Corran Narrows

The last challenge we faced before the end of the race, after bobbing around in the North Channel off Portpatrick and struggling up past Jura, Mull and Lismore, was to pass the bottleneck at Corran. Mike was steering and the tide had turned. The current was getting steadily stronger and the tide was falling. We tried on the starboard side of the channel and bounced back off a rock. Then we tried further out in the tide. Too strong. Stormer and Torbellino came up and took our wind and sneaked past with superior boat speed. Dismayed we dropped back to regroup and have a think about it. Then in the distance we saw the cheering sight of Kithros 2 with her Topsham SC spinnaker up rowing feverishly towards us. We decided to watch the masterclass and see if we could get any tips from Uncle Bill. The crew of Kithros collectively had about 25 years of Three Peaks yacht racing to our six. Creeping up the port side on the eddy they made it through in one go followed by the Helly Hansen girls we had been battling with all night. We tucked in behind them and followed them through, heart in mouth as we scraped past the ferry. With a sigh of relief we picked up the first of a chain of katabatic gusts and set off up the Loch again. Thanks Bill!

Menai Straits

This was the highpoint of the race for me. We left Victoria Dock in 7th position thanks to the superb running Pat and Paul put in on Snowdon. The plan was to stay on the mainland side of the strait and creep along in the shallows out of the tide. The only rocky area on the chart was up by the Brittania Bridge so we dodged along in and out of moorings and through fleets of children training in Oppies in Port Dinorwic. Out in the adverse tide the big asymmetrics gybed downwind and we crept closer as we approached the first bridge. There were four boats out in the channel including Journeymaker and GFT Adventure. EADS was stuck on the middle span of the Britannia Bridge. Flying our blue and red symmetrical spinnaker we sneaked along the shore. About 50 yards from the bridge I could see the tide ripping about a metre off the port bow, and Patrick was shouting "rocks off the starboard bow". Heart in mouth I steered through. With one bump on a rock we made it through at the first attempt. We carried on past the Swellies Rock and crossed over to the left side of Menai at the Platters passing the photographer in his RIB. Due to our invisible force shield he could not capture our image but we popped out ahead of everybody except EADS and one other boat. The wind then died away at Puffin island and the whole fleet bobbed in the Irish sea for the next 12 hours. And so ended our moment of glory.

Bardsey Head at night

Home again and having caught up on sleep I have been reflecting on our race. We had such a lot of fun and enjoyed ourselves so much the result seems almost immaterial. The weather was so fickle it was a battle to find enough wind to progress against the tide. Some of the night sailing off Bardsey Head was the most difficult I have ever done. While Pete was steering Mike was rock spotting in the dark and I was using the plotter both to estimate our distance off the rocks and calculate our progress against the tide towards the next waypoint. If we strayed too close to the cliffs we were in trouble, but if we went to far out we got caught in the tide and whirled backwards on a mad tidal merry go round. We past one rock three times! The other boats were doing the same and it was common to have a boat coming towards you backwards and out of control in the dark. Eventually we grasped the exact nature of the problem and steered our way out of the tide and escaped towards Caernarvon.

Champagne moments

These shots come from the official website of the smiling photogenic Patrick and Paul enjoying their run and some champagne moments after the finish. The ”champagne” is a superb sparking Rose, a kind donation, from the award wining Pebblebed vineyard just outside Topsham. There was a celebration meal on the restaurant boat on the Thursday night. On Friday the famous five set off either home directly or to take the boat back – it has been an adventure after all.

