The object of the race is to sail from Barmouth to Fort William, via Caernarfon and Ravenglass, taking in the three highest peaks in England, Wales and Scotland en route. No engines are allowed.

The race winner was the specially built trimaran, "Severalles Challenge" which completed the course in under three days.

Our special thanks go to Monkton Combe School for the loan of the oars and to 'Total Fitness' of Bath for the supply of equipment.

The concept of the race is simple - climb the highest peaks in Wales, England and Scotland, but only use wind and man power to travel the 467 miles between them. The reality is much more complex; tidal barriers at Caernarvon, Menai, Ravenglass and Corran mean that timing is crucial and this inevitably leads to enormous pressure being placed on the two runners to make their ascents in exceptionally fast times. When the race started in 1977, the pace was much more sedate, the aim being to sail between the ports and walk up each peak. In the intervening years the bid to increase speed led to walkers beginning to run, and then when the wind dropped, somebody thought of rowing.

For 1991's event, Monkton Combe School Boat Club supplied the team from Quicksilver with a pair of oars which were fitted to the yacht via a set of specially fabricated steel arms into which two rowlocks were bolted. The oars proved to be invaluable, enabling us to row the yacht through the 'Swellies', a notorious tidal channel at the narrowest part of the Menai Strait, and then to maintain progress all the way to Fort William despite very sporadic conditions.

A close fought battle with the lighter and faster catamaran 'Sea Legs' was won only after non-stop rowing for 19 hours, covering the full length of Loch Linnie, over 25 miles.

In a race where speed and shallow draught are all important, our yacht 'Quicksilver', a moderately fast but deep draughted monohull of 34 feet did well to finish 12th out of the 24 original starters. Our runners, the 'Flying shepherds' from the Yorkshire Dales managed the fastest time for the run from Fort William to Ben Nevis and back, 171/2 miles in 2 hours 53 minutes, a creditable achievement given that the run was at night on unfamiliar territory.

The race is a great test of sailing and running ability and this year's event claimed its victims. Amongst the first five boats that retired a dramatic and potentially lethal incident occurred to the monohull 'Men of Harlech' when she lost her keel after hitting a sandbank on the Caernarvon Bar. The yacht sank very quickly, leaving her crew in a life raft in steep seas at 3 a.m. Fortunately all were recovered safely. A noteworthy entry this year was the catamaran 'Sea Legs' whose crew included a blind man. Not only was he completely capable of sailing the boat but he also ran the 28 miles to Snowdon Summit from Caemarvon, guided by his partner.