Pwllheli Autumn Challenge Series 2026 - Week 2
by Vicky Cox 6 Oct 00:38 PDT
19-20 September 2026
Mojito Bach, Andromeda and Mojito as seen from Finally - Pwllheli Autumn Challenge Series week 2 © Paul Kitteringham
Every sailing weekend in Pwllheli lately seems to have consisted of two very different halves and this weekend continued that format.
Saturday saw beautiful blue skies and very little wind but in Pwllheli it's all about the camaraderie and an excuse to get together, so racing carried on regardless. On glassy seas you could see pockets of zephyrs dotted across the bay as a sea breeze started to battle with gradient winds from the north. Luck played a huge part in determining who got the gusts, making for interesting spectacle. The whole fleet stationary apart from one boat speeding to towards the next mark, only to come to an abrupt halt and be passed by the next boat to catch the breeze. Boats were side by side, heading in the same direction on different tacks.
Rob Morris and Emma Hattersley's Erasmus was loving the light airs, leading the fleet around the S&S tyres mark to the East, the Jac y Do mark south east and back to the start line before heading to the west end. Unfortunately after missing an inevitable call of shortened course at the Firmhelm Marine mark, they put in extra distance before heading to the finish, third over the line.
Meanwhile J70 Mojito Bach passed the whole fleet and looked like they would surely take line honours. But no, they slowed to a crawl as Will Partington's Andromeda took up the baton all the way to the finish line. Their share of the wind ran out just metres from the line, leaving them parked up there and waiting their next turn. Still, they were close enough to get line honours and win the race overall, four minutes ahead of Mojito Bach on corrected. For Paul Kitteringham it was a frustrating race but Finally did manage to eventually finish, with 20 minutes left before the time limit cut off.
By the second race the wind had filled in slightly, with anything from 4kts up to 12kts in some parts of the bay. Yet again Erasmus was loving the conditions, getting a great start on the line with Mojito and a quick acceleration as soon as the gun went meant they soon took the lead, rounding the Partington Marine turning mark first before heading south west to mark number 4 and a long kite leg to the Jac y Do mark. But the increased wind was just what Mojito needed and once their kite was up, they managed to get ahead and take the lead. Mojito Bach also took advantage of the kite legs finishing just 5seconds behind Mojito on corrected on IRC and beating Mojito on YTC handicap by 1 second.
Everyone regrouped at Plas Heli to review the results and to watch the race replay on TV before heading to the local Indian restaurant and joining club members from our cruising section for a curry and a very pleasant evening.
Sunday in contrast to Saturday was a miserable day with very little visibility and a certain amount of guesswork was needed for navigation to the next racing mark. The up side though, was plenty of breeze, from around 12kts first thing, building to gusts of almost 20kts by the end of the day.
Race officer Robin Evans took steps to set courses to the west, keeping the fleet away from the fairway buoy and channel, so they didn't run into the RYA training squad out in the bay. When the mist lifted occasionally, it was great to see everyone out on the water - young and old, on boats large and small, everyone enjoying their time on the water.
Paul and Sam Kitteringham's Elan 350 Finally, is always keen for a good start but they were challenged from the get go by J70, Mojito Bach helmed by Heather Griffiths. A lost jib sheet resulted in Mojito starting last over the line but once they got sorted they soon caught up the fleet and a spinnaker wrap on Andromeda allowed them to take over the lead. Finally were second over the line but with both J70's Mojito Bach and and Stephen Tudor & Mark Thompson's Sgrech Bach hot on their tail, they had to settle for 4th place.
Race two was a very close start with much jostling which saw Mojito over the line early and heading back around the pin end and many of the others having to make a quick duck back behind the line before getting away. But Mojito had clear air and managed to hang onto the fleet. Only Andromeda were ahead at the first mark, the Partington Marine turning mark, with everyone still bunched together. Only when the fleet headed up wind to the Tudor Estate agents mark 3 did the fleet start to significantly spread out, with Mojito loving the increasing winds and playing the wind shifts to take the lead. After a second lap around the Tudor Estate agents Mark and the Firmhelm mark at the west end they headed to the finish eight minutes ahead of the rest of the fleet on elapsed time, three minutes ahead of Will Partington's A35 Andromeda.
Mojito lead the series but there is still plenty of time to join in. Many boats are starting winter maintenance but with a tremendous amount of collaboration in Pwllheli, crew and skippers are welcomed aboard the remaining fleet to join in the racing. If interested, whether racing your own boat or wanting to join a crew, simply contact the club via
Full details of the racing, results and videos: pro.pwllhelisailingclub.org/public/current