Southport 24 Hour Race

The Southport 24 Hour Race is a national sailing endurance race for sailing dinghies held in Southport, Merseyside, England.

The race, hosted by the West Lancs Yacht Club, has a long history and is usually held in September, with the 2008 24 hour race taking place on the 13 and 14 September.

The average turnout, which has grown in recent years, is between 60 and 80 boats.

The event takes place over a weekend in mid September each year on the Marine Lake in Southport, Merseyside. The race starts at 12 noon on the Saturday. The contestants then race their dinghies around the marine lake (a man made feature containing 2 islands and an interesting, concrete jetty on the eastern side) for the next 24 hours, finishing at noon on Sunday. Most entries are teams of up to 12 crew members. The crews take turns to sail their dinghy in the race. The crews are not permitted to sail in more than one dinghy during the event. However, there is 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.

As with all sailing events, weather is the important element. The other important feature of the 24 hour race is the lack of light at night. During the hours of darkness, the helm and crew of each dinghy must keep watch for other boats (often capsized) and the curious concrete jetty mentioned earlier. Colliding with one or the other can be very dangerous and may even cause the team to abandon further participation in the event.

On a lighter note, the non-racing side of the event is always attractive, even if you are camping in a rickety tent in a gale on sand. The various clubs on the lake side provide sustenance and shelter to everyone involved for the duration of the race and beyond. Many attendees enjoy this aspect of the event more than the sailing, especially at night!

2005 Results

Pos'n	Boat	Sail No	Club	Ave.	Laps	Pen
1	1	GP 13849	Bolton S.C. (A)	12.45	102	-0.25
2	5	GP WLYC	West Lancashire Y.C. (B)	12.46	101	0
3	16	GP 13771	420 Class Assoc.	12.49	101	0
4	2	GP 2	Blackpool & Fleetwood Y.C.	13.01	99	0
5	4	GP BAS.S	Bassenthwaite S.C.	13.02	99	-0.5
6	14	GP HLSC	Hollingworth Lake S.C.	13.08	98	0
7	32	GP 13767	Dovestone S.C.	13.14	97	0
8	7	GP 13795	Chasewater S.C. (A)	13.23	96	0
9	8	E 22344	West Lancashire Y.C. (A)	13.24	96	0
10	28	E 22655	Frampton-on-Severn S.C.	13.26	96	-0.25
11	9	GP Budwo	Budworth S.C. (A)	13.27	96	-0.25
12	18	L 2347	Lark Class Owners Assoc.	13.28	97	0
13	13	GP 13769	Royal Naval S.Assoc. (B)	13.29	96	-0.25
14	3	GP 10801	South Staffs S.C. (M)	13.37	95	0
15	34	E 22400	Chester S.& C.C. (A)	13.40	95	-1
16	67	GP 13302	West Riding S.C.	13.40	94	0
17	12	E 19593	Leigh and Lowton S.C.	13.43	95	-0.5
18	26	E P S C	Papercourt S.C.	13.45	94	0
19	11	GP RWYC	Royal Windermere Y.C. (A)	13.46	94	-0.25
20	76	E 22397	Etherow C Park S.C. (A)	13.50	93	0
21	38	E 23039	Soulsailor Racing Assoc.	13.51	93	0
22	58	GP 13709	Midland S.C.	13.51	93	0
23	17	GP 13721	Port Dinorwic S.C.	13.53	94	-1
24	15	GP Burwa	Burwain S.C.	13.54	93	-0.25
25	6	E 21104	Sail 4 Cancer	13.58	92	0
26	56	E Ogstn	Ogston S.C. (A)	14.03	93	-1.25
27	23	E 22469	British Airways S.C.	14.05	91	0
28	33	E 22459	Loughborough Students S.C.	14.08	91	0
29	37	GP 37	Winsford Flash S.C.	14.10	91	-0.25
30	30	E 20860	Hoylake S.C.	14.18	90	-0.25
31	10	L 2497	South Staffs S.C.	14.23	91	0
32	29	E 21276	West Lancashire Y.C. (C)	14.25	90	0
33	24	GP 13504	Budworth S.C. (B)	14.25	90	-0.5
34	21	GP 13202	Bolton S.C. (B)	14.25	90	-0.5
35	66	E S S C	Southport S.C.	14.29	89	0
36	39	E 23121	Pilkington S.C. (A)	14.31	89	-0.75
37	77	GP 13015	Dovestone S.C. (B)	14.32	89	-0.25
38	25	E 17981	Edinburgh University S.C.	14.34	90	-1.25
39	54	E 22921	Rotherham S.C.	14.34	88	0
40	22	E 19233	Sheffield University S.C.	14.39	88	0
41	50	E U W	Warwick University S.C.	14.44	88	-0.75
42	57	E Ogstn	Ogston S.C. (B)	14.45	88	-1
43	46	GP 13738	Chasewater S.C. (B)	14.48	87	-0.25
44	20	E 22715	Delph S.C. (A)	14.48	87	-0.25
45	42	E 22128	Scammonden Water S.C.	14.51	87	0
46	41	E 22131	Killington S.Assoc.	14.52	88	-1.75
47	73	E 20040	Chester S.& C.C. (B)	14.59	86	-0.5
48	44	E 18657	Birmingham University S.C.	15.03	86	0
49	45	L 2480	Leeds University S.T.	15.15	85	-0.25
50	51	E 22554	Army S.A.	15.17	85	-0.5
51	63	GP 63	Glossop and District S.C.	15.17	84	-0.25
52	53	GP 13369	Combs S.C.	15.18	85	-0.5
53	27	E 22600	Royal Naval S.Assoc. (A)	15.21	84	0
54	70	E 22485	Pilkington S.C. (B)	15.27	84	-0.75
55	40	E 22866	Oxford University Y.C.	15.30	83	0
56	31	GP 13461	Wembley S.C.	15.35	83	-0.25
57	68	E WOSC	West Oxfordshire S.C.	15.36	82	0
58	36	E 20673	Ulley S.C.	15.38	83	-0.5
59	43	L 2307	Lancaster University S.C.	15.40	83	0
60	71	GP 13451	Midland S.C. (M)	15.41	82	-0.5
61	52	GP 11501	South Windermere S.C.	16.05	81	-0.5
62	65	E 9999	Etherow Country Park S.C.	16.09	82	-2
63	55	E RLSC	Rudyard Lake S.C.	16.10	80	-0.75
64	49	E 16290	Toddbrook S.C. (A)	16.32	78	-0.25
65	48	GP 13146	Blithfield S.C.	16.39	78	-0.25
66	35	E 22272	St Andrews University S.C.	16.43	78	-1
67	72	E 7891	Ulley S.C. (M)	16.56	76	-0.25
68	64	GP 13664	Crosby Scout & Guide M.C.	17.22	75	-0.75
69	61	GP Wigan	Wigan S.C.	17.26	75	-1.5
70	47	L 2478	Manchester University S.C.	17.26	75	-0.25
71	69	GP 11039	Newcastle University S.C.	17.36	73	-0.25
72	62	E LCSC1	London Corinthian S.C.	17.48	73	-1
73	78	E 18405	Delph S.C. (B)	18.05	72	-1
74	59	GP 13357	R.A.F. Cosford S.C.	18.16	71	0
75	60	GP 8015	Toddbrook S.C. (B)	19.10	67	-0.25
76	75	GP RWYC	Royal Windermere Y.C. (B)	27.15	47	0
77	74	L 2201	Glenridding S.C.	67.56	19	0

External links

• West Lancashire Yacht Club: 24 Hour Race
• Online TV Program about the 24 Hour Race