The PowerBar Three Peaks Yacht Race
Hazard Chase Win the Tilman Trophy
Rob Howard / 01.07.2008
First in were RBS Adventure Quest who had made big gains overnight and just managed to pass Hazard Chase on the final sail down Loch Linnhe.
Andy Eggett, the co-skipper of Hazard Chase, said, “We had a big lead, then I saw their sail behind and thought, surely not! But it was RBS and we ended up both trying to force a way through the Corran Narrows against the tide which was difficult. The wind was going in circles, rising and dropping, and we were very close inshore at one point with maybe a metre depth to spare.�
He lost his battle to arrive first at Corpach, but on Ben Nevis Rob Minton and Piers Copham were quick enough to overtake Steve James and Will Turner and clinch 3rd place and the Tilman Trophy for all round performance having put 4 of the team on a summit. Martin White and Patrick Taylor were the other team members and White was particularly pleased to finish in such a fast time. He last completed the race 20 years ago and remembered his race time from then, which was well over 4 days. “We’ve done it in 2 days 20 hours,� he said, “and I wouldn’t have thought that possible!�
For Co-Skipper Piers Cobham the win was the achievement of an ambition he\'d worked hard to achieve. \"We have spent the last ten months finding a boat and selecting a team,\" he said. \"This included doing a reccy of all the mountains, visiting the Menai straits, testing and bringing the boat up to scratch. We also had outstanding support from the owners and charterers together with a total of 18 people involved in the delivery and back up teams.\"
Having spent the last 3 years training with the JourneyMaker team as both a runner and sailor he knew what it would take to win the prestigious Tilman Trophy and Eggett was his final recruit just two months ago, allowing him the freedom to make the final run up Ben Nevis and achieve his ambition.
Up to this year only one other boat had set a better time (Geoff West’s Lightning Reflex) – but this race has been very fast and had such strength in depth. West’s race record of 2 days 14 hours 22 minutes still stands, but previously the second fastest time after that was 3 days 5 hours ... and it’s likely the top 7 boats will beat that.
RBS Adventure Quest took 4th place after a fast sail on the third leg, and runner Will Turner was pleased to follow in his father’s footsteps. “My dad did the race when I was a baby,� he said, “and it’s been a fantastic experience. I’ve always wanted to do it. It’s such a purist’s race, with simple rules – sail up the coast and run up the mountains!�
The next teams on the mountain are Hero and Killary, the two Irish based boats. (Though Hero has 4 Welshmen aboard and is the only entry for the cup for the best Welsh boat!) After this there is a gap as the following teams could not get through the Corran Narrows and are waiting on the tide to change to make the final approach up Loch Linnhe.
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