Navigators & General Three Rivers Race at Horning Sailing Club - Preview
by Kevin Saunders 1 Apr 2017 18:00 BST
3-4 June 2017
56th Navigators & General Three Rivers Race © Holly Hancock
A race for competitors and a spectacle for spectators
An event that started as an idle thought nearly 60 years ago has become a significant weekend event in the Norfolk sailing calendar.
The original concept of the race began in 1961 when David Hastings (then Secretary of Horning Sailing Club) and fellow members Peter Mallander, Dickie Keogh and Eric Smith, proposed a new challenge for local sailors on the Norfolk Broads. The challenge would be an endurance race lasting up to twenty four hours of navigating a course set covering the full extent of navigable river on the Broads. The distance raced would be some 50 miles dependant upon where the turn points were positioned. The competitors would navigate from Horning Sailing Club to turn points between Stokesby and Six Mile house (on the way to Great Yarmouth) and a turn point on Hickling Broad. The race name evolved as the navigation was made to occur across the three rivers of the northern broads area. The race is held under a handicap system to ensure each different craft have an equal chance of winning.
The very first race took place on Saturday 16th and Sunday 17th June 1961. 42 boats started the race in a stiff breeze. Overnight weather turned for the worst with near gale force winds. First home to win at 11.30 on a moonless night was a Yare & Bure One Design "Brimstone" helmed by Hugh Tusting. Hugh was obliged to hail a sleeping race officer to obtain a finishing bell.
Some 56 years later, the race has maintained its original concept and evolved into its current state but maintains a fierce tradition. The traditions are kept as the competitors, who take part and some return year after year, expect them.
The race starts at Horning Sailing Club and the competitors have a maximum of twenty four hours to complete the course. The turn marks are set by the Race Officer and communicated to competitors at a race briefing held before the start. The turn points are in generally known areas but are set by the Race Officer dependant on the weather conditions expected across the race duration. The competitors can complete the course in any direction of their choosing starting and finishing at Horning Sailing Club. The current turn points are just before Ludham Bridge (on the river Ant), a turn point on Hickling Broad (having navigated river Thurne), a turn point on the river Bure only a short distance from Great Yarmouth and a turn point on South Walsham Broad.
So what makes this race different, indeed from any other inland race. The race is an endurance navigation race. The endurance challenge is that racing over twenty four hours means inevitably that competitors will be racing overnight. The navigation challenge is that the rivers are tidal and contains other river traffic. Any one who has sailed will understand the action of wind and tide on one's ability to make headway. Seamanship will be ever tested, with negotiating river traffic and close quarter sailing against competitors under racing rules Just to make matters more difficult, there are natural obstacles on the course to overcome with presence bridges across the rivers both at Potter Heigham and Acle. Competitors are obliged to de rig, mast lower and paddle under the bridges. The bridge at Potter Heigham is actually two bridges some 200 metres apart. One of the bridges is a medieval bridge with an archway with just around 3 metres of clearance. At the height of the race, there could be competitors negotiating their way through the arch in both directions. With room for one boat at a time, timing is crucial. With wind, tide, and other competitors on the course, sometimes choosing your course could be crucial to winning the race and indeed even finishing within your allotted time.
The race provides not only the challenge to win but mini goals of just finishing the race for some competitors. Just how much has this race become an endurance challenge? This race has been ranked as third toughest mass participation event in the UK by the Sport and Recreation Alliance in 2014 and so endurance probably speaks for itself. The race is one of the longest inland waterways race in Europe. Despite this, every competitor is rewarded with a warm welcome back at the Clubhouse and a cooked breakfast, whatever time during the night that a finish occurs. Every competitor can be justly proud of completing the race and feel like a waterborne "ironman".
Modern technology alongside the traditional aspects of the race have blended successfully. During the first race, there was minimal ability to monitor the competitors around the course from a safety aspect. There were only three safety craft spread across some 50 miles of course. Competitors had to jump out of their boats and run along muddy banks to register their passing of turning points. In today's sailing world, safety is very much part of race organisation. All competitor boats are each continually tracked of their progress with a fleet of ten static guard ships equipped with VHF radio and a safety boat. There are a further number of safety vessels in radio contact and all are ready to react to an incident should it arise. The guard ships each record competitor boats as they pass or turn. The information is communicated back to Club base and recorded in a computer database. The Race Controller and safety vessels have the ability to track a competitor boat to its last reported position and direction of travel in just a moment of interrogation of the database. This ability is essential as the race has grown from its initial fleet of 42 boats to an average entrance of 120 boats. The boats entering are sized from Enterprise two man dinghy up to large top sail sailing cruisers of multiple crew. Some 300 or more people could be competing on the course. Endurance arises not only for the competitors but also for the 100 or so volunteers who man the Clubhouse and guard ships throughout the race until the last boat finishes.
The race has an additional appeal to even the casual spectator. There are several popular observation locations around the course. On the race day, the Club is busy from early in the morning as competitors ready their boats for the race. The buzz around the Club is immense as competitors mix with spectators,all fuelled with mugs of tea, coffee and bacon rolls from the Clubhouse. The whole village is alive as boats moor up all along the village river front. Parking at the Club is extremely limited and so spectators are encouraged to park at Horning village hall, just a short walk away.
The next viewing time is the start of the race. Starting some 100 boats safely means that groups of boats are started in 5 minute intervals and so a popular view point is Horning village green. It normally would take some 90 minutes to start all the boats so can have some exiting moments as competitors negotiate the start and first corner past the village green.
The fleet sails down river towards St Benets Abbey and Ludham Bridge. Spectators can view the turn point at Ludham Bridge. At Thurne Mouth, the fleet can turn in two directions of their own choosing. The more adventurous spectator can make their way to Thurne village and watch from the end of Thurne Dyke.
The next best view points are Potter Heigham and Acle Bridge. Potter Heigham bridge is a very popular view point because of the medieval bridge. Competitor boats may ambitiously attempt to save time by de-rigging at the last minute and "shooting the bridge". Spectators will applaud those who get it right and sympathise if matters go not quite so according to plan. Watching the race at Potter Heigham can offer race observation, a shopping experience and a fish and chip supper for a Saturday afternoon for the whole family.
Crews and boats have travelled in from all over the world to participate in this race. The race organisers are always willing to entertain a new competitor boat to apply for a race entry and would be warmly welcomed at the club. The challenge is whether your seamanship matches the endurance required to complete the race and become one of the band of sailors who can claim to have sailed the Three Rivers Race.
The organising committee often ask a competitor who has recently finished their race whether they would do it again. Initially, the reaction is "it was tough" but immediately followed by their great personal stories. And would you enter again..... oh yes.
The 2017 race is being held on Saturday 3rd and Sunday 4th June and the first race start is 11:00 in the morning.
There is still time to enter the race and obtaining more information by sending an e-mail to