Budworth Success at the West Lancs 24 Hour Race

Published 08:32 on 30 Sep 2024

Budworth entered three teams at the iconic 24 hour race that was back in the racing calendar after a five year absence. The Budworth A team, consisting of past and present Budworth members and captained by Russell Cormack, won the event pipping the South Staffs A team with only 5 seconds separating the two teams on the water. Crucially South Staffs had to add a five minute penalty to their time, leaving the Budworth A team comfortable(ish) winners.

The Budworth B team, captained by Hugh Devereux, came in 9th overall out of 51 entries. Fin Waterhouse, who celebrated a special birthday just before the event posted some very impressive lap times during his stints on the water. Bex Smith and Rosanna Joyce came a very good 3rd in the Female Helm and Crew fastest lap.

The Budworth C team, a late entry to the event, consisted of a few GP sailors but also some less experienced GP and Better Sailors. The C team won the prize for conceding the first penalty of the event on the first lap! Things improved after that and came in with a very respectable 35th. A big thanks to Eva and Connie Murphy, and Jess, whose expert crewing helped guide some inexperienced GP14 helms round the course.

A big thanks to the team manager, Bill Kenyon, who helped organise the three teams, the Budworth marquee, food, parking and camping permits and basically everything to allow the teams to focus on their sailing. Thank you also to all the Budworth members who came down and supported the event, whether it was volunteering on rescue or first aid, or helping to score, or just simply coming down to cheer on the teams.Thank you.

Why not join in next year? The 2025 edition will be held over September 13th and 14th and will be open to Enterprises, GP14s and Fireflies.