Cymraeg 
- CHPSC -
Clwb Hwylio Pwllheli Sailing Club
The Heart of Welsh Sailing and a Community Amateur Sports Club
Andrew & Sam Hall of Pwllheli are "Sailors of the Month (Offshore)" for September
- Details
- Hits: 688
The distinctive Lombard 46 Pata Negra, raced by father-and-son team of Andrew and Sam Hall of Pwllheli, took it to the wire in the season-long 36-boat ISORA fleet by closing on the main titles in September's closing races.
A familiar sight racing on both sides of the Atlantic and in the Mediterranean, Pata Negra has come to signify all that is best in Irish Sea racing.
Sam Hall's Pata Negra Post
- Details
- Hits: 842
The following is a copy of the Post by Sam Hall on the 2025 sailing season.
As I would normally count the “Start” of the season in Malta let’s start there.
*The 2024 Rolex Middle Sea Race*
Perhaps one of the most special sailing moments of over a decade of offshore sailing. The start was something out of a dream. Planing out the Grand Harbour on the boat where it all started with Dad at the Wheel. What a moment. Along side a fantastic crew made up of @Andrew @Stephen @Fletch @James @Elsa @Mark @Harry we achieved a respectable 3rd in Class after standing by a fellow competitor who had dismasted.
*RORC Transatlantic Race*
This was a 4th for Dad and myself.
Joined by @Matt @Fletch @Mark @Jane @Vivi @James @Will we went to battle with the Atlantic! Although a smaller fleet then we have seen it was full of tough competition. An exceptionally well sailed Tchuess was a masterclass. In our class we came second to the mighty Tequila. Yet again another respectable result. Great job Team PN!
*RORC C600*
Another 4th for Dad and I. This race did not disappoint! Joined by @Matt @Fletch @James @Will @Jane @Harry @Nick and @Fabio once again we went out in the ring. This race was full of challenges (some more avoidable than others 😅) nonetheless the team worked their socks off round every corner and gave it everything. In the end another this time much closer 2nd in Class to the fantastically sailed Albator. Another solid shift. Thank you Team PN.
*Heineken Regatta*
Well F*ck… this regatta is always hard to remember…. 🍻 A cracking event! Joined on this wild week by @James @Fletch @Margrit @Will @Mark @Pugsi @Jane @Andy @Aimee and @Hannah. There were plenty of memorable moments from this one! But I will stick to the sailing highlights 😉! It’s not every regatta you get to walk away with straight bullets. Nice work Team PN!
*Welsh Coastal Series*
The freshest reminder of “We’re not in the Caribbean anymore” This was a challenge. Refit pending and a series which took a boats best 3 Races meant we had very little room for error in order to be victorious. We had to do in 3 races. Two Wins and a Second secured us the title early on. Big thanks to Everyone who joined us, you all made it possible!
*Welsh IRCs*
Nothing like racing on home turf and at your home club PSC 🙂
Unlike in St Maarten where our competition was very like for like ~ boat for boat, this event present a much tougher fleet given the majority of races run were W/L. No discredit to the race committee as we did get our opportunity to stretch out legs on some great round the cans courses as well. Ultimately the skilfully sailed Impetuous was too tough to beat straight up and down but the blustery conditions did make us a close second which given the format of racing and a lot of fresh faces on the boat was a great success kickstarting the Irish Sea Seaon! Great to be joined by @Anthony @Chris @Anada @George @Debbie @Hannah @Nick @Harry
*D2D*
Irish Gold, a fine showcase of the amazing Irish Coastline and culture in Dingle. Great Hospitality and one of the most enjoyable events of the whole year. This was the first real offshore test of a new bunch of people in preparation for the mighty Fastnet. 2 days of building trust in each other, learning of the boat and a great team bonding session at the end was the perfect recipe. Although we didn’t have a big triumph here we had a great battle with the similarly rated Freya who we battled fiercely only pipping her to the line in the final moments of the race. Great Job @George @James @Harry @Hannh @Will @Andy @Anthony @Stephen @Nick @toby
*IOM Midnight Race*
Very glad to make it to the start of this race. A great event with plenty of history that we really wanted to support. LYCs spotlight event that we could not miss. Although the conditions were not quite the record breaking ones we saw on Jackknife that year it did feel great powering out the Mersey with the kite up with the powerful backdrop of the city. Never gets old. What seemed like a win of great margins it was not. Max Too kept us looking over our shoulder for the entirety of the race and made it very close. Big thanks to our crew of @Paul @Josh @George @Toby @Adam @Heather @Iago @Gareth
*Lyver Trophy*
Part of the ISORA series but a biannual race with very iconic trophy. This race was key in landing key points in the Overall ISORA leaderboard. Using the “old but gold” Jib Top which through the season became a major asset we planed over the finish line on a tight reach to win the race. I do not know how that sail is still going!
