T H E   R A C E



This year   The Course   History
2 June 1984

The 1984 race introduced new classes with a larger upper size limit and removed the previous restrictions on bow and stern overhangs. Proas were excluded. The 1980 joint sponsorship of the event by The Observer newspaper and Europe 1 radio station continued, allowing Argos transmitters to once again be fitted to all competing yachts.
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Several dismasting took place in the strong to gale force winds of the first day and on day 7 Philippe Jeantot in the 60ft catamaran Credit Agricole capsized. Fauconnier, in Umupro Jardin V, went to the scene and rescued Philippe who decided to return to the yacht and begin attempts to save her. Once he was assured help was on its way, Fauconnier continued the race.

It was Fleury Michon that crossed the finish line first followed shortly by three more Class I multihulls and then Fauconnier. Following examination of his log book, Yvon Fauconnier was awarded a 16 hour time allowance for standing by Credit Agricole, enough to give him first place by six hours. Because of the very unusual circumstances, The Observer made two awards for first place which must have somewhat reduced the disappointment felt by Philippe Poupon and his sponsors.

In similar circumstances, but without the same publicity, Alan Wynne Thomas (Jemima Nicholas) was awarded a 3 hour 30 minutes allowance for rescuing the skipper of Double Brown. Bertus Buys (Sea-Beryl) reduced his finishing time by 4 hours for assisting Bob Menzies when he found Dancing Dolphin sinking under him.

It is vital that skippers are not penalised for following the ancient custom of the sea, giving aid to fellow mariners in distress, even if it means an upset at the top of the result table.
Skipper Nationality Yacht Class Type LOA Time
D H M

Class
Place
Yvon Fauconnier French UMUPRO JARDIN V I Tri 53 16 06 25 1
Philippe Poupon French FLEURY MICHON I Tri 56 16 12 25 2
Marc Pajot French ELF AQUITAINE II I Cat 59 16 12 48 3
Eric Tabarly French PAUL RICARD I Tri 60 16 14 21 4
Peter Philips British TRAVACREST SEAWAY I Tri 60 16 17 23 5
Daniel Gilard French NANTES I Tri 60 16 17 51 6
Olivier Moussy French REGION CENTRE II Tri 45 16 19 16 1
Bruno Peyron French L'AIGLON I Cat 60 16 20 21 7
Francois Boucher French KER CADELAC I Tri 50 16 21 48 8
Warren Luhrs U.S.A. THURSDAY'S CHILD I Mono 60 16 22 27 9
Vincent Levy French KERMARINE I Tri 50 17 04 28 10
John Martin S.African MAINSTAY VOORTREKKER I Mono 60 17 22 02 11
Denis Gliksman French LESSIVE ST MARC I Tri 50 17 22 17 12
Jack Petith U.S.A. DESTINATION St CROIX III Tri 38 18 12 31 1
Didier Munduteguy French COTE BASQUE II Tri 45 18 13 34 2
Yves le Cornec French IDENEK II Tri 42 18 13 49 3
Philippe Fournier Swiss GESPAC III Cat 40 19 07 50 2
Walter Greene U.S.A. SEBAGO II Mono 45 19 10 38 4
Edoardo Austoni Italian CHICA BOBA III I Tri 60 19 10 41 13
Tony Bullimore British CITY OF BIRMINGHAM III Mono 40 19 22 35 3
Luis Tonizzo U.S.A. CITY OF SLIDEL IV Mono 35 20 23 40 1
Jack Boye U.S.A. CARTERET SAVINGS I Tri 54 21 01 50 14
Bill Homewood U.S.A. BRITISH AIRWAYS II IV Mono 31 21 05 34 2
Patrice Carpentier French CENET II Cat 45 21 06 02 5
Alain Petit-Etienne French REGION DE PICARDIE I Mono 60 21 08 47 15
Kai Granholm Finnish PATRICIA OF FINLAND III Mono 40 21 13 04 4
Guy Bernadin French BISCUITS LU II Mono 44 21 18 35 6
Tony Lush U.S.A. SURVIVAL TECH GROUP IV Mono 35 22 02 39 3
Jose Ugarte Spanish ORION IRU II Mono 45 22 15 53 7
Ian Radford British NTOMBIFUTI III Mono 40 22 16 13 5
Jim Bates U.S.A. BIG SHOT IV Cat 35 22 18 09 4
Alain Veyron French VINGT SUR VANNES IV Mono 35 23 13 44 5
Qlivier Dardel French ALCATEL III Cat 37.5 24 13 10 6
John Shaw British MS PATTY III Mono 40 24 14 53 7
Wijtze van de Zee Netherlands ROYAL LEERDAM III Mono 40 24 18 05 8
Bruno Fehrenbach French DOUCHE CHAMPION IV Mono 35 25 03 53 6
Simon van Hagen Netherlands BETELGEUZE II Mono 42 25 05 50 8
Henk Jukkema Netherlands LDS SAILER IV Mono 33 25 09 12 7
Colin Laird Trinidadian LA BALEINE II Mono 44 25 15 29 9
Tom Donnelly U.S.A. LONE EAGLE III Mono 36 26 06 46 9
Alan Wynne Thomas British JEMIMA NICHOLAS III Mono 40 26 18 21 10
Jerry Freeman British ABACUS II Mono 42 27 11 11 10
Alan Perkes British SHERPA BILL III Mono 36 27 11 50 11
David White U.S.A. GLADIATOR I Mono 55 28 04 38 16
Brian O'Donoghue British GAMBLE GOLD IV Mono 33 29 15 55 8
Mac Smith U.S.A. QUAILO II Mono 44 29 23 10 11
Hans van Hest Netherlands OLLE P2 III Mono 38.5 30 04 10 12
Spencer Langford U.S.A. SUMMER SALT III Mono 38 30 12 43 13
Chris Butler British SWANSEA BAY V Mono 27 30 14 48 1
Michael Petrovsky British TIMPANI V Mono 30 30 23 58 2
David Ryan U.S.A. PHAGAWI V Mono 29 31 07 48 3
Albert Fournier U.S.A. EL TORERO V Mono 30 31 08 25 4
Robert Scott U.S.A. LANDS END III Mono 39.5 31 23 10 14
Bertus Buys Netherlands SEA-BERYL IV Mono 35 32 10 09 9
Jan van Donselaar Netherlands SHAMROCK V Mono 30 32 15 20 5
Alan Armstrong British MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC V Mono 29.5 32 20 45 6
John Howie U.S.A. FREE BIRD IV Mono 31.5 35 04 33 1
Lloyd Hircock Canadian MOUSTACHE V Mono 29.5 35 15 57 7
Dick Hughes Netherlands GLADYS IV Mono 34 39 06 56 11
Vassil Kurtev Bulgarian NORD V Mono 25 40 16 38 8
Timothy Hubbard U.S.A. JOHAN LLOYDE IV Mono 32 41 04 30 12
Jack Coffey Irish MEG OF MUGLINS IV Mono 35 41 16 30 13
Goos Terschegget Netherlands DE VOLHARDING II Mono 41 41 20 20 12
John Hunt U.S.A. CRYSTAL CATFISH IV Mono 31.5 44 14 22 14
June Clarke BATCHELORS SWEET PEA Tri