Please select your home edition
Edition
North Sails Loft 57 Podcast

Double Handed attempt at 40th Three Peaks Yacht Race

by Rob Howard 16 Jun 2017 04:13 PDT 17 June 2017
Pip Hare and Charles Hill set for a double handed attempt in the 40th Three Peaks Yacht Race © Three Peaks Yacht Rac

The Barmouth to Fort William Three Peaks Yacht Race is one of the oldest and most demanding challenges in the sailing and adventure sports calendars. The race began in 1977 and this year celebrates its 40th anniversary event, but Pip Hare and Charles Hill will try something never attempted before, the first double-handed entry.

The race is a daunting challenge under any circumstances, requiring teams to sail up the west coast from Barmouth to harbours close to the three highest peaks in Wales, England and Scotland, then run to their summits and back. This normally requires a team of 5, three crew and two mountain runners, who race non-stop, but Hare and Hill will try to complete all of the sailing and all three runs with just the two of them!

The sailing distance is around 389 miles and the hazards of the passage include sand bars, the passage of the rocky Menai Strait, numerous tidal gates, and shallow harbour entrances, and there is even a whirlpool to beware of! It is demanding coastal sailing and the weather could be anything from gales to calms, during which teams man the oars. It is often both during the same race!

For the runners the challenge is to run up and down Snowdon, Scafell Pike and Ben Nevis from the coast. They will be on the mountains in the dark some of the time and will cover 72 miles of running and 14,000 feet of climbing, plus 26 miles of cycling in the Lake District.

Hare, who has won line honours in the race twice said; "The idea of a double handed entry has been going round for a while and following our 2016 success I really started to think it could be possible. Immediately after the race I was sailing with Charles (who had been a runner on our 2013 entry) and mentioned the idea. He immediately volunteered as co-skipper so things became real."

The pair set about writing a proposal to the race Committee on how they would tackle the challenges of the course as a team of two, then devised a one year training plan, drawing from their own success' in fell running (Hill) and Ocean racing (Hare).

"Preparation for an event like this is everything," remarked Charles. "We are running each of the land routes in its entirety before the event as well as sailing across the Atlantic together. We will need to work closely together through the whole race and it has been a great opportunity to train each other in our different disciplines."

"This is a world first and there is no question double handing this race will be the toughest thing I have ever done", says Hare. "It's going to absolutely push my boundaries of endurance and performance to the limits. I think the hardest moment will be getting through the Menai Straits. We will have sailed for 12 hours from the start, then run a 24 mile course up and down Snowdon – knowing we have to get back on the boat and start sailing again will be a huge mental hurdle."

The duo will be racing on the J109 'Nunatak' and supporting the 'Fairlight School Big Playground Adventure' during their race. This is a project raising funds to provide a much needed outdoor facility for children who may have little or no access to the outdoors in their home environments. Hare said, "Access to the outdoors has been an integral part of achieving my goals through life and given me some of the happiest moments. The Big Playground adventure will enable some children to play and learn safely outside for perhaps the first time in their lives and I cannot think of a more appropriate cause support."

The pair will be on the start line alongside 13 other entries, including several past race winners and the defending 'Kings of the Mountains' (Alex Pilkington and Pavel Paloncy). Paloncy, from the Czech Republic, is one of several international entrants and the competitors range in age from 21 to 72 and will sail a variety of boats (with the overall winner declared under IRC handicap).

You can read full details of all the teams and follow the live coverage of the race from Saturday June 17th at www.threepeaksyachtrace.co.uk. (Teams will have YB satellite trackers so viewers can follow their progress and there will be regular news and photos.)

You can sponsor the Hare Hill team at www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/3peaks2up

You can also follow the race on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ThreePeaksYachtRace and on Twitter @3peaksyacht and #3peaksyachtrace.

For more information on the race please contact the press officer by email on

Related Articles

Onboard reporters in the Course des Caps
Enjoying the challenge of bringing the race to life In the Course des Caps - Boulogne sur Mer - Banque Populaire du Nord, the Onboard Reporters, or OBRs, are back doing a wonderful job of bringing IMOCA racing to life with pictures, videos, interviews and reports from the boats. Posted today at 5:58 pm
Rolex TP52 Worlds in Cascais Day 2
Consistent American Magic Quantum Racing move clear ahead American Magic Quantum Racing stepped three points clear at the top of the 2025 Rolex TP52 World Championship leaderboard today in Cascais, Portugal on the strength of a first and third from two breezy races. Posted today at 5:49 pm
505 UK Nationals at Weymouth
Michael Sims and Carl Gibbon hold back Howie Hamlin and Andy Zinn Apart from one 'stumble' in Race 7, the two leading boats were almost invisibly tied together to the point that after 8 races, they were tied on points. Posted today at 5:38 pm
Robert H. Tiedemann Classics Regatta concludes
A triumphant start to the Classic Yacht Challenge Series The 2025 Robert H. Tiedemann Classics Regatta, hosted by the New York Yacht Club, delivered a spectacular start to this year's Classic Yacht Challenge Series. Posted today at 3:59 pm
Unforgettable Transatlantic Race 2025 finish
First to arrive was Ocean Fifty Calamity, co-skippered by Timo Tavio and Kimo Nordström. It was rush hour in Cowes on Day 15 of the west-to-east Transatlantic Race 2025, as boats crossed the finish line in Cowes within minutes of each other after an epic 3,000-mile battle for top honors in IRC 1. Posted today at 3:10 pm
iQFOiL World Championships set to open in Aarhus
Olympic medalists and world-class riders gather in Denmark for the biggest iQFOiL event of the year. The stage is set in Aarhus for a spectacular week of high-speed sailing as the iQFOiL World Championships 2025 kick off on 4 July, bringing together over 200 of the world's best windsurfers from more than 40 nations. Posted today at 1:28 pm
The Ocean Race Europe to showcase new race tracker
Developed with PredictWind to revolutionise race coverage The Ocean Race, often described as the toughest test of a team in sport and widely recognised as a leader in impactful ocean health initiatives, and PredictWind, a global leader in marine weather forecasting, are collaborating on a new race tracker. Posted today at 12:44 pm
Oliver Heer confirms 2028 Vendée Globe ambition
The Swiss skipper aims to return for the 2028 edition of the legendary solo race with a newer boat After completing the Vendée Globe 2024 on his first attempt, Oliver Heer, the Swiss-German skipper of Tut gut Sailing, has confirmed his intention to return for the 2028 edition of the legendary solo race. Posted today at 8:18 am
SailingFast to provide unrivalled event support
During the WASZP Games at the Weymouth & Portland National Sailing Academy SailingFast UK is set to land in Weymouth on the 8th of July and will be on-site until the 26th of July to provide the GOLD STANDARD in event support. Posted today at 7:00 am
2025 29er Europeans at Lake Garda Opening Ceremony
More than 500 sailors paraded through the Riva del Garda's beautiful streets The 2025 29er European Championship officially opened today in stunning Riva del Garda, hosted by Fraglia Vela Riva. More than 500 sailors paraded through the city's beautiful streets in a colorful, high-energy opening ceremony. Posted on 2 Jul
Rooster 2025Mackay Boats 728x90 BOTTOMCyclops Marine 2023 November - FOOTER