THIS weekend marks one of the region’s finest sailing exhibitions. Crews from over the United Kingdom will descend upon the picturesque waters of the marine lake on Southport’s Promenade for West Lancashire Yacht Club’s 41st 24-hour race.
Steeped in history, the race first took place in 1967 and was inaugurated to celebrate the centenary of the Borough of Southport and support Liverpool University Sailing Club’s wish for an invitation race for university sailing clubs.
Forty years on, and Saturday’s race begins at midday when the Mayor of Sefton kick-starts proceedings, which continue throughout the night before finishing at noon on Sunday.
During the 24 hours numerous cups are up for grabs including the first fastest two laps – BBC Radio Merseyside Cup and the Midnight Cup for the side leading at the halfway stage.
The race has always proved highly competitive while proving a hit for the entertainment and social activities held on the day with crowds swelling to over 2,000 in recent years.
Each boat comprises an unlimited number of crew with two manning the boats at any given time. Crews can swap over at a time, but this year several crews will be eager to man the boat continuously for the full duration.
“Open to teams from sailing clubs and universities the race is specifically geared towards classic dinghies,” explained media officer Neil Croston.
“The three classes of boat are the GP14, Enterprise and the Lark – all are sailed by a crew of two – and the race has become very much known as ‘a classic for classics’.”
Each type of boat has won the race down the years with a Lark taking its first overall win last year.
Croston added: “Sailors in the Lark will be keen to emulate last year’s victory given this year is the 40th anniversary of the introduction of the Lark dinghy.
“Last year’s race was contested by 67 teams and even more are expected this year, with the entry limited to 97 boats.”
The overall winning team in 2006 was the Sail for Cancer Lark completing 86 laps – representing a distance of over 100 miles.
Top University side emerged in the form of sports specialists from Loughborough Students Sailing Club in an Enterprise. The Masters class – or over 40s – went to Ogston Sailing Club (Red) Masters. With many other prizes awarded for fastest laps and special categories.
The official charity will again be Sail 4 Cancer, for which over £6000 was generated by last year’s race. Sail 4 Cancer was set up by a group of keen sailors who have lost a close relative/friend to cancer in recent years.
Neil added: “The event is a weekend of excitement, challenge and very much a social occasion as well as a competitive race, with food and bars for the full duration and entertainment on the Friday and Saturday evenings, together with the opportunity to raise funds for an important charity.”
Further information from http://24-hour-race.wlyc.org.uk
