The 44th Three Peaks Yacht Race

All of the Teams Finish This Year’s Race

Rob Howard / 15.07.2022

Despite the unpredictable, and often windless, weather this year, all of the teams have completed this year’s Three Peaks Yacht Race, with 3 Challenge class finishers and 6 race finishers. It’s something that does not often happen, and the skill, determination and team work of all this year’s entries has been impressive.

After the finish of the top 3 teams there was quite a gap to the remaining 4, and the first of these to arrive was Baloo, who had opted to use their engine and join the Challenge Class.  (This was due to time pressure, and they’d left for home by 7am after finishing at 43 minutes past midnight.)

As they were one of the two remaining Tilman teams, this left the way open for Team Olympioz to win one of the most prestigious race prizes, but Baloo’s priority was now to finish the course.  Steve Power and Ben Redhead set off up Ben Nevis at 19.36 in cool weather with the mountain wreathed in cloud, and later in the night conditions were to get worse.

By the time they ran across the finish line it was raining and there was dense mist.  On the finish line Ben just said, “Never ask me to do that again, it was horrible!  The mist was so thick we could hardly see 2 metres and descending was really slippery and difficult.”

Team Food For Flow had set off just 3 minutes behind them, and both teams passed through the race bbq by the finish line as they were leaving and were clapped off by the competitors who had arrived the previous day. 

The runners from Seas the Life followed 2 hours later and all had to cope with the wet conditions, though as Ilse Vooren said, “It wasn’t windy or too cold.”   The Dutch team have been taking the peaks at a fast walking pace, and her partner for the peaks was Axel van Willigenbury, and there can have been fewer older runners in the race, as he is 69.  He is an ex Marine, and a very fit and athletic 69, and said he knows Ben Nevis well from many visits for winter climbing.  (He is leaving tomorrow to go and climb Mont Blanc with his son.)

On the summit he was following a compass bearing across the snowcap in the thick mist. “We were safe and on the right course,” he said, “but stopped a bit short and the runners from Seas the Life arrived and we found the top together.”

He added, “I think it is great the race has no signposting or hand-holding, you need the right skills and are allowed to get on with it yourself, at your own speed.”

The Seas the Life runners were the next to finish, crossing the finish line at 01.58, and unfortunately none of their team was there to see them.  Only one of team Baloo had made it to see their runners finish as well.  They could not get off of the boats rafted on the outside of the high lock wall, as there was too big a gap to the ladder.  The two runners from Seas the Life walked a narrow plank (more of a spar), to get back aboard!

The Dutch team has had a big support crew of family and friends, who have brought their own camper van, and all of their team were there for the finish.  At 03.22 and in pouring rain, they celebrated their race finish, something they have been dreaming of for years now.

“I have seen this finish in so many photos and Youtube videos,” said Skipper Rob Vooren, “and now we are here!”  The team had their plans to come put on hold for two years by Covid, and when complemented on how organised the team have been, he said, “We’ve had 3 years to prepare and kept getting more organised each year!”

His daughter Ilse said on the finish line, “What an adventure this has been!  It’s a fantastic experience.”  She later added, “The race is everything we’d hoped for!”  On the finish line she couldn’t wait to receive her medal from the Race Secretary, Wendy Ponsford, who got a big hug from each of the team as she gave out their medals.

The last boat to arrive, and winners of the Last Inn trophy, were Olympioz and they had daylight and better conditions for their run on Ben Nevis, but no summit views.  The two runners who went up were Wes Batty and Gethin Pickard, and this meant the team wouldn’t put a 4th runner on a summit and take the prized Tilman Cup for all round performance.  (It’s the first time ever this cup has not been won at the race.)

Batty had run all 3 of the peaks, and Gethin had run Snowdon. His team mates didn’t expect him to run again as his feet and blisters were so bad after that, but he was up for it.  “After 48 hours you are ready to go again,” he said. Even so there were some grizzly descriptions of dealing with his blisters on board and at the finish he said he didn’t want to take his shoes off and look.

The team, including its two Australian runners, had been put together via by the race noticeboard, and not previously met, but skipper Neil Harper said, “We had a great team.  There wasn’t a cross word all trip and all are competent sailors with a lot of experience, so could take a night watch or helm in difficult conditions.  We all trusted and respected each other.

“I think the whole race is a true test of seamanship.  You can’t use the engine and that means you have to think ahead to be in safe positions when the tide turns against you.

“We tried rowing for 10 minutes at Caernarfon, but a Hanse 458 is not a boat for rowing!  When the tide was against us we just tacked back and forth, and tried to maintain position until it turned again.  We went around Anglesey, not wanting to risk the Menai Strait, and despite the wind holes, still had time to finish.  We did think of putting on the engine, but are glad we didn’t.”

And so, the 44th race came to a close, with everyone across the finish line, the first ever school teams having successful Challenge completions and with a remarkable 7th win for Geoff West in his X99.  It’s been a historic race in many ways, and one to remember.

Next year’s race will start on June 10th.