Sailor's race

Lack of wind gives victory to EADS Innovation Works in the PowerBar Three Peaks Yacht Race

There are not many sailing events where a lack of wind could lead to an exciting and close competition, but then The Powerbar Three Peaks Yacht Race is not like any other sailing event, it is a unique test of seamanship and endurance.

For this year’s 32nd race the race entry was full with 32 yachts on the start line at Barmouth in mid-Wales on 20 June. For the start there was a light northwesterly breeze and the forecast for the days ahead was for exceptionally calm and still conditions.

As the racing fleet crossed the line they knew that ahead of them lay the difficult passage up the West coast via Caernarfon and Whitehaven to Fort William. It is a journey of 400 nautical miles which includes the passage of the rocky Menai Strait and the complexities of the tides and islands of the inner Hebridean islands. On each yacht were two endurance athletes ready for the ascent of Snowdon, Scafell Pike and Ben Nevis, the highest peaks in Wales, England and Scotland. With the return cycle route to reach Scafell Pike from Whitehaven this is a total of 15,000 feet of climbing, 59 miles on foot and 30 miles on a bike, and with the forecast this year rowing for extended periods would tire the athletes further.




The first leg to Caernarfon was won by the J/122 Ulula, whose crew from Liverpool Sailing Club were all new to the race, but coped best with the combination of headwinds and foul tide at Bardsey Head. Race favourites EADS Adventure, a Reflex 38 skippered by three times race winner Geoff West, failed to pass between Bardsey Island and the headland twice before being swept back and forced around the island, but Ulula got through. They arrived in Caernarfon in the early morning last Sunday, which meant the runners could complete their 22 mile run to Snowdon summit and back in daylight. (Usually they run it in the dark.)

The competition between the runners is as intense as that between the sailors and this year top ultra distance and fell runners were competing against established adventure racers and marathon runners. The fastest time on Snowdon was 3 hours 29 minutes, set by Graham Sellens and Allan Smalls from the yacht GFT Adventure and they subsequently set the fastest times on all three peaks to win the ‘King of the Mountains’ title with a total time of 13 hours and 5 minutes. The two runners from Colchester Running Club also helped their yacht to finish in 4th place overall.

The passage to Whitehaven was made through the Menai Stait. With little wind and the tide against most teams had to row to get through and several boats struck rocks, some having to start their engines, which meant they were no longer competitive in the race. One of these was an entry called ‘Shropshire Sheepshearers’ and they worked hard on repairs to their boat before continuing, even though they were no longer competitive. Like many of the teams taking part they were raising funds for charity, and this year teams will raise in excess of £100,000 for various causes including The Army Benevolent Fund, Great Ormond St. and Help for Heroes.

After the mountain bike and running ascent of Scafell Pike came the final sail to Fort William, and south of the Mull of Galloway the leading yachts were stationary or swept back on the tide for a time. On the early stages Ulula was the quickest once again, but as the leaders moved into the Sound of Jura EADS Innovation Works took a race winning lead. They had three skippers on board, all experienced in the race and able to make decisions based on their local knowledge of the shifting tides and winds in the islands. This proved decisive, as did the determination of the runners, Martin Beale and Martin Indge to keep rowing when the wind dropped.




“We knew we couldn’t win the King of the Mountains title so decided to put all our energy into trying to win the race outright,” Beale said. “We must have rowed for 10 of the last 24 hours and at one point where we had get between two islands before the tide turned we had four oars in use. Whenever it was calm we would look for disturbances on the water to find a patch of wind, and row towards it.” This is a unique of the race and boat owner Geoff West and his co-skippers, Gary Clayton and John Donnelly knew rowing could make a significant difference to the result.

EADS Innovation Works were first to sail up Loch Linnhe and into Fort William, and Beale and Indge completed their victory with a run up to the snow covered summit of Ben Nevis, the highest point in the British Isles. When they ran back down to cross the finish line the total winning time was 4 days, 14 hours and 15 minutes.

The race is now coming to a conclusion with the final three boats racing to reach Fort William before the race closes at 6pm on Saturday, and it looks likely 30 of the 32 entries will complete the course, making it the most successful race ever.

All the crews and runners said it have been an exhausting race as they were continuously rowing or looking for wind and got little sleep. Race tactics played a vital part, as did knowledge of tide and racing in light airs. “We make thousand of decisions on this race,” said West, “and many of them could be critical. Get the tide calculation wrong , hit a pocket of wind or run aground and your race could be over.” With the tidal gates and stops at each port gathered in the fleet together several times, there was constant competition throughout the race at all levels and positions changed frequently, with the lead changing hands eight times.

West, who has competed for the past decade said: “There is always something new and a fresh challenge in this race, and it is as great a test of seamanship and sailing skills as you can find. It’s a unique and classic event in the sailing calendar.”



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