Dauntsey’s School tall ship Jolie Brise, and her crew of eight pupils, joined nearly 1,600 other yachts for the Round the Island Race, the biggest sailing event of its kind in the world.
Due to the fine, sunny weather, and light winds of barely one knot, Jolie Brise, along with more than half the fleet, was unable to make it round the Isle of Wight within the time allowed and retired before completing the race.
Toby Marris, Jolie Brise full-time skipper, Dauntsey’s School said: “It was a beautiful day although not ideal conditions for sailing a tall ship. But sailing Jolie Brise is not all about winning races – the pupils have to work closely as a team to get the yacht up and running and navigate the route. In spite of retiring, everyone enjoyed the spectacle that is the Round the Island Race and it was a great start to the summer season.”
During the summer holidays, Jolie Brise will head south through the Channel Islands to Brittany and then across the Bay of Biscay to cruise along the north and west coasts of Atlantic Spain. She will then sail 800 miles out into the Atlantic to cruise around the sub-tropical islands of the Azores before returning to northern Spain and Brittany.
At the end of August she will join the Tall Ships Fleet in Falmouth for two days of celebrations, followed by a Tall Ships Race finishing off in the Isle of Wight. Members of the School Sailing Club are able to join her and crew each leg of the journey.
Jolie Brise is owned, maintained and sailed by the pupils of Dauntsey’s School. Last year she celebrated the centenary anniversary of her construction by the Paumelle yard in Le Havre in 1913. The world famous, gaff-rigged pilot cutter was the last boat to carry the royal mail under sail and has won the Fastnet Race three times, including the inaugural race in 1925.