1811 Topsham Toe in the Water has finished, finished well and finished 10th !!

What a finish it was too! First it was the sailors who fought back through the night with Pete and Mike rowing past 5 boats and the first half of Lismore Island when the wind died. Then Mike slept while Kate took up an oar for the next half of Lismore Island. So Pete rowed a 40’ boat 18 miles in a night. These Marines are made of something special! They reached the Corran narrows and found 5 knots of tide against them. They had three attempts to shoot the narrows and could not get through and thought they would have to wait for the tide to turn. Then they saw the other Topsham boat Kithros II steaming up towards them. They watched in awe as they gave a master class in how to get through! Our team are fast learners and Mike immediately copied the technique of the masters and got through straight away. They were also followed through by the all girl team of Helly Hansen UK who they have been with all the way round despite the girls having a faster boat. All was going to plan as they steamed up towards the finish when suddenly the wind died again! A desperate bit of final rowing saw them get in ias 12th boat just ahead of 3 others who finished in the next 12 minutes and within 41 minutes of the two boats immediately ahead of them. They beat Helly Hansen UK by only 4 minutes after nearly 5 days of racing giving Kate the title of first lady skipper although she would be the first to say she would never have been there had it not been for some very, very special men.
Two of those special men were the runners, Paul and Patrick. They had helped greatly by rowing and sailing on the last leg but still were raring to go. They did a quick transfer and set off at great pace. Despite the hot sun they did a remarkable time of 3 hour 6 minutes which would have been easily been the fastest time for the run last year but they were just piped this year by GFT Adventure who beat them by just 3 minutes. They also rapidly overtook both the pairs of runners who were started off 43 minutes ahead of them. The runners 3 places ahead of this had already finished before they set off and to beat these would have been tough call even for our super heroes!. How do they mange to look so fresh and smilely at the finnish of such a tough run?

This final series of star turns meant a top ten finish – a remarkable result out of 32 starters in a very tough race in testing condiitond which 8 boats failed to finish 5 ofthem because the only way they could escape from being dashed against the rocks was by using their motor.

Thursday 1300 The tricky Corran Narrows and tricky Bill Ricketts

A major challenge about 10 miles from the final destination is the Corran Narrows which has tides of 6 knots! Topsham Toe in the Water sat while the tide was at its strongest unable to get through. As the struggled Kithros II the other Topsham boat skippered by race veterans Bill and Neil Ricketts was steaming towards them at 6 knots with their spinnaker up making up lots of distance having chosen to go the East rather than the West side of the Isle of Lismore. Just as Kirthros reached Topsham Toe at just before 1pm they both got through the narrows together. I am sure there will be a full on race to the finish for the privilege of being the first Topsham boat in.

Spirits are still excellent aboard although the chronic lack of sleep must take its toll at some time. The report that they may be about to get Scurvy having run out days ago of fresh fruit and veg. which was already in short supply due to the sacrifices by Pete to the wind gods. I am sure David will have emergency fruit standing by. One last push in the boat and then a final tough wind.

Thursday 0800 The prospect of a very hot run ahead

Overnight Topsham Toe in the Water have held 11th/12th position but progress is slow and they are rowing hard against the tide. Ben Nevis is looking beautiful in bright Scottish sun but this may make it a very tough ordeal for the runners especially if they try to improve on their place in the runners standing. After the climbs on Snowdon and Scafell Pike Patrick and Paul lie 4th on total climb times, they are 32 minutes behind GFT Adventure, 18 minutes behind Penmaenmawr SC and only 2 minutes behind EADS Innovation runners. There are no strong threats from behind for the runners as Hazard Chase and Team Isle of Manhen are 47 and 56 minutes behind them. The difficulty is that Topsham Toe in the Water still has 20 miles to go but the other leading runners team have either arrived or should arrive in the next hour. This means that the other runners will compete at least some of their run in the cool of the morning but Patrick and Paul could be running in the hottest part of the day. However it may still be an evening run as Topsham Toe may need to wait for the tide to turn again to get through the Corran narrows.

Wednesday 2400 When in doubt phone a friend!

How do you decide on your route especially when the light wind and strong tide means you can lose a massive amount by a wrong decision? Mike reported that “Kate is doing some navigating by statistics! Coming over the 'scares' her philosophy was that its a big ocean and very small rocks so we probably won't hit them!”

This morning they were back battling for 14th position and in danger of missing out to the bigger and faster boats near them. They then tried a new approach and at 10am they played their “phone a friend card”! They got advice from Gavin, Paul’s father in law, an experienced sailor on the West Coast of Scotland. It was a radical decision to not follow the rest of the fleet in to Sound of Jura to the East of Jura but rather to go up the Sound of Islay and stay on Jura’s West coast. It was a longer route but potentially there would be more wind and the adverse tide might be less. At 1800 it looked like a very big gamble but the time of writing it looks like this has paid off and they have gained both places and distance on the fleet. The question is now how they will do as the winds drops in the still night and there is an increasing tide against them. Ahead of them most of the fleet is held up at tidal gate between the isles of Luing and Scarba and the few who made I past here will be unlike to get past the 5 knot tide of the Corran narrows which will not turn until 4am. All this means that if they can find a decent breeze there is an opportunity to join up with the leaders. Time will tell!

