One of Royal Southampton Yacht Club's major short-handed offshore events, the Channel Triangle, started off Hill Head last Saturday.

Taking a week to complete, the four-person 16 boats have raced to Deauville in Normandy, around the tricky Cherbourg peninsula to St Peter Port in Guernsey and are currently on their final race back to Southampton.

Contrary to the gloomy forecast, the first race, featured right, set off in light cloud and sunny intervals and a pleasant eight to ten knot breeze, with the J120 Charley J and a First 51, Paragon taking an early lead after a short windward first leg followed by setting their spinnakers on a broad reach as they exited the forts.

Mid-Channel the breeze died for a while and the difficulties were added to by fog patches.

With time ticking away it was the lower handicapped boats that gained from this slow spell and at the finish off Deauville the winners on corrected time were The Flying Fish, Kathy & Rupert Smalley's Laser 28 followed by Ian Ward's Moody 29 Bedouin and Andy & Peter Pickett's quarter-tonner Moondog of Jersey.

After two hard days of socialising in Deauville and Trouville the crews were ready to get back to sea on Tuesday afternoon for the start of the second race, setting off in a 12 knot south-westerly.

Racing concludes tomorrow.