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Day 2 of the PowerBar Three Peaks Yacht Race saw the weather take its toll on the boats and sailors, with only Vlad seemingly immune as it continued on towards the finish with a massive lead over nearest rival Nunatak.
14 of the teams have now left Whitehaven for the Fort William leg. Vlad the Impaler is way in the lead, followed by Nunatak. Roadrunner and Journeymaker are fast on their heels. At 0800 this morning, seven sets of runners on the mountain and the conditions are cold but OK. There are two more to come in - Indian Summer and Freedom.
Team Pastime have retired and gone to Holyhead and Ellen MacArthur Trust have also retired. One of the cyclists had to cycle the return distance of 15 miles from Ennerdale without a saddle because it had broken! The weather is improving, with fresh winds but no gales forecast.
Team Confusion, which has crew members from the race home town of Barmouth, are just through Ennerdale at about 0803. The boys are doing the run and the rest of the crew are going to the chandler's to try and pick up some sail sliders which had broken. The plan is to repair the boat and carry on with the race. The team are all in good spirits but were a little vague last night because of tiredness. Everything in the boat was very wet and they are trying to dry stuff out before the next leg.
Beach Fox have had the lifeboat out to them twice. Once in the straits and they were towed to Douglas with a rope round the prop. Kithros, who were also forced to put to shore on the Isle of Man, said that Douglas was lovely - but unfortunately everything was closed on a Monday, even those that said OPEN!
The teams now face the longest sailing challenge of the race, before they must tackle the highest peak, a nasty kick in the tail to an already challenging race. With the weather seemingly clearing, conditions look ok, but fatigue and the elements have done their best to dishearten the spirit of the teams, however they are carrying on regardless.
Spectators can follow the race live at www.threepeaksyachtrace.co.uk, where there will be leader board updates and new for 2007, will be a live online tracker linked to each boat, making the race easier to follow than ever before.
The PowerBar Barmouth to Fort William Three Peaks Yacht Race combines yachting and mountain running (and a little bit of cycling) into one of the greatest adventure challenges in British sport. The race is now in it’s 30th year and it’s sail/run format has been copied in similar races as far away Hong Kong and Tasmania.
Teams comprise 3 sailors and 2 runners, and their aim is to sail from Barmouth on the Welsh coast to Fort William in Scotland, via Caernarfon and Whitehaven, climbing to the summits of Snowdon, Scafell Pike and Ben Nevis on the way. (The athletes cycle from Whitehaven into Ennerdale and run up and down Scafell Pike from there.)
In total this is 389 miles of difficult coastal sailing, 18 miles of cycling and 72 miles of running, with 14,000 feet of ascent to reach the highest points in Wales, England and Scotland.
The race is open to monohull yachts only and engine power can only be used close to port, but yachts can be rowed, or even pulled along by crew members on the shore. There are no handicaps or adjustments, it’s a straight race and the first team to get their runners back to their yacht in Fort William, having completed all the mountains, wins the coveted Daily Telegraph Cup.
There are other trophies to race for as well. The fastest runners over all 3 tops are the ‘Kings of the Mountains’, and there are cups for the fastest run on each peak too. Equally prestigious is the ‘Tilman Trophy’, named after the great mountaineer and sailor who inspired the race. This is for all round performance and is for the fastest yacht which has put 4 team members onto a summit.
The race attracts some of the world's best sailors and runners, as well as teams who hope just to complete the course, which is a considerable achievement in its own right.
For more information on the PowerBar Three Peaks Yacht Race please visit www.threepeaksyachtrace.co.uk.
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