Nineteen of the forty-two competing yachts in the Jester Azores challenge have now arrived at Praia da Vitória in the Azores. The challenge, a single-handed race with no entry fee and virtually no rules, left Plymouth on the 31st May.

Following what he described as a ‘fantastic trip’, the first to arrive was Frenchman Dominique Katan in his 25ft plywood/epoxy yachtNea-Kameni. Paul Feasey in his Iroquois catamaranStingrayfollowed nearly twelve hours later to take second, and Roger Fitzgerald in his Dehler 29Ella Trout IIItook third.

A Jester Silver Crown was awarded to Russian Alexei Fedoruk in recognition of his sailing the first home-built yacht in the fleet into twelfth place. Fedoruk builtFasonin his landlocked home town of Velikiy Novgorod in 1988, when materials were hard to source. He even had to machine the screws himself!

All the yachts are between 20 and 30 feet in length.

Keep up with the race as the remaining boats approach the Azores on the JAC website