Just two finishers

Weather takes its toll on the BNY Mellon Biscay Challenge

Yachtsmen competing in the Royal Southampton Yacht Club's 540-mile BNY Mellon Biscay Challenge yacht race from the Solent to Hondarribia, northern Spain faced such tricky sea and weather conditions in the early part of the race, that only two boats made it to the finish.

Hamble yachtsman Andy Hill and his French co-skipper Mathieu Lathoud took the honours by beating the adverse conditions in the Solent, English Channel and the Western Approaches on their 35ft J/105 Only Just beating second placed Basque sailors Santiago Orlando and Txema Garcia on their French made 32ft Bongo Baobab.

Hill and Lathoud are old hands at the biennial race from the Solent to northern Spain, and won it in 2007. Hill commented: "It was very difficult to Ushant; the waves were unpleasant, there was lots of swell and it was slow, wet and cold. But since rounding Ushant we have had champagne sailing.”

Roger Townsend, Race Director, said: “These guys are tough nuts, work brilliantly as a crew and have a lot of skill. They are worthy winners of the Biscay Challenge, for the second time.”

This time, the weather took a serous toll of competitor aspirations.

The proposed start was postponed 24 hours because of the sea state in the Solent. Multihulls withdrew when skippers considered conditions even at the start too treacherous.

Another yacht, skippered by Corinthian sailors, Royal Southampton members Bryan Sheinman and Ed de Mesqita made it past Ushant and into the Bay on their sloop Wild Oyster before a torn headsail forced them into the tiny Brittany port Loctudy where they retired, and were said by Townsend to be “real heroes of the race.”

Isle of Wight sailors Geoffrey Taylor and Graham Tracey also made it into the Biscay on their Ovni Nyda, but retired 190 miles before reaching the finish line at Hondarribia. Mr Townsend commented: “after battling through the weather of the English Channel, it was tough on our other Corinthians Geoff and Graham to find themselves becalmed in the middle of Biscay, but I salute their commitment to the bitter end.”

Roger Townsend said that although he was disappointed with the small number of starters, those that did, had come through some pretty nasty upwind conditions in the Solent and English Channel, but they had reaped their rewards in some fantastic off-wind sailing all the way down Biscay.

At the race dinner in a local restaurant in Hondarribia, last time winners, Borja Garbizu and Charlie Lizancos and their wives presented the Biscay Challenge Trophy to the new winners.