Come to the West Lancs 24hr Race 50th, the biggest sailing party of 2016
by Tony Hotchkiss 10 Sep 2016 11:17 BST
17-18 September 2016
Carnage at a manned A mark during the 1978 West Lancs 24hr Race © WLYC
Next weekend sees the 50th running of the West Lancashire Yacht Club 24 Hour Race. We already have 75+ teams entered sailing Enterprise, Firefly, GP14 and Larks For any of you who are undecided it is not too late to enter, just go to www.wlyc.org.uk for more information. Perhaps reading Tony Hotchkiss' reflections of 50 years of this classic race may persuade you to join us with a team or for a beer and some tall tale telling.
"It is with mixed emotions that I recall the first WLYC 24 Hour Race. Fifty years ago there were significantly fewer dinghy classes. There were significantly fewer sailing clubs and I was significantly younger!!
It was a time when travel was becoming easier, fuel was cheap (relatively) and sailing was enjoyed by the enthusiasts as we all had to "pick it up as we went along" as the RYA learn to sail courses were in their infancy. So when we heard about this new race for 24 hours of non-stop sailing around the Marine Lake in Southport, lots of clubs and their members thought it sounded a great way to spend a weekend.
The 3 classes of boat able to enter were the dominant non trapeze boats sailed at most clubs. At the time I was a member of Midland SC and the GP was considered the "old man's" boat so was not thought appropriate to sail for 24 hours. The club did not permit the Enterprise but this was probably the most popular class at many clubs. So Midland opted to enter a Firefly which was widely sailed by the young, fit and enthusiastic members!
My memory of the first few years is vague and difficult to recall accurately. I do remember that Midland felt it had come away with a reasonable result out of some 120 club entries. (Is that an accurate memory of the number of teams entered?) Anyway I do know that the event was oversubscribed for many years and that was partly due to the amazing party put on in the large marquee on the Friday & Saturday nights! (I never did climb the marquee pole but many did!) It didn't seem to matter that some had to sail as the party went on during several sailing "shifts".
Until comparatively recently camping was allowed on the land now occupied by the retail park. These were sand dunes and we all rushed to pitch our tents in the best spots. All sorts of ingenious signalling systems were in evidence to let your team know when to change crews or when to stay on for more laps. Of course it is a good trek in full sailing gear to get from the campsite to the club so many changed in the clubhouse which I remember to be a continual hive of activity.
Presumably there were few nightclubs in Southport 50 years ago as the local youngsters queued and paid (or tried not to) to get into the Saturday night party. This meant all sailors had to have a "pass" to get in and out of the club compound. Sailing kit usually worked as a pass but even that was sometimes challenged!
Although most classes at the start had several Open Meetings, there were few opportunities for classes to mix. The 24 Hour race did break that mould and it also introduced people to a boat they did not usually sail. The event was VERY competitive from the start. I think Midland took a Firefly for the first 3 years. As I said we did as well as we expected in the first year but fell away in the second and were positively swamped in the third! The larger sail area of the Enterprise seemed far more suited to the event than the Firefly but Midland decided that the GP with its spinnaker was perhaps the better boat of choice for us.
I do not remember when the Firefly was dropped from the event, but it was and has only been re-introduced over the last few years. The big advantage with the GP & Enterprise is that for many years they were sailing off the same PY for this race. However, most of the earlier years results were calculated manually which did lead to delays and questions about some of the positions. Many clubs do count their laps to check that they coincide with the official score. It must have been a nightmare for the organisers but they keep coming back for more, year after year.
One of the reasons for the ongoing success is that the rules have stayed pretty well unaltered. The course, penalties, change overs and visual or "hailing", have all stayed the same throughout. No electronic communication aids are allowed which keeps it all on a fairly level playing field. Nowadays clubs can enter more than one team and there are special categories for Master, Ladies etc. And this is mainly to maintain the number of boats sailing. There is no doubt with the many new classes introduced over the intervening years and the change in sailing patterns, the event has struggled to keep the numbers up. It is to West Lancs YC 's credit that they have succeeded in keeping a great atmosphere and I for one am hoping to sail in a Firefly team again for this 50th year but now in a team from South Staffs SC. They have been a big supporter of the 24 hour race from the start and were finally successful in winning the overall trophy in 2008. How will we get on this year?"
Reproduced with permission from Tony Hotchkiss, formerly Midland SC now South Staffs SC
South Staffs have entered a record number of 5 teams this year... will any of them achieve a win in this memorable event? The odds must surely favour them!
Join us on the water or in the bar for a beer... we look forwards to meeting old friends and new on the 16th 17th and 18th September 2016 at West Lancashire Yacht Club.