TWELVE Windermere Class 17 Foot yachts made a spectacular sight on Saturday during the Kenneth Crossley Challenge Cup and Wind’ard Cup races.

The competitive racing was joined by fine sailing conditions which saw both modern and classic 17 Foot yachts out on the water.

Setting a zig-zag course in the north lake, Race Officer Steve Bewsher took advantage of the competitive spirit, high cloud and fresh easterly winds during two hours of very close racing.

After a fast start ‘Liberty’ (Colin Bentley) led the race, followed closely by ‘Falcon II’ (Tony Rothwell). Shortly after the start, ‘Cameleon’ (helmed by the club’s Commodore Nigel Tullett) caught up and was joined in the leader’s pack by ‘Fathom’ (Graham Murray) and ‘Musetta’ (Richard Broughton). The afternoon’s racing culminated in a nail-biting finish with just seconds between the winners.

Winning the Kenneth Crossley Challenge Cup was ‘Chameleon’ (Nigel Tullett), followed in second place by ‘Fathom’ (Graham Murray) and in third place by ‘Liberty’ (Colin Bentley).

Winning the Wind’ard Cup for the classic 17 Foot competitors was ‘Musetta’ (Richard Broughton), followed in second place by ‘Atholl’ (Nick Aubrey) and in third by ‘Lapwing’ (John Pawson).

Launched on Windermere on the same May day in 1963, ‘Ripple II’ (owned by Rachael Booth and helmed by former Commodore Simon McVey) returned to the water after 25 years in storage and gave a fine performance.