Castle 2 Castle 13mile Challenge Race – 25th June 2016 C2C is an exciting 13 mile race between the two beautiful North Walian castle towns of Beaumaris on Anglesey and Caernarfon on the mainland, with the race following the magnificent Menai Straits taking the crews underneath the iconic Menai suspension bridge and the Britannia rail bridge and through the treacherous “Swellies”.
Our Wiseman`s crew due to towing logistics had managed to arrange the loan of a Celtic from Beaumaris Yacht Club to allow them to take part in the weekends racing, so for the next 2 hours the celtic longboat “Menai” No.105 would be in the safe hands of our Wisey Mixed crew of –
Simon, Jim, Caroline, Bryony and Nick Ryan
With the tea and bacon rolls onboard, our nomadic Wisey crew assembled for the first time together since arriving on the shore of Beaumaris with another 19 Celtic crews, 1 Pembrokeshire and a Yole.
The start proved a tricky negotiation with tide and wind to keep the crews on the start line, but unfortunately the moment the flag went to start the race our Wisey crew found themselves boxed in on all quarters, resulting in the strangest start to a race ever ( even for a Wiseman`s crew).
Once the field opened up ahead of “Menai 105” the Wisey Mixed crew set about cutting their way through the fleet ahead of them and within 20 minutes found themselves comfortably in 8th place and settled into a long, strong relaxed stroke, with the boat finding an exceptional “groove “ it flew thorough the water and steadily pulled alongside Ynys Mon Mixed crew in their Pembrokeshire and the Porthmadog mens crew and for the next few miles the boats battled and swapped positions, tussling for the best water and line.
Eventually the Porthmadog Men slowly pulled ahead along with the Ynys Mon crew, but the Wisey Mixed crew kept within a boat length of their rivals, through the “Swellies”, under the bridges, the crews continued to push each other and Llanberis men crew had also been caught up and they became part of the final push for the finish line.
With the weather becoming ever fouler with the rain and wind reducing visibility during the final 2 miles, and to add to the excitement for our crew the bung accidentally got pulled out and was only noticed once water lapped around the mid boat feet blocks.
Finally with Caernarfon Castle in sight the crew sprinted to a very wet finish line and crossed in 6th place, 1st Celtic Mixed crew, only narrowly being beaten to a trophy by the exceptional mixed crew from Ynys Mon in their Pembrokeshire.
Once in the fantastic surroundings of the Royal Welsh Yacht Club within a tower of Caernarfon castle and everyone had dried off and warmed up, it was time for food in the Black Boy and celebrate the Welsh football team beating Northern Ireland in Euro2016.
This was yet another great rowing weekend away with Llanion Warriors and our other rowing friends who make these weekends so special. And a special thanks to Beaumaris for the loan of “Menai 105”
Onwards to the next race weekend which is a bit closer to home…. Wiseman`s Bridge here we come!