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Saab Salomon Are The Champions

Rob / 02.10.2003

It wasn’t quite plain sailing for Saab Salomon as they came to Barmouth Harbour to win the 2003 British Adventure Racing Championships – but only because they forgot the sails. The tide was against them much of the way and with the wind strongly behind them some high waves were whipped up. “It was great as we were surfing down them,� said Pete James, “who needs sails when you can do that!

The team came through the highest waves where the tide sweeps under the railway bridge spanning the estuary, then beached their canoes by the harbour breakwater and ran over the sands for a hundred metres to cross the finish line at 12.11.56, and claim the title of British Champions. Over 4 days of racing their total cumulative time was 29:13:48, and they lead throughout by an impressive margin. “We had a good time,� said Pete James, “it was a really enjoyable race and we came together as a team more as the race went on.�

Phil Davies was also praising the course. “It’s a very different race, and it was certainly kind to us,� he said. “There was no sleep deprivation and this made the stages faster, especially the run and ride orienteering yesterday. Normally you’d never go at the speed we did on a multi-day race. One thing you do miss not racing through the night is the sunrise, but with the early start this morning we were riding at dawn and it was spectacular – one of the high points of the race, but there were many.�

Then he added that his legs were sore as he’d competed in the World Mountain Running champs in Alaska last weekend and he was worried about a big fell race on the coming weekend!

Second over the line were Thorlos One, finishing with a total time of 37.02.45. They were much quicker on the final paddle, but did have the tide with them and some big sails to power them along. “We took a detour coming off Diffwys,� said Anthony Emmet, “and spent half an hour bushwhacking through dense gorse and bramble, but the paddle was fantastic! We’re tired, and had another been there to push us we would have struggled, but there was no pressure on us today so we enjoyed ourselves and took in the views. It’s a great race and I’d recommend it to anyone.�

Next across the line, though they were to finish in 4th place were North Downs Mountain Rescue though not without a mishap … and they had a few of those. The leading kayak was near the beach when they made the mistake of pausing to take down their sails ... while still in the fast flowing main channel. While those gathered at the finish watched on they were promptly swept out to sea! Someone shouted; “They’re headed for Ireland!� It took some time for them to come back into sight, fighting a fierce tide and the wind to get back into the harbour.

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