The PowerBar Three Peaks Yacht Race
All in Bar One
Rob Howard / 02.07.2008
It’s been a feature of this race that there has been close racing throughout the field, and the back of the race was no exception, with Kithross II, Whisky Galore and Seahorse Sailing Club all passing the final buoy on Loch Linnhe within minute of each other and motoring in together. (Caol Ileachs had come in 15 minutes before them.)
“We had taken shelter in a bay near Larne in N. Ireland for 8 hours and the conditions were so rough,� said Bill Ricketts, “and thought we were a long way behind. So, we were surprised to see sails ahead and find ourselves in a race to the finish. Once we did we were competing!� Too much so for the liking of Whisky Galore who didn’t pull directly alongside the pontoon and saw Kithross II nip in ahead of them!
So yet again there was a race on Ben Nevis and there were some good times being posted by the runners. Will Moore and Andrew Harris of Caol Ileachs managed to stay ahead and clinch 14th place for their team – but only just! Val Swingler and Tim Devanney off Seahorse Sailing Club finished just one minute behind them. (This mixed pair have put in some great times on the runs – more on that later when we round up the news on the running competition.) Then just 5 minutes later in came Mervyn Williams and Steven Shelton-Smith from Whisky Galore.
Charles Clarke, the skipper and organiser of the Whisky Galore team, is a stalwart supporter of the race which he describes as one of the greatest endeavours in British sport. This year his runners came from another boat which withdrew, so the team were only brought together late, but got on well. “We know where we made our mistakes.� said Clarke. “Our runners got off to a bad start when they took the wrong road out of Caernarfon, going wrong by a couple of hours, but these things happen. Then we ran aground coming out of Whitehaven at two in the morning. We knew it was a risk and gave it a try, and thought we’d make it as we saw EADS aground and thought we could go around them in the channel. We were right next to them but no one was in the mood for chatting!�
That left Colin Ricketts and Anton Lawrence from Kithross II to come in, and depending what happens with Sanoodi they may yet win the Last Inn Cup. Sanoodi still plan to snatch it from them though. They have been sheltered in Stranrear from some time, and are still there planning to leave tonight or tomorrow morning depending on the forecast and sea conditions. They say their ETA is ‘sometime Saturday’!
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