17 teams are set to depart from Barmouth in north-western Wales at 14:00 on 11 June 2016 to take on the challenge of the 39th Three Peaks Yacht Race.
First established in 1977, the Three Peaks Yacht Race is reportedly ranked amongst the 10 most difficult endurance races in the world, alongside the Marathon des Sables and the New Zealand Coast to Coast.
The adventures of H.W. (Bill) Tilman, the climber and sailor who lived in Barmouth, were the inspiration behind the idea of the Three Peaks Yacht Race, which was conceived by Tilman’s doctor, Dr Rob Haworth, and his partner Dr Merfyn Jones.
Teams of four or five per yacht sail from Barmouth to Fort William in the Highlands of Scotland, with two of the crew climbing the highest mountains of Wales, England and Scotland en route, running the equivalent of three marathons in three or four days.
Yachts sail approximately 62 sea miles from Barmouth to Caernarfon, where the runners set off to the summit of Snowdon via the Mountain Ranger Path and return via Llanberis, a distance of 24 miles.
After a further sail of approximately 100 sea miles from Caernarfon to Whitehaven, Cumbria, the runners tackle the longest land leg of the race. The distance to the summit of Scafell Pike and back is a total of some 40 miles, so bicycles are allowed for the first part.
The final sailing leg from Whitehaven to Fort William, Scotland, is a distance of approximately 227 sea miles. The race finishes just north of Fort William at Corpach, the entrance to the Caledonian canal where the sailing is over and skippers can lock in to Corpach Basin and lie alongside.
From here the runners set off to the summit of Ben Nevis. Their race is finished when they return and cross the finish line.
In total, teams must sail 389 miles, climb 11,176ft, run 72 miles and cycle 72 miles.
The overall race record of 2 days, 14 hours and 22 minutes was achieved by team Lightning Reflex, skippered by Geoff West, in 2002.
This year’s race is centred on the adventures of Team Aparito Digital Health, assembled by transatlantic rower Elin Haf Davies. Having established a distinguished career in health research, Elin is also a formidable athlete and adventurer, who has, amongst other adventures, rowed both the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. Included in her all-girl team are endurance athletes Lowri Morgan and Jo Jackson, and transatlantic sailors Pip Hare and Nicci Curwen.
Also taking part this year is British sailor Denise ‘Dee’ Caffari MBE, who in 2006 became the first woman to sail single-handedly and non-stop around the world ‘the wrong way’, westward against the prevailing winds and currents. Dee has assembled a strong running and cycling team and will be racing to support the charity Sail 4 Cancer.
The race will be the subject of a three-part documentary series on S4C to be shown at 19:30 on 13, 20 and 27 July and later in the year on Channel 4. The programme is a co-production between Dream Team Television and Slam Media.
www.threepeaksyachtrace.co.uk
www.sleepmonsters.com
www.dreamteamtv.co.uk
