Southport 24 Hour Race

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The West Lancashire Yacht Club 24 Hour Dinghy Race, more commonly known as the Southport 24 Hour Race, [1] [2] [3] is a national endurance race for classic sailing dinghies (Enterprise and GP14 - formerly including the Lark and Firefly classes) held in Southport, Merseyside, England. [4] and is organised by the West Lancashire Yacht Club.

Contents

West Lancashire Yacht Club 24-Hour Dinghy Race
Most recent edition or competition:
2024
Southport 24 Hour Race Logo.webp
First held1967
OrganiserWest Lancashire Sailing Club
Classes GP14, Enterprise, Firefly, Formerly Lark
StartSaturday, 12:00
FinishSunday, 12:00
Length24 Hours

Entries are invited from recognised clubs, class associations as well as university sailing teams.

History

The race had a long history, dating back to 1967, and had always been held in September. The race was not sailed in the year 2000 due to the fuel crisis and again in 2020 until 2023 due to the COVID-19 Pandemic as well as the high cost of organising the event. An early race in the mid 1980s was stopped during the night because of the fierce weather conditions. The Club formally withdrew the race from the sailing calendar in January 2022 quoting difficulties with the organisation, with the race revived for the 2024 edition. The 2024 race brought a collaborative approach to organisation with competitors requested to share organisational roles and volunteer for on the day duties. It also reduced the dinghy entry classes to only the Enterprise and GP14. A 2025 race has been confirmed by the club, and has reintroduced the entry of the Firefly class.

The average turnout, which had stabilised in the years prior to 2020, had been between 60 and 70 boats, although the 50th anniversary race, held in 2016, attracted 82 entries. Recent entry numbers had been held up by the fact that many of the competing clubs had entered two, three or even four teams. Races in the early years had seen as many as 100 entries with a waiting list.

Format

The race starts at 12 noon on the Saturday. The competing teams then raced their dinghies around the Southport Marine Lake (a man made feature containing 2 islands) [5] for the next 24 hours, finishing at noon on Sunday. Crew changes only being allowed in a specially dedicated docking area. Most entries were made up of teams with around 12 sailors. Competitors were not permitted to sail in more than one team during the event. However, there was nothing (other than exhaustion) to prevent a crew of two from sailing the whole event in one boat; 2 people sailing non stop was successfully sailed by Adam McGovern and Chris Robinson of Hollingworth Lake Sailing Club in the 2007 race.

Winners

List of winners
YearWinning Club
1967 County Flag of Merseyside.svg West Lancashire YC
1968 County Flag of Merseyside.svg West Kirby SC
1969 Cambridgeshire Flag.svg Cambridge University CcC
1970 Flag of Lancashire.svg Bolton SC
1971 County Flag of Oxfordshire.svg Oxford University YC
1972 County Flag of Merseyside.svg West Lancashire YC
1973 Lincolnshire flag.svg Grimsdale Cleethorpes YC
1974 County Flag of Nottinghamshire.svg Nottingham University SC
1975 Flag of Cheshire.svg Northwich SC
1976 Flag of Lancashire.svg Bolton SC
1977 Flag of Cheshire.svg Winsford Flash SC
1978 Flag of Lancashire.svg Bolton SC
1979 County Flag of Merseyside.svg Southport SC
1980 Flag of Lancashire.svg Bolton SC
1981 County Flag of Tyne & Wear.png Tynemouth SC
1982 County Flag of Merseyside.svg Liverpool University SC
1983 Flag of Scotland.svg Monklands SC
1984 County Flag of Merseyside.svg Southport SC
1985 Flag of Lancashire.svg Bolton SC
1986 Flag of Greater London.svg London Corinthian SC
1987 Flag of Lancashire.svg Bolton SC
1988 Flag of Greater London.svg Sutton SC
1989 Flag of Lancashire.svg Bolton SC
1990 Flag of Lancashire.svg Bolton SC
1991 Flag of Cheshire.svg Winsford Flash SC
1992 County Flag of Cumbria.svg Bassenthwhaite SC
1993 Flag of Lancashire.svg Bolton SC
1994 Flag of Lancashire.svg Bolton SC
1995 Flag of Lancashire.svg Bolton SC
1996 County Flag of Merseyside.svg West Lancashire YC
1997 County Flag of Merseyside.svg Blackpool & Fleetwood YC
1998 County Flag of Merseyside.svg Blackpool & Fleetwood YC
1999 County Flag of Merseyside.svg Blackpool & Fleetwood YC
Not held due to petrol crisis
2001Enterprise Class Assoc. / Frensham Pond SC
2002 County Flag of Merseyside.svg West Lancashire YC
2003 County Flag of Cumbria.svg Bassenthwhaite SC
2004 Flag of Lancashire.svg Bolton SC
2005 Flag of Lancashire.svg Bolton SC
2006Lark Class Assoc. / Sail 4 Cancer
2007 Flag of Lancashire.svg Bolton SC
2008 Staffordshire Flag.svg South Staffordshire SC
2009 Staffordshire Flag.svg South Staffordshire SC
2010420 Class Assoc.
2011 County Flag of Greater Manchester.svg Hollingworth Lake SC
2012 County Flag of Greater Manchester.svg Hollingworth Lake SC
2013 Staffordshire Flag.svg South Staffordshire SC
2014 Staffordshire Flag.svg South Staffordshire SC
2015 Staffordshire Flag.svg South Staffordshire SC
2016 Staffordshire Flag.svg South Staffordshire SC
2017 Staffordshire Flag.svg South Staffordshire SC
2018 Staffordshire Flag.svg South Staffordshire SC
2019 Staffordshire Flag.svg South Staffordshire SC
2020-2023Not held due to COVID-19 pandemic and increased cost of hosting
2024 Flag of Cheshire.svg Budworth SC
2025 future event

Southport National Junior 12hr Race

The Southport National Junior 12 Hour Race is a endurance sailing race held by Southport Sailing Club, on the same lake as the 24 hour race. The event takes place often in June, three months before the adult event. Despite the 24 hour race allowing junior participants, the 12 hour race allows junior and youth sailors up to the age of 20 the chance to compete against their peers in an endurance race with similar rules to the 24 hour race. In 2025 it was won by Budworth Sailing Club, followed by Toddbrook Sailing Club, with Winsford Flash Sailing Club coming third and winning first under 18 team.

References