Tuesday 2400 Row, row, row, your boat!

It has been a long hot day for the Topsham Toe water – quite often the wind has died to nothing and the strong currents have meant that rowing is the only way to have steerage way. Mike is now chief rowing coach and they have rung the changes on the music to row to replacing last nights Queen with Santana. This put them in peak condition for a coxed pair competition with two Sigmas. Fortunately this was interrupted by a return of a breath of wind. They remain locked in battle for 11th place with Helly Hansen UK and Starship.
Morale seems remarkably good aboard Topsham Toe despite the frustrations of their long light weather sail. David and Marilyn Rochester , the shore team, were very positive about the race this afternoon.

Tuesday 1300 To go forwards when the rest are going backwards is fast!

The Welsh winds have been doing their light and variable bit again making it hard to reach Scotland. In the adverse tide many of the boats have been going backwards at 2 -3 knots while Topsham Toe in the Water has been hugging the shore to escape the tide and has made steady progress forward. They are right up with the leaders having been consistently in the first 6 all morning and now seem to have wind and are making 4 -6 knots. They are in exalted company with all the fast boats of the fleet around them. They are benefiting from Paul’s experience sailing in these parts and are threatening to contact Gavin, Paul’s father in law who is an experienced West coast sailor, using their “phone a friend” option. Kate attributes their good progress to a stuffed bear (see above!) and Pete sacrificing lettuce and imaginary tea bags to the sea! I think hours on end in no wind and full sun can turn you just a bit crazy!

What about the other Topsham Boat Kithros II?

The other Topsham boat in the race is Kithros II. The crew includes three members of the legendary Rickets family . Skipper Bill Rickets introduced Kate to the pleasures of the Three Peaks yacht race in Kithros last year, All the sailors aboard have done the Three Peaks race many times and are very experienced and skilled. Despite having one of the slower boats they are 22nd and going well. They were right up with Topsham Toe in the Water yesterday afternoon but as the map shows took a daring route up the Coast. This brave gamble did not pay off and it looked as they would be too late to get in the lock but pulled off an amasing feat to get in at the last minute leaving another boat who tried to follow her, Whisky Galore, grounded outside the lock

Tuesday 0100 – Laughter aboard Topsham Toe in the Water

Kate is steering Topsham Toe in the Water with good effect and has managed to keep way on the boat. This has temporarily put them in the lead. The majority of the fleet have no wind and so have been swept North by the tide and are now further from the Mull of Gallway (the turning point and most southerly point of Scotland) than when they left Whitehaven. She puts it down to “good luck” and will be only too aware of how things can rapidly change. In the mean time Mike is kindly teaching Pete limericks – possibly an IT tradition that you must have a laugh before bed. Kate says she had to threaten the “awesome runner” Paul with rectal fluids he was so dehydrated. I am not sure if this was a joke (for him or for the others?) but she goes on to say “much laughter on boat”!
The team are very appreciative of the superb efforts of the back up team of David and Marilyn who are keeping them feed, watered, informed and smiling. It does sound a very happy team

Monday 2100 – The 2 P’s are back from Scafell Pike- another great performance

Patrick and Paul did a superb job on the cycle and run up Scafell Pike in a fine and sunny if rather too hot afternoon. Despite having to cope with blistered feet and high temperatures they did a superb time of 7 hours 15 minutes the 4th fastest time. This took the Topsham Toe team from 16th to 8th and within an hour of the leaders who had to wait for the tide before they could leave the lock. The time would have been even faster if they had not had a puncture. Patrick, ever the perfectionist, when asked how it had gone said "I have had better days". The runners can now have a good nights sleep and recover.
Now it is the sailors turn and once again it looks like they have a desperate sail through the night. The wind is very light and most boats speed at the 2300 was 0 knots!

