While those of us in Portishead were readying our boats for the season ahead, hoping that the weather bucks up soon, committee member Ian Bloxham and PCC member Tim Harcombe recently headed to Antigua to take part in the Nelson’s Cup Regatta and the RORC Caribbean 600 (C600), the latter being a non-stop 600 nautical mile offshore race, which weaves its way through eleven Caribbean islands.

The C600 attracts an international fleet of over 600 sailors and all types of yachts – from the huge super-maxis and multi-hulls, through to IRC boats. Ian and Tim were racing aboard Faenol, a First 36 from Pwllheli Yacht Club under IRC 2.

The conditions for this year’s event were challenging for all crews, with 20+ knot breezes and large ocean swells. The trade winds had also shifted slightly to be more southerly than usual which led to longer upwind legs, particularly the 50Nm closing stretch between Redonda and the English Harbour finish line. The party on the dock soon made the endurance at sea very worthwhile though!!

Ian said, “It was an amazing experience to be part of such a prestigious and international fleet. We were very pleased with our position of 7th in class and 28th overall.”

Congratulations to Ian and Tim on completing the course and welcome back! Just in time to join the PCC Spring 2026 race series, albeit a slightly different proposition!

Organised by the Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC), in association with the UNCL, Yacht Club de Dinard, Société Nautique de la Baie de St Malo, JOG and the Royal Yacht Squadron, the Cowes Dinard St Malo Race is a true RORC Classic. Starting from the Royal Yacht Squadron Line, Cowes, Isle of Wight, from 1100 BST on Friday 11^th July, PCC boat Assassin was among the fleet of over 150 boats that lined up on the start line for this iconic race.

Glorious conditions produced a spectacular start. The fleet headed west in tropical temperatures and a solid easterly breeze with spinnakers flying right from the start. Approaching Hurst Narrows, the easterly gradient breeze in the Solent faded away in a transition zone created by the new breeze in the English Channel. It was slow going for the fleet in unstable light airs for the first 24 hours, and the extreme heat added to the challenge, but the wind eventually picked up, creating a superb finish into St Malo.

Despite Assassin planning a fine dinner in St Malo, the weather had other ideas and the Assassin crew had to make do with a very late moules et frites at the local Irish pub! Then, in a further twist, instead of having the whole of Sunday to relax in St Malo, the team had to instead leave St Malo late morning given the stronger winds that were building towards the English coast. Unlike the race to St Malo, this meant that the team were rewarded with a fast sail back to Portland covering the distance in 18 hours.

Photo credits: RORC, Mike Sweet & Charles Washbourn

The Bristol Channel IRC Championships 2025, sponsored by North Sails, held its second and final leg over the weekend of 24th/ 25th May. Racing in Cardiff and Penarth Roads, just off Cardiff Bay, it saw the fleet re-group from across the Bristol Channel.

Organised by PCC and Cardiff Bay Yacht Club (CBYC), the regatta aimed to run racing across both Saturday and Sunday. With a typical bank holiday forecast breaking the recent spell of settled weather, crews were anticipating a weekend of mixed conditions.

Saturday’s racing initially saw less wind than forecast with holes and shifts scattered over the course. The committee set a series of windward / leeward races using a combination of laid and navigational marks.

As the breeze filled in the racing became fast and furious, with the lighter boats planing downwind and all crews being tested to the limit. The racing was close, with the results being decided by seconds not minutes. There were some impressive broaches as the wind speed climbed towards a force 6 and after 3 races the teams returned to the bar at CBYC. For a review of the action, see the video below.

With Sunday’s racing cancelled on safety grounds, the podium positions saw representation from the length of the Bristol Channel with boats from Cardiff Bay and Pembrokeshire taking second and third. The winner, for an impressive fourth consecutive year, was the Portishead J109, Ctrl-J skippered by Andy Williams, who was awarded the stunning Shanghai Cup and a host of prizes from event sponsors North Sails. For the full regatta results, visit the event website.

A huge thank you to the organising committee for another successful Bristol Channel IRC Championships and to event sponsors North Sails. Thanks are also due to Cardiff Barrage for getting the boats in and out together with the crew at CBYC for their hospitality after the racing.

Photo & video credit: Tim Gifford

The Bristol Channel IRC Championships 2025 got off to a great start in Portishead over the May Day Bank Holiday weekend with a fleet drawn from across the Bristol Channel.

The championships run over a weekend in Portishead and then a weekend in Cardiff with a maximum of six races expected to run in Portishead and eight in Cardiff. Jointly organised by PCC and Cardiff Bay Yacht Club (CBYC), this year’s event was sponsored by North Sails, who provided an amazing prize showcase!

Both days of racing delivered ‘champagne conditions’ with a bit more breeze on the second day as crews saw a maximum of force 4 and bright sunny skies.

The first race on day one was held just off Portishead Pier before the the second race used the Shoots bouy up by the Prince of Wales bridge as the rounding mark to ensure racing kept out the way of commercial shipping using Bristol Port. The final race of the day saw the fleet head across to Denny Island and back before the crews congregated at the Portishead Marina boat hoist for a drinks reception that provided a great opportunity to dissect the days racing.

Day two’s racing started with two races just off Portishead Pier before the final race of the Portishead leg saw the fleet once more head to Denny Island and back.

The racing was close on both days with only a few feet separating the boats on the water and a few seconds on the corrected time scoreboard. Crews played the tide where it sometimes paid to take the back eddy and other times used the tide to generate additional pressure. With tight margins to use spinnakers on day two, the crews had to deploy considerable tactics to ensure they kept their position on the course – including a memorable spinnaker surf into the pool on the last race that provided a spectacular sight for those watching on the shore.

At the end of the Portishead leg of this year’s Bristol Channel IRC Championships sponsored by North Sails, PCC boat Ctrl-J, skippered by Andy Williams took the lead position closely followed by fellow PCC boat Scrumpy-J, skippered by Nick Duppa-Miller with CBYC boat Silverback, skippered by Will Boland, taking third overall.

If you missed all the action, catch-up below.

With another eight potential races to be sailed during the Cardiff leg over the weekend of 24th /25th May, there’s still time for the leaderboard to change again!

With thanks to the Boatfolk team at Portishead Marina for managing the locking in and out of the fleet and offering competing boats a 50% discount, the race officer team aboard Alibi for managing the event and the wider organising team for producing another memorable Portishead leg of the annual Bristol Channel IRC Championships sponsored by North Sails.

Photo and video credit: Tim Gifford.