There is something special about taking a boat out of the Bristol Channel and into offshore waters. During the last week in June four PCC boats, Ctrl-J, Jaha!, Hero and Salamander of Kip, in its 50th anniversary year, made the epic voyage across the Irish Sea to represent PCC at the prestigious bi-annual Cork Week, this year held from 6th to 10th July and hosted by the Royal Cork Yacht Club at Crosshaven.

The Delivery: 36 Hours Offshore

Before any racing could begin, the crews faced the ultimate test of seamanship; the 220 nautical mile delivery transit from Portishead Marina to Cork. Negotiating the Bristol Channel’s notorious tides before breaking out into open Atlantic waters, the 36-hour non-stop run demanded round-the-clock watch systems, careful navigation and plenty of resolve!

From rolling Atlantic swells to shifting light winds and at times, thick offshore fog, the passage across to Roche’s Point tested skippers and crews alike – making that first pint of the black stuff at the Royal Cork Yacht Club all the more rewarding!

World Class Racing Off Crosshaven

Cork Week is famous for its incredible variety of racing, putting boats through their paces on everything from coastal offshore courses to tight, round-the-cans harbour racing. Facing off against international entries, local Irish talents and top UK crews, the PCC contingent held their own across the fleets with the IRC handicap division seeing close, tactical racing in open water.

Conditions varied over the course of the week and ranged from bright summer sunshine and ideal sea breezes to eerie morning fog that cleared just in time for tight tactical racing. Teams had to manage complex tides, and frequently changing weather patterns. Off particular note was when the entire regatta fleet assembled for the Harbour Race that saw 80 boats on the start line, described by Ian Bloxham as ‘Quite busy!’ The race saw crews navigate past historical landmarks inside the world’s second-largest natural harbour and featured tight mark roundings, strong tidal streams and intense close-quarters sailing meaning mere seconds separated teams on corrected time!

Commenting on the week’s racing, PCC Commodore, Nick Duppa-Miller said, “The racing in Cork is world-class but the camaraderie of bringing a fleet from Portishead across the Irish Sea is really what makes the trip unforgettable.”

Unrivalled Shoreside Craic to Celebrate

Off the water, the PCC presence was unmistakable! From post-race debriefs at The Oar pub, to the legendary Cork Week social calendar, the PCC pennant was flown high throughout the festival.

Congratulations to all the teams that made the passage and also congratulations to Simon Britten and the crew of Hero for scooping 3rd prize overall in class IRC zero, Andy Williams and the crew of Ctrl-J who came 3rd overall in IRC1 and a special mention to Jaha! who was 5th overall in IRC1.

Also important to mention is the oar that got added to the roof of the The Oar pub in Crosshaven. A number of PCC crews have gathered there over the years to dissect a days racing and noted that the walls and ceilings are adorned with many oars and paddles. Not to be outdone, the PCC team told the landlord in 2024 that we’d return with our PCC oar. Thanks to Kirk Hirons and Richie Birch, the oar was secured, painted with the PCC pennant and signed by all of the PCC crews before it was gifted to the landlord. It now hangs above the bar, an oar-some piece of PCC forever living in Cork!

Looking to Find Out More?

If you’re inspired by offshore or racing adventures, PCC runs regular racing and cruising events throughout the year in the Bristol Channel. Whether your an experienced sailor with your own boat or just want to crew, contact us or join us at Siren’s Calling in Portishead Marina on Wednesday evenings.

The recent Shanghai Cup, the Bristol Channel IRC Championships and Nimrod Cup were held over two weekends in May 2026 with sixteen boats from across the Bristol Channel once again coming together for some spectacular racing. The first weekend in Portishead delivered champagne sailing conditions across three races on the Saturday while Sunday saw racing suspended on safety grounds due to stronger winds than forecast.

With an impressive four overall Shanghai Cup wins to date for PCC boat Ctrl-J, skippered by Andy Williams, many questioned whether he could do it again for a fifth record-breaking year. At the end of day one in Portishead, Ctrl-J took the coveted first overall spot, with CBYC boat Silverback, skippered by Will Boland in second overall and PCC boat Hero, skippered by Simon Britten in third overall.

Improving weather conditions on Sunday afternoon meant that the annual passage race, that sees boats relocate from Portishead to Cardiff for the second leg ran successfully with PCC boat Hero, skippered by Simon Britten finishing first followed by CBYC boat Joyride finishing second and fellow CBYC boat Marco Polo finishing third.

The Cardiff leg started with more champagne sailing conditions and the competitive spirit of the competitors resulted in some lively starting lineups! With five races run on the Saturday before a lack of wind suspended sailing on the Sunday, the crews mustered in the Cardiff Bay Yacht Club clubhouse to discover if Ctrl-J had retained the overall title and to discover who would occupy the other podium positions.

With an almost faultless performance across the whole Shanghai cup, Ctrl-J retained the title for an incredible fifth consecutive year with CBYC boat Silverback and PCC boat Hero taking second and third overall positions respectively and PCC boat Jaha!, skippered by Ian Bloxham coming fourth. Click here to view the full results.

With another successful Shanghai Cup completed, the organising committee wish to thank all of the competing crews, the many volunteers that made the event happen including the committee boats together with the mark layers, race control teams, Portishead Marina and Cardiff Barrage and the many other people involved behind the scenes. As the Bristol Channel IRC Championships falls under the auspices of RORC events, the organisers also wish to thank North Sails for their kind sponsorship including the amazing prize packages.

The Shanghai Cup, the Bristol Channel IRC Championships and Nimrod Cup will return in 2027. Provisional dates are 29th / 30th May for the Portishead Leg and 12th / 13th June in Cardiff. For more information see the official event website.

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