Monday 1340 Arrived at Whitehaven - news of a possible ladder

At 1340 Topsham Toe in the Water reached the second of their three ports. This was great news as they needed to get before 1500 or would have to wait for the tide to come back up to get throguh the lockinto the harbor. They arrived at Whitehaven with a good turn of speed as the wind finally came up to force 2-3. They are in 16th position but the good news is that they closed up a lot on the other boats this morning so they are only 1 hour 12 minutes of 6th place so it is everything to play for once more!
This morning Patrick and Paul were desperately carbohydrate loading eating bowls of their special runners porridge. They are keen and raring to go – the long sail was frustrating but did mean they got a proper rest before the toughest land leg. They now set off to cycle the 18 miles to the foot of Scafell Pike cycle before the tough climb to the peak. They then return again by a combination of running and cycling. The total trip took the runners between 6.8 and 13.9 hours last year so it is a very tough challenge

STOP PRESS Spoke to Kate the team are in fine shape and going to have a shower and food before sleeping. The tide is now fallling and once the loch closes at 1500 it will not open again until 2030 this means the leading boats will need to wait for the tide. The super runners think they may do Scafell in 6.5hours (but it is very hot) so this means our heros have a chance to be back with the leaders. Good to have a ladder after the snakes of yesterday evening!

Monday 0800 - It has been a long night

The Topsham TITW team are making progress towards Whitehaven but it has been slow and frustrating. The winds have been light and variable with speeds ranging between 0 and 6 knots. There is still about 50 miles to go and they will be hoping a steady wind fills in but the forecast is not promising. They are now about 18th in the fleet but there are still lots of snakes and ladders around in these tricky conditions.

2300 Sunday – Snakes and Ladders in very light and very shifty winds

It must have been a day of highs and lows on Topsham Toe in the Water – after their great run and inspired sail through the Menai straits things got even better and at 1600 they were in the lead! But then with out even killing an Albatross “Down dropt the breeze, the sails dropt down, 'Twas sad as sad could be” There followed a very frustrating time with no wind and the boats from behind all came up on the tide. The speed for all the boats is now between 0-2 knots. Kate has just reported “Rowing hard with Ipod sound track trying not to get demoralised “ a few minutes latter came a text saying “Found some wind” and on the tracker they reached a giddy 3.6 knots. Fingers crossed! Latest position estimated to be about 10th. I hope they get some wind soon the remaining 100 miles or so to Whitehaven will take a very long time at 0 – 2 mph!
The support team meantime set off to Whitehaven hoping to be able to dry their feet. In the 30 seconds waiting for Topsham Toe in the Water to come alongside their feet were engulfed in the rising Menai Straits tide! .It is a sign of their dedication that they did not stop even for a few minutes to change their socks – putting the team’s need before their own personal comfort!

Sunday 1330 Topsham tip toes beautifully through the Menai Straits

Now it is time for the sailors to show some magical skill. They set out from Caernathon needing to negotiate the ripping adverse tide of the Menai Straits in fickle light winds. A brilliant course where they hugged the Mainland bank has seen them charge through the fleet passing boats that are a lot bigger and a lot faster than them. They went from 8th place leaving Caernathon to third place (out of 32) passing under the Menai Bridge. This photo is taken by David Rochester from the bridge, This put them only 2km behind the leading pair. A great bit of sailing! It is likely the bigger boats speed will ultimately tell but it does keep them in touch. Hopefully the runners will be getting some well deserved rest although it is still a long sail to Whitehaven it is not long to recover for the long cycle ride and run up Scarfel.

Fantastic run on Snowdon by Patrick and Paul!

Sunday 10.49 setting sail again. Wow! Patrick and Paul have put in a flying run on Snowdon – doing the run from Caernathon docks to the peak of Snowdon and back in an amazing time of 3hr 35 minutes . They even kept smiling despite their breakneck pace! Their run was the second fastest of all the runners and very close to the course record. This has meant that Topsham Toe in the Water have overtaken 4 other teams on this leg and are now lying 8th out of 33 starters and are within 3 minutes of 5th! Well done boys!
Kate has sent a text from the boat showing spirits are high even if the boat is not perfect – she says.. “Water tank leaking, battery low, wind speed indicator dodgy. 2 hours sleep and our boys are flying round! It’s brilliant! :-) “
It is now a very tough sail / row against the very strong tide in the Menai straits. It is noticeable that the leaders are only 4.5km ahead despite having a lead of 1hr 40 minutes – still all to play for!
David Rochester is doing a great job not only providing food and water for the boat and shore based teams but also getting great photos to us from his phone. The picture below is Dipper – the Topsham Toe in the Water’s boat coming in to drop off their runners.

