FOURTEEN sailors from The Royal Windermere Yacht Club took part in the 52nd annual 24-hour race hosted by West Lancashire Yacht Club at Southport at the weekend.

The race is a serious test of endurance for classic dinghies, with 77 teams from around the UK taking part in non-stop racing using various types of dinghy – and the Royal Windermere is one of the few sailing clubs to compete every year since it started.

The club entered a GP14, with 15 helms and crews each sailing two shifts of between 90 minutes and two hours during the race.

The weekend started with gusty conditions on Saturday as Amanda Wilson and Anna Clough took the first ‘shift’.

The forecast of lighter winds proved accurate and the club’s strategy was to use lighter crews and sailors newer to the event to sail during daylight hours on Saturday and familiarise themselves with the course and boat.

Sunday morning’s predicted weather change saw a substantial increase in wind, with 30mph gusts making conditions extremely challenging, with numerous incidents and capsizes.

Crossing the finishing line for Windermere were Richard Thompson and Jonny McVey, coming in 26th place.

In addition to the 14 taking part in the race, five others from the club worked ‘behind the scenes’ to support the sailors throughout the weekend.

In other racing news, Saturday’s Windermere Class 17-foot race was won by ‘Liberty’ (Colin Bentley helming) with ‘Falcon II’ (Tony Rothwell) coming in second place.

Sunday’s gusty conditions were also experienced on Windermere, where ‘Niffty’ (Nigel Tullett) took first place in the Pauline Trophy, with ‘No Illusions (John and Roseanne Walter) coming second.

In last Thursday’s dinghy night racing, Nigel Hutchinson again soared to victory on handicap in his Solo ‘Ultra-Sonic’. Peter Wright in his Devoti D-One came second and Judith Gore was third in her GP14 – meaning Judith Gore has now split the Richardson family in the overall standings for the dinghy handicap season, taking second place overall.

John Richardson (son) remains the overall leader, with dad Robert Richardson now in third. Both Richardsons sail RS100s.