ROUGH seas caused six boats to withdraw before setting sail and another to turn back shortly after the start of the annual Guernsey to Dinard race won by the Moody 346 craft, Tantrum. The winner took just under eight hours to make the bumpy crossing and with its handicap won by more than half-an-hour from the Sadler 34, Buster.

Sixteen boats had originally entered this year’s race, the 11th backed by the Insurance Corporation.

The event remains one of the most popular races in the Royal Channel Islands Yacht Club’s calendar, although the strong west/south-west winds with a swell and confused chop made life on board a lot less comfortable than usual.

The course from St Peter Port to the finish line on a bearing from the clear-water buoy just to the north-west of the Grand Jardin lighthouse to Cap Frehel leaves the Minquiers rocks to port.

A report from Altair, one of the competing yachts, confirmed the strength of the wind with a gust of 32 knots at the south west Minquieres buoy.

Richard Wickins, aboard the Swan 38, Tomahawk, will never forget his first taste of sailing and admitted to being apprehensive when he heard of boats withdrawing.

‘I didn’t know what to expect, but the crew were brilliant. It was still quite disconcerting, though.’

Wickins said he was thankful to be on one of the larger boats.

‘We were riding the waves while some of the smaller boats were being thrown around.’

The one casualty retired two miles south of St Martin’s Point, having filled the cockpit with water twice.

Tired crews were seen drying out themselves and their boats in the Bassin Vaubin in St Malo early the next morning and preparing themselves for the usual very good lunch at the Hotel l’Univers.

After lunch, the RCIYC commodore, David Evans, welcomed and congratulated the crews on their performances in, probably, the worst weather conditions experienced in the race for some 30 years.