0714 Sunday Arrived at Caernathon

At 0714 Topsham Toe in the Water arrived at Caernathon and dropped off their runners. They are in 12th place only 1 hour and 50 minutes behind the leader and within 40 minutes of 9 other boats. Kithros II, the other Topsham boat, is only a few places behind them doing especially well as she is one of the smallest boats in the fleet.
The wind dropped in the night and the tide around Bardsey head near Bardsey Island was fierce and swept the competitors backwards. It was a game of snakes and ladders as you needed to keep in shore to miss the tide but if you came in too far you lost the wind and ran the danger of hitting the rocks. Topsham Toe in the Water was well up with the leaders round the head but just lost the wind at the bar at Caernarfon. Runners Patrick and Paul slept well and were looking forward to the run which will be in day light after the slow sail. Time for the exhausted sailors to eat their Muffins bought to them by David and Marilyn and get some rest. Having fast runners may mean they don't get much sleep!

Saturday at 2220 - looking good

Topsham Toe in the Water have been going well on the first leg. They went North and this has paid off - 4hr and 20 minutes after the start they are around 10th. They are travelling betwen 5 and 6 knots

And they are off...!

Topsham Toe in the Water set off at 1800 on Saturday. With Mike at the helm they have made a good start and are in the top third of the fleet. Kate reports "Dolphins on the bow and runners good at brewing tea. Morale high"

All ready for the off

Here is the Topsham Toe in the Water team taken at 11am on the day of the start. They had there last proper meal for 4 days in a Pizza house and are thoroughly carbohydrate loaded! Kate won the Pizza eating race and even helped with others left overs -she takes pre-race nutrition very seriously! On Pete’s instructions the sailors are now going to sleep before the start! During the race last year when sailing on Kirthros II Pete famously advised "If you aren't sailing or eating you should probably be sleeping!" Certainly sleep is likely to be in as almost as much short supply as good Pizza during the race. The runners are revising their running routes .The wind is anticipated to be force 3 to 5 and will be blowing from the North West so it will be a beat for the first leg. Kates last text ended with the phrase "Totally ready!"

Meet the shore back up team

This is David and Marilyn Rochester the shore back up team for Topsham Toe in the Water. Like Kate and Mike they are Topsham Sailing club members. They will be key team members in charge of everything ashore and will provide bikes, drinks and support for the runners. The punishing schedule of long distance driving and arrivals in the middle of the night means they will get as little sleep as the sailors.

Who are the Topsham Toe in the Water runners?

Meet the runners! Here are Paul Wiiliams and Patrick Wallis the super keen ultra marathon runners with a penchant for mountains. They have competed in montain races all over the world and are frequently in the prizes. They got to hear about the Topsham team from a friend of Patricks - Rachel who has just starting research work in Exeter with Kate’s husband Andrew.

Rapid edit of details of their sailing experience suggested by crew as Paul has a "sailing family in Scotland"!. Patrick and Paul have sailed all their lives. This is good as 3 marathons up mountains in 4 days is hard enough without having to recover from sea sickness as well. If there are any problems Kate can come to their rescue as she has a wide range of sea sickness treatment including scopolamine patches that gave her hallucinogenic highs in the force 9 gale on the last 3 peaks race!

How are the sailors before their epic race?

The team have been focusing and in the zone for the race – this means they only grunt when they phone and texts give little away. These pictures of the team taken after a sail in a gale and 4 hours sleep and show they are clearly finely tuned athletes at the top of their game(!). A few foibles have been revealed Kate refuses to get up unless she has filter coffee, Pete, as part of an ancient Marines ritual, throws lettuce and imaginary tea leaves over the side and Mike is growing a beard and demands repeat photos until he is looking his best.

