English (UK) 
All Smiles on the Summer Series
- Manylion
- Trawiadau: 54
Stephen Tudor and Mark Thompson's J70 Sgrech Bach lead the series after weekend 3 of the Summer Series.
Last weekend saw them face their youngest opponents yet. Judging by the smiles on the faces of our little Pwllheli sailors, I think they all enjoyed it and we look forward to seeing them out there again soon.
There is still one more weekend left to challenge them in the series and new members are always welcome at Pwllheli Sailing Club, where there is something for everyone at any age.
Send in your cruising and racing stories and come and join us for fun on and off the water.
All the information you need is on the website but get in touch if you need help finding the information you are looking for.
Excellent Result for Chris and Gareth in Italy
- Manylion
- Trawiadau: 47
Well done to Chris Jones and Gareth Jones Davis, who competed in the two handed Marina militare nastro rosa il Giro d'Italia 2026.
They competed for team Verein Seglerhaus AM, sailing the 7th leg of the series, 224nm from Napoli to Portoferraio on one of the Figaro 3s.
Although sailing for the German team, Chris was adamant that they were going to be flying the flag for Pwllheli Sailing Club and proudly displayed our burgee on the stern.
They set off at great pace on Saturday and logged a 1st place at the first two out of the four gates. Challenging winds and constant battles amongst the top 3 places saw them finish on Monday morning in 3rd place after a nail-biting last few miles. Their fine efforts boosted the team's standing overall, moving them up two places into 3rd overall from 5th place.
Great Offshore results for Pwllheli Sailing Club over the weekend
- Manylion
- Trawiadau: 39
Pata Negra finishing in Cork Harbour - Photo by Afloat Magazine
Pwllheli were at the top of the board again in the ISORA K2Q race at the weekend. Starting Friday lunchtime, the 160nm race set a course from Dun Laoghaire to Cork. The race had many challenges, starting with light winds and although more wind could be found offshore, tide advantages could be found inshore. Wind shifts around Bray head reset the race in a game of snakes and ladders and any lead gained out of Dublin bay was diminished. Perseverance paid off, along with determination in a challenging sea state, upwind the whole 160nm, even after turning the corner at Tuskar lighthouse.
Mojito heading out of Dublin Bay after the start of- photo by Afloat.ie
Pwllheli Sailing Club’s Pata Negra (Andrew&Sam Hall) took line honours on Saturday afternoon but after sailing a more conservative 171nm, fellow club members Peter Dunlop and Vicky Cox and Mojito, took the overall win on handicap.
Hannah and Geoff Dufton-Kelly - Photo by Hannah Dufton-Kelly
Also from Pwllheli Sailing Club, Geoff and Hannah Dutton-Kelly on First 40.7 Crackajack, showed tremendous determination, sticking it out to the bitter end for valuable series points. Other competitors were retiring but they continued to the end despite being short handed in the challenging race.
Good Luck to all our sailors this weekend
- Manylion
- Trawiadau: 262
Good luck to two of our young sailors Chris Jones and Gareth Jones Davis who are competing in leg 7 of the Giro d'Italia a Vela 2026, a two handed test of endurance and sailing skills on the Beneteau Figaro 3s.
The 1,250-nautical-mile event circumnavigates the Italian Peninsula in stages from Venice, stopping in Cattolica, Vieste, Taranto, Siracusa, Tropea, Naples, and Portoferraio, before finishing in Genoa.
Chris and Gareth will be sailing the penultimate (7th) leg of the event from Naples to Portoferraio, for team Verein Seglerhaus am Wannsee (boat 05), starting Saturday 4th July.
Meanwhile, Crackajack, Mojito, and Pata Negra are all heading to Dun Laoghaire for the Kingstown to Queenstown race (K2Q) starting tomorrow. As always, you can track their progress on the ISORA yellow brick tracker.
We wish all our sailors safe sailing and look forward to welcoming them back in the bay for some summer sailing and, of course, the Welsh IRC championships - Get your entries in now!
Pwllheli 10 Hour Race a resounding success
- Manylion
- Trawiadau: 126
It's been a busy year for the club so far and last weekend saw the return of Jackknife back from the transatlantic and their many adventures in Antigua and St Maarten. Crackajack returned from her adventures in the Isle of Man and Mojito were back from the south coast regattas.
Sadly, a testing Round Ireland race this year meant that some of fleet didn't manage to arrive home till just after the inaugural Pwllheli 10 hour race on Saturday. The race was perfect for racers and cruisers alike. Sandwiches and chosen beverages were packed and boats head round the circuit for 10 hours, at which point results were calculated on distance sailed and adjusted according to handicap.
Initial forecasts showing gust of up to 35kt put off many of our fleet but after a miserable start with winds briefly building to the top of a force 6, those out sailing were rewarded by a pleasant, sunny day on the water. The race took in the whole of the Tremadog bay giving many opportunities for spectators to watch the racing.
Pwllheli Sailing Club had a good view of boats at the start and at subsequent roundings of the Pwllheli Fairway buoy, then spectators at Gimblet Rock Holiday Park and along the beach had close up views of the boats as they headed round the Firmhelm marine mark 2 at the west end, before heading round the Llanbedrog headland.
