The fourth race of the Royal Southampton Yacht Club's Double Handed Series started at Coronation on the evening of Friday 31 May.

The destination for previous cross channel races in this series has always been Cherbourg, but this year the race committee took advantage of the extended Jubilee bank holiday weekend by going to St Peter Port for the first time.

Before the start, a Southwesterly breeze of around twelve knots looked promising, but in view of a forecast of slackening wind the Race Management team of Cathy Crawley, David Giddings, Andrew Paterson and Maggie Puleston sent the fleet to the East past Bembridge Ledge rather than using the more direct route out of the Solent via the Needles.

This decision proved correct as the initial fast progress gradually slowed to a trickle, many boats taking five hours to get to Bembridge and only passing St Catherine's around dawn the next day. Thereafter a brisk Easterly filled in, producing a fast spinnaker reach to the Casquets, where lively conditions with gusts around 23 knots were experienced.

Meanwhile Race Officers decamped to Guernsey (by air!) to set up station at the Guernsey Yacht Club finish line at Castle Cornet.

They were rewarded by glorious weather and early on Saturday afternoon by the sight of spinnakers lining up for the finish as far as the eye could see, like aircraft on final approach to Heathrow.

By late afternoon all the boats had arrived.

A Vin d'Honneur kindly laid on by the State of Guernsey at lunchtime on Sunday put everyone in a good frame of mind for the prizegiving.

In Class 3 under club handicap, Jonathan Meeson & James Cooke on Fantastic Mr Fox beat Charles & Lorraine Ivill's Sea-Eye on corrected time.

Class 2 racing under IRC saw some close results, Pat Staples & Nigel Hunter on Google-Eye beating Edward Dubois & Esben Poulsson on Firebrand by just over a minute on corrected time, with Chris Rustom & John Syms on Garnele third by an even smaller margin.

In Class 1 also under IRC, Paul Peggs & Simon Curwen on Audacious took line honours but were third on corrected time, the winners being Ed Holton & Pete Cammack on Shades of Blue II, with Charles Allen's Fay-J in second place.

On Pyxis, Kirsteen Donaldson and Mary Sturgess were in two events at the same time. The same weekend, the Royal Southampton also ran 'Ladies who Launch', a sponsored ladies only sail across the channel to Cherbourg in aid of a local charity. St Peter Port also being cross channel and rather further, Pyxis was deemed eligible and with many generous donations they raised over seven hundred pounds for Leukaemia Busters.

The RSYC Double Handed Series continues on Friday 19 July with the Brixham Double. For details contact Cathy Crawley, Sailing Secretary, RSYC, Tel: 023 80 223352 or email racing@rsyc.org.uk

PROVISIONAL RESULTS

Class One 1. Shades of Blue II Ed Holton & Pete Cammack

2. Fay-J Charles Allen

3. Audacious Paul Peggs & Simon Curwen

Class Two

1. Google-Eye Pat Staples & Nigel Hunter

2. Firebrand Edward Dubois & Esben Poulsson

3. Garnele Chris Rustom & John Syms

Class Three

1. Fantastic Mr Fox Jonathan Meeson & James Cooke

2. Sea-Eye Charles & Lorraine Ivill