Having a blast around the CELTIC TRIANGLE

Theo Stocker reports on the YM Celtic Triangle Race, and Jayne Toyne shares her offshore check list

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Shorthanded offshore racing is all the rage these days, but Yachting Monthly has known that for decades, having started the YM Triangle Race in 1984, which ran every two years subsequently until Covid put an end to it. Now reborn under the auspices of the Royal Cornwall Yacht Club as the Yachting Monthly Celtic Triangle race, it was the enthusiasm of the UK Doublehanded Offshore Series and the Solo Offshore Racing Club, as well as loyal support from veteran Triangleurs, some of whom have sailed in several previous editions of the event, that coalesced to bring the event back.

Kate Cope, skipper of Purple Mist, a Sun Fast 3200, and director of the UK Double Handed Offshore Series, has covered a lot of offshore race miles, including the AZAB and RORC transat, but she had been eyeing the Triangle Race since 2020.

'I'd done the AZAB in 2019, and the Triangle felt like the next adventure, less about racing hard, more about discovery and camaraderie,' she explained.

'When it was postponed (due to Covid twice then subsequently due to the previous organising club losing momentum), I was gutted. But I was talking to Royal Cornwall about AZAB 2027 and I said frankly I haven't even planned 2025 yet! So the plan to reinstate the Triangle race was hatched and the small team of six from Royal Cornwall really took it onboard. I put it out to the UK double-handed people and there was a lot of interest so I'm happy I was able to pull it off.'