*VDLR/RDOC*
Probably one of the events in a jam packed season you would wince at how it could be possible! As seasoned VDLR Competitors over the years it was hard to say no. Although we were short of many of the regular faces we were joined by some great crew. This time we welcomed @Will @Harry @Ben @Lucy @Ruairi @Cormac @Tadhg @Toby @George @Iago and @Aimee. A very young but talented bunch of sailers on the whole pulled together to take a 2nd overall in the RDOC after being overtaken by our PSC team mates Mojito! Still a very respectable result. Thank you all again.
*100th Anniversary Rolex Fastnet*
I think any of the classic races when there’s a anniversary year to race is special, but when we’re talking about 100 years of the largest offshore race in the world it’s an honour to be able to take part and making at even more special to do it with my Dad and team of mates who are as much an extension of family as well as friends. @Stephen @George @Thomas @Harry @Hannah @Toby @Tommy @Nick @Will @Andy made up the team. Weather was much tamer than previous events with this being the first race I haven’t reefed, challenge averse the race was not however. Well done Team PN for 60th Overall against some of the finest boast to ever take part with the re introduction of the Admirals Cup. Cherbourg you also did not disappoint! Mercí
*AKBW*
Anddddd Breathe… yes we like to have a bit of chill here.. take it easyish… 🥴 . A great end of Summer event we love to take part in as things almost start to wind down. Favourably the winds were very calm helping us to keep PN in good shape for the ISORA Finale. Joined by fresh new faces again we went sailing, partied, slept and repeated all week. Many games of beer pong, perhaps as many games as sail changes… Great to be joined by our Mojito mates @Lucy @Chris and the new faces of @Adam and @Will. Thank you. Great week and thank you SCYC for your hospitality as always.
*James Eadie*
The “Grand Finale“ and the “do or do not. There is no try” ~ Yoda. This race was everything. Mojito Aurelia and US. We had to beat them and they had to beat us. Initially in the week leading up to this race the forecast was promising 25 knots just aft of the beam. A dreamy forecast for Pata but of course it could only be a tease. Although the breeze didn’t weaken much, it did leave us on a dead run all the way to Dublin Bay. Now given the conditions this was still fine however as our A4 sad goodbye to us shortly after Bardsey and it did make it a little stressful to say the least. Our A6 was the next sail of choice and that meant hot angles and lots of gybes to keep us covering our competition. We just had to beat the J122s and that was all we cared about to win the Season. Ultimately we managed to get Pata 1st over the line but 2nd overall in the race beaten by a very well family sailed JPK 10.30 ReQuest. It did not matter to us though as the season was ours. Since 2013 dad and I have dreamed of the chance to win it overall together and through all the ups and downs this meant all so much to the both of us. Joining us for the last race was @Stephen @George @Toby @Harry @Hannah @Will @Nick @James @Anthony and @Andy.
Big thank you to the people who raced with us this year in other races not mentioned directly here @Jen @April @rory @Racheal @Dave @Awel @Trevor @Kristian
ILCA Nationals 2025
- Details
- Hits: 864
Great Feedback for Plas Heli following the ILCA Nationals this summer 212 competitors and a great event,.
Pata Negra wins the 2025 Musto ISORA Series, and 'Wolf's Head' trophy
- Details
- Hits: 967
Congratulations to Andrew and Sam Hall, and the crew of the Lombard 46 "Pata Negra" finishing second in Saturday's breezy James Eadie race starting in Pwllheli and finishing in Dun Laoghaire, securing the 2025 championship ahead of Aurelia and Mojito, both retiring with spinnaker wraps.
