This is definitely an event for all of you to follow from the comfort of your armchair! I am taking a team to compete in this extreme adventure race. It starts on June 20th 2009 from Barmouth in Wales and with a team of three sailors and two runners we wend our way via the summits of Snowdon, Scafell Pike and Ben Nevis to Fort William. Along the way we sail into Caernarvon, up the Menai straits and across the Irish sea to Whitehaven then out round the Mull of Galloway and Kintyre and up the Sound of Jura to Loch Linnhe.

The team is called Topsham Toe in the Water. The website is:

http://www.threepeaksyachtrace.co.uk/index.php3  and you can follow our GPS tracker round the course.

As we are raising funds for charity if anyone wants to donate to Toe in the Water see their website. Messages of support, derision or sympathy will be appreciated (via the sleepmonsters link on the site)

If Bill's new Parker 29 is fast enough I will take one round the course...this year I have to make do with a Jeanneau 38.[}:)]

Kate

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Well we made it round the course in 5 days. The hardest part was the lack of wind, particularly when we were rounding Bardsey head against the tide. Menai Straits was fun, we crept along the 2-3m contour and overtook most of the fleet who thought 4m was shallow! After popping out in the lead we lost the wind again and floated around the Irish sea rowing all night. Our runners were brilliant and kept us up the leader board by overtaking lots of teams on the mountains. We left Whitehaven in a calm and bobbed our way along Galloway trying all tricks known to sailors to make way, rowing for several hours and sacrificing lettuce leaves. Eventually one has a Zen moment and accepts one cannot fight the universe. By the time we got to Loch Linnhe we had rowed most of 15 miles up Lismore, and struggled again to beat the tide at the Corran narrows in no wind. The scenery was wonderful, the crew were hilarious and made me laugh for five days, and I loved every minute of it. A Parker 335 would be a great boat for this race... oh and we came 10th out of 32 teams and I think were first Scottish boat.

Kate

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