London Corinthian SC at Southport 24 hour race in 2004.

For all non-local sailing clubs, the 2004 Southport 24 Hour Race started with a nightmare journey up the M6. According to the AA, the journey from London Corinthian Sailing Club to the West Lancashire Yacht Club "Home of the 24hr Race" is 4 hours 8 minutes. My journey was more like 8 hours 4 minutes. However everyone got there eventually and boy was it windy. I think the official weather forecast was '5-7 force 8 expected' later, but that doesn't really convey the reality. It was as windy as hell: fantastic - I couldn't wait to get out there, unfortunately I had to as Jeremy and I weren't scheduled on the water until 9.00pm-midnight.

The race started in staggered flights at midday on Saturday. The starting signal was a very impressive canon affair with a very loud crack (remotely operated modified shotgun cartridges in case you're wondering), Robin Johnson has all the details if you fancy livening up the LCSC starting signal.

Robin and Beverley kicked off proceedings for LCSC, with a sterling effort, putting in some very good circuits. This was a change to the advertised order of events because Rhys and Simon, who were supposed to start the race, were delayed on the M6. They then took over for the 3.00pm-6.00pm shift and, like Robin and Beverley before them, sailed very well indeed.

Next up were Martin and Graham, who handled the 6.00pm-9.00pm shift. Martin and Graham deserve a special mention because Graham was recruited to the team late and is a novice Enterprise crew who was keen to get out on the water and did a brilliant job, not at all daunted by the tempest paying a visit to sunny Southport. Martin deserves an equally special mention, as he fine tuned the boat, towed it up there and had the boot of his Saab filled with every tool and bit of sailing paraphernalia you could possibly need, not to mention taking out a novice sailor in pretty trying conditions and making a damn good job of it.

Jeremy and I hit the water at 9.00pm on Saturday night. Jeremy was his usual 'I'll take this in my stride' self; I was a little more nervous, more in survival mode than racing mode if I'm honest, despite my earlier eagerness. Jeremy's approach prevailed and we did our laps racing along with every ounce of effort we could muster. At one point Jeremy abandoned ship and left me alone in the boat when he was lassoed by the main sheet of an overtaking GP14 while rounding one of the marks. This came as more of a shock to him than me, as I'm afraid it was several seconds before I realised he was no longer on board. Only his apparent reluctance to gybe as we were about to hit the docking area at full pelt (despite my increasingly anxious warnings) prompted me to turn round and mutter "Oh shit". We recovered from that little episode somehow though, and spent the rest of the session battling away, mainly against the elements. My recollection is that the 'force 8 expected later' had actually tripped along by then, as if sailing in the dark wasn't tricky enough.

At around midnight Chris beckoned us in and I'm afraid the night's sailing ended there. Rhys had a back problem, so we were a helm down, and the general consensus was that it was a bit on the blowy side for those present, so we should retire for the night and see what daylight would bring. I should mention that we were sailing with a reefed main, it really was very windy.

The wind had eased a little in the morning - well that's what we told Robin and Beverley - so out they went for a couple of hours followed by Jeremy and me, to finish off the race at midday on Sunday. LCSC came 59th out of 77 finishers.

I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of Southport 24 and cannot understand why Chris Crosland, our team manager, wasn't swamped with volunteer sailors who were eager to get out there and participate. A huge thank you to him for taking on the responsibility of organising us all the way he did.

The next Southport 24 Hour Race is on September 17th/18th 2005, and if any club members hold any sway with the Highways Agency do please have a word about the M6.

by Nick Wilson

The team:

Rhys Triffitt
Chris Crosland
Beverly Lawrence Beech
Nick Wilson
Martin Stilver Chiner
Jeremy R. Whiting
Robin Johnson
Graham Neal
Simon Ashenden