The PowerBar Three Peaks Yacht Race
Close Racing for Irish and Welsh Boats
Rob Howard / 01.07.2008
Hero and Killary, the two Irish based boats, had a tussle throughout the race, often competing side by side. “When we got past the Corran narrows we were right alongside each other – so close you could step from one boat to another.
We have been close all the way and arrived here a minute apart,� said Daragh Muldowney of Killary. “We couldn’t see a thing on top and they were just too strong for us on the run.� The two pairs of runners finished just 5 minutes apart with Hero taking 5th place and Killary 6th, but Killary did finish second in the Tilman Trophy.
Next to finish were White Cloud, who have had some fast times and are well places on the IRC handicap competition, the came the two boats from the Conwy Sailing School, Team Indian Summer and Still Smiling.
Keith Mander of Indian Summer was all smiles and was quick to say I couldn’t write the headline about waiting for an Indian Summer again! His team have finished last for the past two years and won the Last Inn Cup, and they were delighted not to retain it. This year they were racing in Mistral, a Sigma 38, which Mander only recently bought and he admitted the most practice the team had had with it was on the way to Barmouth for the race! They didn’t fly the spinnaker much during the race and Mander’s most memorable moment was in the Menai Strait. “We were stopped by the tide and came very close to anchoring but just got pushed through. We thought no one else would get through after us, but they did.�
“Without the runners rowing I wonder if we would have made it. Then right at the end, in Loch Linnhe, we had to row again to get to the final buoy.� At this point one of the runners added; “That’s a Royal we he is using there!�
Mistral was formerly owned by the Conwy Sailing School and is still chartered through them, and the same goes for the Sigma 400, Still Smiling. They were up with the leaders leaving Whitehaven but broached in the night, splitting their mainsail and damaging the spreaders, and Indian Summer were surprised to catch and pass them.
Skipper Ian Thomas was already thinking about doing the race again as he waited for his runners to finish, and wasn’t too disappointed. “We aimed to finish in the top 10 and race safely and managed that, and it’s great the two Conwy boats finished.�
When the Still Smiling runners came in he asked them how it was on the summit and got the reply, “the same as all the rest!�
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