The PowerBar Three Peaks Yacht Race
The Last Inn
Rob Howard / 25.06.2010
These were Driac, Ben Folds Five and Prairie Oyster, who had all finished in the early hours. Prairie Oyster had to row into the finish after suffering an engine failure and when Ben Folds Five came in the skipper admitted all of the 4 team members had never sailed before! Talk about a steep learning curve. At least their runners had a fine morning to run up Ben Nevis, which was now clear of cloud again, though that does make it look intimidatingly steep.
As Silver Surfers motored in many of those who had already finished were on their way out, including Maracuja who were stopped just before they left to receive a trophy. The lock keeper had judged the best dressed boat competition and decided they were the winners, so the skipper was called across while the yacht was in the lock and presented with a handsome silver Quaich – a Scottish drinking cup, which the crew were quick to suggest he should fill when they next stopped at a pub on their way back home.
The two runners from the Silver Surfers, Phil Gillard and Jackie Keasley, set off to cheers and clapping from the boats still in the basin ... and they took a spanner with them to collect the timing boxes on the mountain. It is a task which goes with winning the Last Inn Cup! They safely completed the run only to find they were back a little too quickly for their crew and support team, who had to scuttle across the bridge to get the finish line in time to cheer them in!
Speaking afterwards the team said they’d all got on well, and even managed to watch half of the England game while sailing, but that their 40 foot Beneteau was not well suited to rowing! Nevertheless, this spirited team had made it, completing the race well ahead of the official closing time at midday tomorrow, and bringing another great competition to a close.
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