SplashMaps have been put through their paces in possibly the original Adventure Race!
The 3 Peaks Yacht Race has been running for over 70 years. The Sea Camel team were one of only 7 teams lucky enough (or well equipped enough?) to last the full challenge as they braved difficult weather, survived run-ins with the military and trudged through the June snow to get to the nations’ 3 highest peaks.
On completing the challenge, Peter Larkin (one of the two runners on the Sea Camel team) said “Having recently discovered Splashmaps, I was looking forward to ‘test-driving’ them in the field. The 2013 Three Peaks Yacht Race provided the perfect test. Although a summer event, we experienced, cold/wind-chill, night navigation with high winds and rain/mist on the tops, we were still able to ‘unscrunch’ our Splashmaps for a quick orientation check. The Splashmaps proved ideal for trail and hill running and performed very well”
The SplashMap meant they could bury the official awkward paper maps and map cases at the bottom of their ruck-sacs. Instead they would stuff the map i
nside pockets and pull them out when needed to check their course. No awkward folding. This was definitely appreciated on the exposed and windy summits.
We made each map specifically for the event as part of our bespoke mapping service. Our choice of 1:40 000 turned out to be a good one. The necessary detail was there from shore to peak. With Ben Nevis we could have gone for 1:25k and that’s worth remembering for next year.
Peter and his team were also able to comment on level of detail that will help us shape the perfect map for next year. There’s even a number of product developments proposed that would not have come to light unless we got this map into their hands.
So, well done the Sea Camels! And we hope to supply you all next year!
