THE fourth annual Low Wood No Wood boat race took place at the weekend with record competitors, spectators, and money raised for charity.

Launching themselves into the lake from the Low Wood Bay Resort Hotel & Marina jetty, the aspiring sailors set off in their cardboard vessels to navigate around marker buoys along a set course.

This year's bumper turn out saw more than £3,000 raised for St Mary’s Hospice, Ulverston, and the Lake District Calvert Trust, Bassenthwaite.

Langdale and Ambleside Mountain Rescue's 'Map 2' boat finished in the quickest time, with ‘Richie’s Little Helpers’ from Hayes Garden World, Ambleside, in second place and ‘Bull Ship’ from Barrow Coast Guard in third.

Several crews made it through the time trials to do battle in the final armada ‘face-off’ with the Low Wood ‘Sea Monster’. Once again ‘Map 2’ picked up the armada prize for returning the most treasure from ‘Sea Monster Island’.

With prizes provided courtesy of Low Wood Bay Watersports Centre, other teams to be honoured were:

• Progression prize for the best youth team – ‘The Unsinkables’

• Best boat design – ‘HMS Zinacef’ from GSK Ulverston

• Best dressed, themed team or paddler – Billy Ellis and his boat ‘Coconut Island #1’

• Titanic award for most dramatic sinking – ‘The boat that rocked’.

Financial Management Bureau were also honoured with a special prize for raising the most funds for charity.

Organiser Ben Berry, from English Lakes Hotels Resorts & Venues, said: “This is the fourth year we have run the event and once again we were blessed with fine weather.

"There were a few disasters, most of them sink and very few survive the whole day.

"The first year we had about 18 boats take part and we raised a few grand for charity and it was actually raining that first time but everyone had such a fantastic day that we thought we would keep on doing it."

The 2016 race was sponsored by Progression Solicitors and Low Wood Bay Resort Hotel & Marina.