent subsequent day. Justin Horton recorded rankings of tenth and 13th place, while Tyler Horton secured a pair of 13th place finishes, which saw them rank overall at 14th and 18th respectively.
As said before, competition was incredibly fierce, with some very talented sailors, so these finishes, especially for the ILCA 7s, were difficult to maintain.
After an impressive day two, which saw him leap over his brother in the table, Morgan Surcouf struggled on the third day, as his back-to-back placings of 16th saw him fall down the leaderboard.
Kai Surcouf managed consistent finishes of 14th and 12th, which were a welcome improvement on his results the day prior.
Justin Horton maintained his success in the smaller rigs, with 13th- and 11th-place finishes, while Tyler Horton finished 15th and 16th in both her outings.
Justin Horton’s best finish came the next day, as he opened day four with a bang for the ILCA 6s, finishing ninth while his daughter finished a mere four places behind.
However, the pair swapped places in the next encounter, as Tyler Horton finished 15th, one place above her father.
Conditions suited Kai Surcouf on day four, as his two tenth-place finishes were a positive sign following the penultimate day, and Morgan Surcouf’s 13th- and 15th-place rankings were respectable in the deep class.
Following a challenging four days of racing, all was set for one last go to climb the rankings, on the fifth and final day.
The Surcouf brothers did Jersey proud in the stacked ILCA 7 class, as Kai Surcouf’s placings of 14th and tenth were enough seal an overall ranking of 12th, with a net 96. Morgan Surcouf finished strongly, with his final race seeing him end ninth, helping him secure an overall ranking of 14th, with a net of 107.
Justin Horton’s net of 117 helped shore up his 14th overall placing in the ILCA 6 group, while Tyler Horton’s net of 136 earned her a 17th place overall.
In the team event, Jersey managed to finish eighth out of ten competing islands, as their net of 366 was just one point better than the Isle of Man’s, allowing them to edge ahead.
Although results weren’t challenging for medals, the team manager had plenty of positives to take away, saying: “This experience has been amazing, and sailing with others at the top of their game has benefitted the team immensely.”
“As all our sailors are also instructors, all the tips and tricks we’ve learnt from other teams will be invaluable for the sport locally, and they’ll now pass what they’ve learnt down to the younger sailors and so on.”
“It’s also given us an insight into what’s needed to compete, which is major commitment. If we want to see our results improve, we’ll need more time on the water, more support and more opportunities to compete overseas, as most of our local competitors are weekend sailors. We’ve all returned with a smile, full of enthusiasm and keen to go forward.”
Even though medals weren’t had, let’s give it up for Jersey’s four top sailors, who really stood their ground in two stacked classes.
The local sailing community’s attention will now shift to the Trophee Des Isles Youth Regatta, which will be hosted by St Catherine’s Sailing Club, where junior sailors from Jersey, Guernsey and St Malo will square off for supremacy.
