Portishead yachts close out 2023 racing season with the Autumn and Gluhwein Cups

Gluhwein Cup 2023 © Yacht Hero, Portishead Cruising Club

Gluhwein Cup 2023 © Yacht Hero, Portishead Cruising Club

Portishead Cruising Club (PCC) announced on Friday the results of the final racing series of 2023 together with the results of the annual Gluhwein Cup which traditionally concludes the club's racing programme for the year.

The Autumn Cup featured five races between September and December. With individual races being won by Hullabaloo (J/92s), Scrumpy J (J/105), Ctrl-J (J/109) and Hero (One Tonner), it was a close fought series until Scrumpy J, skippered by Nick Duppa-Miller scored another win and took the series. With a range of weather conditions from light airs at the start of the series to heavier seas towards the end, the Autumn Cup always provides for some tricky sailing conditions and this year was no different. Crews found themselves using full sail wardrobes to gain the advantage - and in some cases, this happened during one race!

For the final race of the year, called the Gluhwein Cup given its proximity to the festive season, boats headed out for a final race in King Road. With tight racing on the water with only two minutes between the first three boats, it was Ctrl-J (J/109), skippered by Andy Williams who won on corrected time with Scrumpy J, the J/105 and Hero, a One Tonner closely following in second and third places respectively.

After the race, some of the crews headed to the annual club Christmas lunch to refuel and warm-up after the morning's race and dissect all of the on-water action.

If you've always hankered to be part of a racing yacht crew or want to get back into sailing then the team at PCC would love to hear from you! The fleet races in a number of club series across the year in the waters of the Bristol Channel - including some evenings during the summer. The 2024 racing calendar has now been published - contact Vice-Commodore, Nick Duppa-Miller at to find out more and get involved - you don't need a boat to join in the fun!