ISLAND sailor Richard Palmer got off to a steady start in this year’s Royal Ocean Racing Club’s Cervantes Trophy Race, from Cowes to Le Havre, held yesterday (Saturday).

The race, a great spectacle that featured 115 yachts and more than 600 sailors, included Richard’s JPK 10.10 Jangada, who finished 33rd from 71 finishers.

Isle of Wight County Press: Richard Palmer, on board his JPK 10.10 yacht, Jangada, came 33rd in the Cowes-Le Havre Cervantes Trophy Race.Richard Palmer, on board his JPK 10.10 yacht, Jangada, came 33rd in the Cowes-Le Havre Cervantes Trophy Race.

He set off from the Royal Yacht Squadron line in Cowes at 8.30am, waved off by a number of spectators watching from Cowes Parade and The Green, and arrived in Le Havre at 11.20pm.

His effort earned him 52.50 championship points.

Jangada was one of nine JPK yachts in the race, returning to action after leading the series most of last season, before a rigging failure in the final race saw them snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

With two-handed offshore racing continuing to gather momentum, with a record entry for the Rolex Fastnet Race, along with the introduction of a mixed two-handed class in the 2024 Olympics, Jangada’s sights are firmly set on the RORC series again, with an entry already tabled for the RORC Transatlantic Race, to be staged in November.