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.