Support for one tonner

Pains Wessex back boat in this year's PowerBar Three Peaks Yacht Race

Scaling the highest peaks in England, Wales and Scotland and sailing around the West Coast of the UK in the shortest time possible is the challenge for a team from south Wales who are raising money for the Ballyglass Lifeboat.

And the team of five - three sailors and two runners/cyclists - will be backed by Pains Wessex as they attempt the arduous PowerBar Three Peaks Yacht Race.

Skipper, James Kemp, multiple national and international dinghy champion, explained: “The runners face the tough job of not only scaling the highest peaks in Wales, England and Scotland, but also helping out on the boat while at sea and somehow finding time to rest and recover.”

Kemp will be competing in the event with Adrian Owens, Dan King, Chris Cowan and Ben Dodds. They will be sailing on board Hero, a one-off one tonner, and will feel more confident with the backing of Pains Wessex.

Kemp thanked the company for helping the team. He said: “Following our decision to undertake the arduous challenge of the Three Peaks Yacht Race which will see our team sailing to and scaling the three highest peaks in Wales, England and Scotland in the shortest time possible, we were delighted to receive the generous offer of sponsorship from Pains Wessex.

“As sailors, we have been long standing consumers of Pains Wessex marine distress signals and have always been more than satisfied with their reliability and the performance of the products on the rare occasion we have had to use them.

“Given the hardships, concerns and fatigue that we will have to deal with during the Three Peaks Yacht Race, it is a great relief to have the support of Pains Wessex and the provision of the ORC/RORC Offshore Distress Kit comprising a 12 litre polybottle containing four Collision White Handflares, two Lifesmokes, four Red Handflares and four Para Red Rockets, means one less thing to worry about.”

The challenge, starting on June 18, involves nearly 400 miles of racing, 60 miles of running - climbing more than 12,000ft - and 30 miles of cycling, starting in Barmouth, Wales and finishing in Fort William, Scotland.

The first port of call is Caernarfon where the runners will face the challenge of being the first to scale Snowdon - whether the boat arrives at midnight or lunchtime, the runners will set out immediately on their quest.

The second peak will be Scafell Pike, which the sailing team members will do their best to reach as quickly as possible, attempting to beat the currents of the Menai Straights.

The longest sea leg will then be to Fort William, Scotland, for the final assault - that of Ben Nevis. So far 12 teams have registered for the event, with competitors coming from all over the world to take part.

Entries in the Power Bar Three Peaks Yacht Race

Name	Type	LOA (m)	Skipper	Tilman
				Trophy
Sanoodi	Buchanan 27	8.23	Noel Bristow
Kalamari	Contessa 32	9.76	Sally Keighley	No
Unhinged	Beneteau First 405	12.01	David Buttigieg	No
RBS North Star	Beneteau First 40.7	12.20	Neal Ricketts / Martyn Grant	Yes
Killary Flyer	IOR		Shane Young	Yes
Team India Summer	Sigma 38	11.59	Keith Mander	No
Kithros 11	Moody S31	9.45	Bill Ricketts	No
Journeymaker 5	J105	10.50	Chris Jones	Yes
Pagets lady	Westerly Corsair	10.67	Mike Paget-Tomlinson	Yes
Caol Ila	Sadler 34	10.37	John Harris
Still Smiling	Sigma 400	12.27	Ian Thomas	No
Whisky Galore	Nicholson 35	10.67	Dr. Charles Clarke	Yes
White Cloud IX	HOD 35	10.67	John Donnelly	No
Persephone of Percuil	Victoria 34	10.37	Pete Sutton	No
Canores 11	Southerly 115	11.50	Pete Grenfell
Hero	One tonner	11.86	James Kemp
Nunatak	J120	12.90	Mike Jaques
Beach Fox	Sigma 41	12.50	Simon West	Yes
Storm Force	Westerly Storm	10.06	Julian Wells	No
Kilva	Beneteau First 42	12.80	Steve Robinson	No
Hazard Chase	HOD 35	10.67	Piers Copham	Yes