A clean sweep for Aberdyfi

Boats line up for the start of the Mixed Race

The conditions were near perfect for the Beaumaris League Race on Sunday with the recent hot weather cooling off and the coastal winds dying down just in time.

With 23 boats from 13 clubs taking part, the foreshore and Sailing Club were a buzz of excitement as rowers and supporters gathered for their breakfast and cox’s briefing.

The biggest issue facing the crews was the lack of water in the channel due to the spring tide, so much so that the Women’s Race had to be shortened as three of the marker buoys were stranded on the Menai’s sandbanks.

With a bumper 19 boats jostling for position on the start line, this led to a chaotic, almost anarchic, start with oars and boats clashing left, right and centre!

Clychau of Aberdyfi managed to stay clear of the worst of the melee to row clear of the chasing pack as they headed for B8 in Fryar’s Bay quickly followed by Blodwen of Clwb Rhwyfo Porthmadog.

These two crews have led the way in the Womens races so far this season with Blodwen picking up the wins in Moelfre and Aberystwyth whilst Clychau were victorious in their home race in Aberdyfi.

The 4km loop from B8 to Hwfa, just off Beaumaris Pier saw just 14 seconds seperate both boats as they crossed the line.

Clychau took the overall win and the Open title, Blodwen finished second and secured the win in the Vets category with Fleetwing of MYC Porthmadog a further 15 seconds back finishing in third place and clinching the SuperVets trophy.

The Men’s race was similarly affected by the spring tide with two of the marker buoys still grounded and the course having to be shortened to 4.5km and, with 16 boats taking part, the start was as frantic as the Women’s race.

Some of the pre-race favourites were caught up in the chaos at the start line but Clychau of Aberdyfi, who have dominated the season so far, managed to pulled well clear of the fleet well before the first buoy turn in Fryar’s Bay.

The two Beaumaris boats of Cybi and Menai, Blodwen of Clwb Rhwyfo Porthmadog and Afon of Aberdyfi were left to fight it out for the remaining podium places.

As the boats turned around the final buoy Clychau were safe of their fourth consecutive overall victory and Open title whilst Blodwen had opened up a gap on the other three boats to secure second place and the Vets category.

In an icredibly tight finish, Cybi managed to hold off Menai by just 6 seconds to secure third place and the SuperVets title with Afon finishing a further 5 seconds behind Menai in 5th place.

By the time of the Mixed Race the tide was in full flow and the course was reset to it’s full distance for the record entry of 21 boats.

Despite a wider channel, the stronger flood caused its own problems with several crews vying for a spot closer to the Anglesey shoreline almost causing a false start.

Once again, it was Clychau of Aberdyfi who took the early lead as the fleet headed out against the tide towards Fryars Bay with Menai and Seiriol of Beaumaris, Calon and Afon of Aberdyfi and Tal y Fan of CYC Deganwy in hot pursuit.

After the first turn, the race headed across the straits before turning back towards Beaumaris with the strong Clychau crew taking full advantage of the tide to open up a substantial gap on the rest of the fleet.

Despite the last 500m being against the tide once more, Clychau secured the biggest winning margin of the day, finishing almost two minutes ahead of second placed Menai.

With Clychau taking the Open title and Menai the Vets title, Tal y Fan secured third place and the SuperVets title to bring down the curtain on an excellent day’s racing for Aberdyfi who won all three races in one day for the first time this season.

As always, the day came to a close with some excellent food and the results ceremony and the club would like to thank all the volunteers who helped with the cooking, serving and the washing-up.

The club would also like to say a huge thanks to the safety boat crews of the Royal Anglesey Yacht Club and the line crews, without whom the race couldn’t happen.