South Caernarfon Yacht Club then had good views from the club house as the fleet rounded the South East and South West racing marks before returning to the Fairway and back for the next lap.
For those not keen on braving the elements for close up views, both Pwllheli Sailing Club and South Caernarfon Yacht Club set up big screens showing the trackers of all boats taking part, along with the leaderboard as it progressed.
As boats were lapped on the water, greetings were exchanged along with a friendly wave. Then, when the allotted hour was reached, everyone took photographic evidence of their position coordinates and headed back to Plas Heli for results and a hog roast joined by club members, cruisers and racers alike. All in all it was a resounding success and we are already planning next year's 10 Hour Race.
Next big event on our calendar is the Gimblet Rock Celtic Regatta including the Welsh IRC championships 4th to 6th September. With feeder races both from and to Dun Laoghaire there really is no reason not to join in the fun, whichever side of the channel you are based. Make sure you get your entries in soon at ircwelshchamps.com
For now though, our YTC summer series continues on the 4/5 July and 1/2 August, not forgetting the commodore's Pwllheli regatta on the 18th July. A chance for fancy dress, a race, a parade of boats along with the RNLI, and the possibility of a photo or two. Open to all - come and say hello and join us for fun on the water.
It’s been a busy couple of weeks for our sailors
- Manylion
- Trawiadau: 360
It’s been a busy couple of weeks for our sailors
Well where did those last two week go?
And it has been all go for our sailors.
The spring regatta was a great success, seeing racing around both CHPSC marks and SCYC marks to join the Spring regatta at Abersoch. From all reports it sounded like everyone enjoyed the event, even if there were some sore heads after the last night in the bar.
Meanwhile, on the south coast, Impetuous, Mojito, Gelert, Day Dream believer and Blue Berret Pi, all took part in the Poole IRC European Championship. Some excellent sailing by Impetuous saw them take top spot in IRC class 1. Well done everyone, it certainly highlighted the class of sailing we have here in Tremadog bay.
Back home our youth sailors were taking part in the RS Tera nationals. Well done to Tai Harrold completing in his first ever competition. Tai is also a regular in the crew of Paul&Sam Kitteringham’s Finally and I’m sure we’ll see more of Tai in the future.
This weekend saw our offshore sailors braving conditions in the Midnight race from Liverpool to Douglas. Well done to Andrew and Sam and team on Pata Negra, winning the race overall adding yet another bullet to their scores across the board on the ISORA series. They were joined in Douglas by Chris Miles and Jezebel finishing in 3rd place in class 0. In fact vewing the overall table once again shows the quality of sailing out of Pwllheli with Pata Negra at the top and Nigel Ingram’s Darling in 4th place and Paul&Sam Kitteringham’s Finally in 5th place overall.
The start of the Midnight Race - photo by Pete Ashworth
Back in the bay there are some summer races for cruisers scheduled using the YTC handicap which is free to obtain and can simply use the standard measurements for boat type. With all our IRC racers either away at regattas or offshore, this is the ideal time for cruisers to have a go. Let us know if you’d like to race and come and speak to us if you need advice.
There’s always the Tremadog Triangle too. Out from the Gimblet Rock start line and around marks 2 (sponsored by Firmhelm), 8 and 10 before back to the Gimblet Rock finish line or do it in reverse. Do it any time between April and November while our marks are laid and let us know your elapsed time and handicap and we’ll add you to the leaderboard. By the way, marks 8 and 10 can still be sponsored so get in touch if you’d like some additional advertising.
Next on our schedule is the 10hour race run in conjunction with the ISORA coastal on the 27th June. The race is based on the Southport 24hour dinghy race where boats race nonstop for the allotted time trying to make as much distance as possible. Handicaps are applied to the distance sailed and average speeds over the distance to determine the winner. It is well known as a great social event as well as a great race.
RS Tera CHPSC represented by Tai Harrold
- Manylion
- Trawiadau: 403
This week we're giving a big cheer to CHPSC youth sailor Tai Harrold, as he is representing the club in the RS Tera nationals taking place here in Pwllheli. Good luck Tai!!
16 year old Tai has been sailing with CHIPAC, the clubs youth section for 8 years, and is sailing in the Pro Tera fleet. There are over a 100 sailors entered in the national championships in two feets and make quite a stunning spectacle on the water! The event runs for three days of sailing and comprises 10-12 races, of standard and sprint courses.
CHIPAC lessons run every Friday evening, with a mixture of levels of sailors learning on the RYA pathway of sailing. A number of our past students have gone on to successfully racing and representing both Wales and the UK, whilst others have developed successful careers in the marine industry, working with organisations such as SailGP. We are currently fully subscribed but are taking names on our waiting list for the next intake.
As always we are very grateful to the club members that volunteer their time to help with both CHIPAC and our visiting events run smoothly.
Plas Heli has seen 330 sailors competing over the last 8 days with the RS Feva completing their 4 day event on Tuesday. and the RS Tera concluding on Saturday 30th May.
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