Topsham Toe in the Water gets to Barmouth

Kate, Mike and Pete have made it to Barmouth ready for the start of the race. They arrived at Barmouth at 0400 on Thursday morning and sheltered in the harbour from some very stormy weather. They took the opportunity to look at the Menai Straits when the weather was more pleasant and this picture was taken by Mike on his Blackberry when they just passed Caernarfon on Wednesday afternoon. The team are still not sending pictures of themselves - possibly they are having a joint bad hair day or are concerned the camera phones will not do justice to their fine features! Hopefully the star back up team of the Rochesters will be able to send us pictures of the brave crew before they set off on the race! They should have plenty of time before the race starts at 6.30 on Saturday 20th June.

The journey to the start - to Wales via Ireland and the Isle of Man

The sailing team of Kate, Mike and Pete have picked up their race boat "Dipper" from Laargs on the West Coast of Scotland. On Saturday (13th June) they began sailing it down towards the start of the 3 Peaks Yacht Race The first stop was Lamlash (the view in the left is Holy Island) on Arran on Saturday night.





On Sunday this was the view from the boat at dawn. They sailed across the Irish Sea to Bangor in light winds and showers. Spirits were high and the boat went well in the light breezes.

On Monday they set off for the Isle of Man in thick fog.They were very grateful for the loan David's handheld GPS and chart plotter that helped them avoid rocks and islands!

On Tuesday they crossed back to the Welsh Coast and had their first view of the Menai Straits where they will latter do battle against the tide.

All packed for Scotland!

Everything is now packed and the car is fully repaired and loaded with food box and bike racks. Thanks to Geoff from Pebblebed for some lovely sparkling rose for the finish, and Martin Taylor for his flag collection!The annoying and expensive orange warning light has at last been extinguished at great cost so Dave and Marilyn can enjoy a fully functioning Volvo. I am still struggling to finish an essay assignment due in 10 days, which will have to be submitted before I leave. And however hard I look I can't find the handheld GPS which has vanished into a parallel universe. But that is small beer. The charts are marked up, the tides predicted and the forecast pored over so now we have to go and get on with it! Next stop Largs.

Team shirts

I picked up the shirts today and haven't found a spelling mistake yet. This picture was taken in a messy teenager's room but thanks Rosie for interrupting your physics revision for me. Just in time for a photocall with the Exmouth Journal photographer, as they are featuring us (TSC) on their website next week.

Curry on the menu

Just what was needed. Scientific evidence that regular doses of curry are good for you and can be justifed on medical grounds!
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/4/20090604/tuk-curry-a-day-could-keep-dementia-away-dba1618.html
So Mike may be able to have his wish of chicken curry for breakfast lunch and supper, if only to keep our wits sharp. We might smell a bit strongly though!

Wideawake on the edge

This is Mike and crew on his boat Wideawake taken from the Laser during the Brick and Balloon race last week. He got into a "death roll" sequence and was swinging wildly from one side to the other. Fair play he was the only one to fly the spinnaker that day and he was in second until the jib halyard fell down!
This boat is very similar to Dipper just six foot shorter.

Great minds and chocolate milk!

I was reading the module of my Sports Medicine course on nutrition and muscle recovery today, and read that carbohydrate/protein drinks are the ideal post race supplement. When I emailed this to Paul saying that we would make them milkshakes he responded with a message he sent to Patrick today about drinking chocolate milk! The interesting question is not whether the runners need post run supplementing, that is beyond doubt, but whether the sailors can justify it. We after all will be doing continuous low grade exertion for four days or so. I think continuous low grade eating is the answer. Tea and flapjacks on the hour?

Sea sick pills

I went down to the pharmacy yesterday and collected industrial quantities of sea sick pills. 100 x stugeron, 100 x kwells and 6 scopoderm patches. I was amused by Patrick. When I asked which he preferred said "all of them". Hopefully none...

This is the boat we are sailing in the 2009 Three Peaks yacht race. She comes from Largs and belongs to Muir Anderson at Flamingo Yacht Charter. I spent a happy evening racing with him and the crew at Fairlie YC finding out about Dipper. Next time I see her will be in four weeks time when Mike Pete and I pick her up for the trip down to Barmouth.

Topsham Toe in the Water 2009

This is the first entry on the Race blog. If the technology works this is where we will post our progress and maybe photos during the race.
The team includes me as Skipper, Mike Searle and Pete Vale as sailors and Patrick Wallis and Paul Williams as runners.