Budworth Sailing Club

The West Lancs 24 Hour Endurance race is an annual event, and Budworth Sailing Club has competed almost every year since the event started!
The articles below give a flavour of the event, and details of our competitive teams and ambitions!

Well done to all the Budworth sailors!

Fantastic results this year - (the best results ever??)

In a fleet of 69 boats, racing continuously for 24 hours,  the ‘A’ team achieved a fantastic 3rd position and the “B” team an excellent 16th, a tremendous improvement on last years result (26th).

Well done also to the “C” team - the first time we have entered 3 complete teams for this gruelling event.

The “A” team sailed 82 laps, and won

And with 78 laps sailed, the “B” team also won

Pictures of the event can be seen here: Budworth at the 24hr Race

The Southport 24-Hour endurance race has only 90 minutes to go, and Budworth A and B teams are storming along with winds of Force 5 gusting Force 6.

The A Team have moved up from 5th to 3rd overnight, behind Hollingworth and South Staffs, and have currently completed 76 laps!The B team are also sailing magnificently and have also moved up -  currently in 17th place from 22nd yesterday, with 72 laps completed.

Average lap times are fast, at about 17 minutes for the top sailors.

It’s looking like this will be our best result, maybe ever!

Keep it coming guys!

At midday on 12th September, Bill Kenyon and Ben Ditchburn, representing the Budworth SC “A” team, crossed the line at Southport to claim a best ever 4th place in the prestigious West Lancashire YC 24 hour race. The team, selected from the club’s leading sailors, started as 13th seeds based on last year’s finishing position but this year exhibited a greatly improved performance in the medium to strong winds. The “B” team, with an emphasis on participation as much as talent, gained 26th place starting from last year’s 46th, another excellent result. Budworth have participated in all but 4 races since the event started 44 years ago, so this year’s top result is a source of considerable pride for the teams.

The “A” team comprised Bill Kenyon (team manager), Ben Ditchburn, Russell and Ali Cormack, Andrew Brown, Geoff Edwards, Graham Tinsley and Becky Partridge. Start team Bill and Ben quickly stormed through the high class field to claim 2nd place ahead of last year’s winners South Staffs SC and behind an invited team made up from members of the 470 Olympic squad. SSSC reclaimed that 2nd place after around 6 hours and retained it to the finish. Meanwhile Budworth dropped to 4th behind the Sail 4 Cancer team for a spell but clawed their way back to gain 3rd place in the early hours of Sunday morning. That was something of an epic struggle as S4C had an earlier start position and penalties so the boats were a leg apart, only the interim results posted every 5 minutes told the true story. As the race progressed the wind increased and the changing conditions began to favour the Lark of South Staffs B team. Again start differences and handicaps meant the relative positions were hard to judge and many nails were bitten down, especially when the results postings stopped for the final couple of hours. It transpired that the Lark claimed 3rd with just 90 minutes to go. Meanwhile Becky and Ali put in a superb lap in challenging conditions at 10am to win the Ladies Race, one of only three eligible prizes the 470s didn’t win. The team also won prizes for 3rd GP14 and first finisher from flight 1.

The “B” team, open to all acceptably competent club members, included Hugh Devereux (team manager and boat provider) with children Ellie and Nick, Tom Hubbard, Tom Ditchburn, Mark Antonelli, Pauline Penny, Steve Hubbard, Ross Crook, Ian and Nicky Elkington and Ian and Dawn Savell. Tom and Tom led off and reached as high as 14th place in the early laps. As the wind shifted towards the north and strengthened a block of Enterprises pulled through and the team thence forward held position in the mid 20s, several times reaching 23rd. However, the testing conditions were exposing weaknesses on the boat and minor gear issues cost time towards the end, allowing a couple of fast boats recovering from early disasters to squeeze through leaving us in 26th at the end. The “youngsters” particularly impressed: Tom and Tom were clearly the fastest pairing and gamely jumped in at short notice when the appearance of a major rainsquall demanded substitution of a fit and agile crew. Ellie Devereux crewed for several hours in testing conditions maintaining a high standard of sailing and unflagging good humour. Nick, just 11, crewed calmly through the majority of the 8pm squall which flattened many experienced teams. The remaining members’ performance belied their average age of around 50.

Both team managers put in a huge amount of effort throughout the year to set up the teams, the boats and on the day the shore facilities, earning the thanks of the whole team. Vanessa Devereux ably managed the shore support with help from off-duty sailors and some family members, providing both teams with endless hot food and drinks. Vanessa worked tirelessly until the early hours, returning after just a couple of hours rest to deliver breakfast.

The 24 hour race is an expensive event. The A team have a GP14 dedicated to the race and both teams have dedicated sails. Entry fees are high as is insurance, and there’s always a need for replacement parts as things wear out. The club pays some of the entry and insurance and team members contribute a substantial amount to running costs, but a key part is played by our sponsors: Preston Audi, AD Network Video and Remguard Visual monitoring. Their generous contribution was rewarded by prominent logos on sails, boats and team clothing, which given the teams’ high places were clearly seen by everyone present. An excellent result also highlights Budworth throughout the country as one of the best dinghy racing clubs around.

With one of the largest fleet of GP14s in the UK, Budworth SC has always been a strong supporter of the WLYC 24 Hour Race, held over the second weekend in September each year. Since its conception in 1967 Budworth has entered every year bar three.Often known as the Southport 24 hour race, this is the UK’s No.1 dinghy endurance race, hosted by West Lancs Yacht Club. The 24 Hour Race is the premiere opportunity for Sailing Club teams to compete for serious trophies and national status in 2-person dinghy sailing.

The event is only open to GP14, Enterprise and Lark Dinghies as these are evenly matched across the range of wind and weather conditions that prevail at Southport over a 24-hour period. The event regularly attracts entries of 70-80 teams from sailing clubs across the UK, and with at least 10 - 12 members per team, this event is a showcase for sailing clubs to circa 900 sailors.

With the desire to attract new members and to gain national prestige for Budworth SC, in the late 1980’s a consortium of Budworth SC members from across all fleets purchased a GP14 specifically for use at the 24 Hour Race. The objective was to have a dedicated, well-maintained boat that could stand the rigours of racing for 24-hours, through the night, in the hands of demanding sailors, and hopefully win the race. Over the years in excess of 100 Budworth SC members have currently contributed towards this goal.

Read more… »

Two teams from Budworth SC entered this year, to join 74 other teams in a demanding but enjoyable 24 hours. With light winds all weekend, the sailing was often more a test of calm patience rather than boat wrestling skills.The A-Team, made up of Budworth’s best from across all fleets had a good start and were lying in the top 5 in the early stages. But with light winds the observers and judges were being overly zealous and unfortunately the A-Team picked up a penalty. However they finished a creditable 13th overall.

In the all-comers B-Team 12 members, new and old, had the opportunity to participate in the event, many for the first time. After an enjoyable if tiring 24 hours they finished 46th out of 76, the same position as last year. Obviously consistent.