Jester 51-8, 2021

Start off western end of Plymouth Breakwater, or the Pwllheli Sailing Club’s start line, or at the exit to Cardiff Harbour at Cardiff, at 12 noon BST on Sunday 13th June 2021. 
Finish by crossing a line due east of St Ann’s Head on 51 41’N.

51N 8W is an extremely convenient waypoint, as it is equidistant from Plymouth (if Bishop’s Rock is left to starboard), Pwllheli and also Cardiff. Yachts from Plymouth (leaving Bishop’s Rock to starboard) and Cardiff leave the 51N 8W waypoint to starboard; yachts from Pwllheli leave it to port. Once round the waypoint, yachts head to the finish at Milford Haven.

With Baltimore Pirates’ Week cancelled, and Ireland still reluctant to accept visiting yachts, 51/8 was a one-off Challenge that, while giving yachts a good sail in open sea, kept the fleet more or less in UK waters, and obviated any need for Covid-related testing.

The Pwllheli start was quite eventful even though the conditions were calm and sunny, Ella Trout left the marina the best part of an hour late due to a main halyard which had jammed in the mast. Mike Lynch also had trouble and didn’t start till much later. It was a beautiful clear evening on the first day careening along on a smooth sea, conditions that really suited Ella Trout which was able to catch up with David Knowler in Headway III and Geoff Turner in Dawn.

There was a severe problem of lack of wind, especially for the Plymouth yachts, which forced a number of retirements. Despite that, four yachts from each starting point completed the course and the fleets came together almost simultaneously at Milford Haven. Many thanks to the indefatigable Roger Fitzgerald for organising the Pwllheli end with his usual efficiency.

We are grateful to Mayflower Marina and Jolly Jacks at Plymouth, and Hafan Pwllheli Marina and Plas Heli at Pwllheli for their help and flexibility in enabling us to run an (almost) normal event this summer.

Starters

Skipper	Start	Yacht	Type	LOA	Finish
Bill Churchouse	Plymouth	BELGEAN	Westerly 22	22′	Retired
Bob Litton	Plymouth	JALINA	Sadler 25	25′	Retired
Christopher Ling	Plymouth	POCKET BATTLESHIP	Django 7.70	25’4	Retired
Chuck Dandridge	Plymouth	J’HANA	Sadler	29′	17/06/2021 07:35
Gary O’Grady	Plymouth	KATY	Westerly Konsort	29′	17/06/2021 13:27
John Moody	Plymouth	BLACK MAGIC	Mirage	29′	19/06/2021 20:58
John O’Rourke	Plymouth	Nirvana	Marcon Sabre 27	27′	Retired
Katie Long	Plymouth	BLUE DIAMOND	Sadler 26	25’10	Retired
Mark Castle-Smith	Plymouth	ANOMALY	Bent 24	24′	Retired
Ronald Olivier	Plymouth	KERRIN II	Westerly Griffon	26′	Retired
Tony Head	Plymouth	TRIPLE VENTURE	Twister	28′	17/06/2021 05:15
Bob Angell	Pwllheli	COMRADES	Morecombe Prawner	28′	Retired
David Knowler	Pwllheli	HEADWAY III	Achilles 840	27’8	16/06/2021 20:00
Geoff Turner	Pwllheli	DAWN	Parker 21	21′	16/06/2021 18:25
Mike Lynch	Pwllheli	BONEGI	Twister	28′	17/06/2021 19:10
Roger Fitzgerald	Pwllheli	ELLA TROUT	Dehler	29′	16/06/2021 14:45

Skippers and Boats

Gallery

Diaries and Reports

Click to download Sitreps.

Gary O’Grady – Jester 518

‘Due to covid’ is an oft quoted phrase preluding a change to the normal run of play in any event and sadly The Jester Challenge for 2020 and 2021 were no different.

2020 should have staged the Jester Baltimore Challenge (JBC) which coincides on each occasion with Baltimore Pirates week in Southwest Cork. A fun event marking the blackest night in Baltimore’s history when the town was sacked by Barbary pirates in 1631. Usually, the Jester challengers arrive in full pirate regalia to add colour to the festivities. The 2020 Jester Baltimore was tipped in to 2021 with quite some route alternations requiring it to be renamed Jester 518. Read more