Andrew previosly won the Wolf's head trophy three times back in 1995, 1996 and 2002, and Pata Negra navigator Stephen Tudor winning the title in 2012, 2013 and 2016 with Sgrech. It was great to see this new campaign on Pata Negra succeeding with Andrew's son Sam as co-skipper this year.
The Winners of the Wolf's Head Trophy from 1977 to 2025 are listed here
Pwllheli Sailing Club has been an integral part of the ISORA series for many years, taking the team trophy for the last decade, and club boats Jackknife, Sgrech, Mojito and Jac Y Do taking several class wins, with of course the oustanding results by Peter and Vicky (Mojito) with 3 series wins, matching Andrew and Stephen, and on the podium for 10 out of the last 11 years, leading the way for our club against the power houses of the Dublin Bay Yacht Clubs.
Andrew has been very encouraging for those of us racing in smaller boats, and always the first to reach out with advice, and to congratulate others on their results.
Enjoy this success, and we look forward to recognising this fine result at our awards dinner in December.
More information and photos in afloat.ie
The full season results are available here
Commodore's Newsletter
- Details
- Hits: 1559
Dear members and friends,
And before we know it…. summer came, the sun shone, and seemingly is now disappearing fast, and it’s September. The months are flying by! I do hope you have all had an excellent summer, and enjoyed lots of good sailing and boating trips, near and far. As always, we’d love to hear the stories of your trips and adventures, and encourage you to submit pictures, which always brighten up any newsletter or website.
I was most saddened to hear the news of the passing of Peter Driver, one of our clubs’ regular members and racing skippers. Peter was a lovely, warm, friend to many and will be missed sorely by the club. The flags were lowered to half mast, and the Flag Officers and Club members send our sincere condolences to his family and loved ones.
The last few months in Pwllheli have been a hive of activity, with events from the IRC’s, to ILCA’s and Techno windsurfers (to name but a few), and the RYA Welsh Youth and Junior championships, just around the corner. Our volunteers have worked hard at making every event a great success, and it’s been a pleasure to see our home so busy and buzzing!! Both the Sailing Club and Plas Heli are immensely grateful for the support of our volunteers and neither the club nor Plas Heli would be as successful without your assistance. Thank you!
In racing news, a big well done to four our club’s racing fleet, Mojito, Pata Negra, Jezebel and Finally, that all entered and completed this year’s Rolex Fastnet Race. This year marked the 100th year since the first edition of the Fastnet and saw a record fleet in reasonably favourable conditions. A huge well done to all.
The ISORA series has been well supported this year by Welsh boats, and with several Welsh successes. Good luck to all entering the ISORA James Eadie Pwllheli to Dun Laoghaire race next weekend!
The Autumn Series is also now upon us and is always a popular series. You don’t have to be a regular racer to enter, and information and assistance from our race team is available, on obtaining a YTC rating (the national rating system for cruiser racers), so all boats are welcome to join the fun. Saturday and Sunday afternoons after racing are always a popular and busy time in the bar (again all welcome) and your committee are discussing dates for an evening supper once the nights draw in a little. Also on the schedule will be the annual quiz night in November, in conjunction with the RNLI, and as a date for your diaries, the Annual Prizegiving and Christmas dinner will be held on the 6th December.
We regularly post news, updates, and snippets to the website, so please keep an eye out there, and happy to post there, on request, anything anyone feels may be of interest to members. Please email
May the fair winds and sunshine continue for a while longer.
Warmest regards – Hwyl
Lyndsay
Morlywydd - Commodore
Techno 293 World Championship's
- Details
- Hits: 891
After the successful ILCA Nationals, its straight into the Techno Worlds, showcasing this class of young sailors from all over the world. Its been a privilege for our small team of volunteers to facilitate this event for these young sailors, who are absolutely smashing it on and off the water! It's well worth coming down to Plas Heli to watch the last few days, and any help offered will be greatfully accepted! More info at https://worlds2025.techno293.org/
z
Page 5 of 6
