Completing the brutal Madog Dash
- garypritchard1
- 5 days ago
- 3 min read
“Do you fancy doing the Madog Dash?” It’s such an innocuous question, but it really should come with a health warning as it’s fair to say that the Madog Dash – a 14 mile row from Porthmadog to Pwllheli - is an absolutely brutal race.
After Saturday’s race, I also think MYC Porthmadog could well be taken to task by Trading Standards in describing a two and a half hour race as a ‘dash’!
The race starts in Porthmadog harbour and, as is the case with all races in Porthmadog, has a staggered start. For the Madog Dash, the Ladies teams set off at one minute intervals before the Mixed crews took to the water with the Senior boats bringing up the rear.
Leaving the harbour the race follows a route out along Afon Glaslyn, avoiding the sandbanks. With Harlech Castle visible in the distance the race then heads west passing the headland of Morfa Bychan and out in Tremadog Bay.
The choppy waters of the bay saw boats bounce up and down and those rowers in the bow seat getting drenched. It also made for some unusually tight racing as, despite the staggered start, the fleet started to come together.
Siwan, too many Cs and a sunken kingdom As the race heads west, Black Rock Sands give way to the town of Criccieth and its imposing castle. Unfortunately Siwan wasn’t one of the three Beaumaris boats in the race on Saturday, but Siwan is named after the wife of Llywelyn Fawr who built Criccieth Castle in the early 1230s.
There was little time to take in the views as crews battled the waves, and each other, looking for any sort of calmer waters, however with the race not even reaching its half way point off the coast of Criccieth there was plenty of time to ponder as to why Criccieth is spelled with two Cs!
Having two Cs is not an accepted form of spelling in Welsh, but the question as to whether it should be Criccieth or Cricieth raises quite strong opinions on both sides of the argument.
It’s thought the name of the town derives from the castle itself with Crug meaning mound and Caeth meaning captive – Crug Caeth; the gaol on the hill.
As the race heads towards Pwllheli, it passes over what some locals claim to be the location of the mythical sunken kingdom of Cantre’r Gwaelod – although crews from Aberdyfi and Aberystwyth would dispute this claim as they also lay claim to its location!
The nearby headland of Penychain – famous for being home of Billy Butlin’s famous holiday camp near Pwllheli – is the reason for the belief that Cantre’r Gwaelod lies in this part of Cardigan Bay.
When Seithennyn, a notorious drunkard, failed to close the flood gates one evening, Cantre’r Gwaelod fell victim to the oncoming tide. The kingdom’s ruler, Gwyddno Garanhir was the only one who managed to escape and on reaching the nearest high ground he turned to see his kingdom disappear under the waves and gave a huge sigh.
The Welsh for sigh is ochain and with the pen meaning head or headland, Penychain could well come from Pen Ochain ... however it’s far more likely to come from Pen Ychain where ychain means oxen - the headland where oxen grazed!
A never ending race
Morfa Abererch seems to go on forever and contemplating these thoughts certainly helps to get through the last hour of racing. With the finish line hidden in a small inlet it certainly felt that one might be rowing along the beach for ever.
Landing the boat on the beach under Plas Heli, the Welsh National Sailing Academy, was an incredible feeling as the Madog Dash is certainly one of the hardest rows I have ever done and despite still feeling the effects of the race 24 hours later, it is also one of the most satisfying.
Congratulations to the crew of Beca from Clwb Rhywfo Porthmadog on winning the race with our very own Menai coming in second place - a reverse of the result last week in the Puffin Island race.
A huge thank you also to the team at Madog Yacht Club, Porthmadog for putting on the race and for the fantastic catering in the sunshine back at Porthmadog Harbour where salty tales of big waves and bigger blisters were swapped. The food and beer were as welcome as they were deserved!
I did say that I wouldn’t ever race the Madog Dash again ... but that was on reaching the finish line!
By today I’m almost looking forward to next year’s race ... almost!
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