The strong force 5 south westerly wind did not deter the crews of the 38 boats that sailed the annual Bala Long Distance race, sponsored by Bala Adventure and Watersports Centre.  However, over three hours, as the wind strength increased to force 7, many boats succumbed to the extreme conditions, through crew exhaustion or gear failure.

Nine boats started in the slow handicap fleet and twenty nine in the fast handicap fleet.  At the end of the first lap, remarkably the Cherub of Andrew Kinchin and Simon Roberts from Bewl led the fleet from the Flying Dutchmen of Jon Williams and Alex Rogers, and Peter Doran and Richard Phillips close on their heels.  The RS 400 of Duncan Hindley and Peter Matthews, the Hornet of Harry Ashworth and Jeremy Shinton and the Flying Dutchman of Tom Clancy andGraham Sanderson were also in close contention.  Not far behind were the Fireballs of Keith McDonald and Andy Britton, and Lyndon Beasley and Tim Dicker.  These two boats were to finish within ten metres of each other after three hours of hard racing.

The order of the competitors remained fairly constant but at the end of the third lap many decided to retire as the wind strength increased further. 

In mid-fleet positions on the water, the Blaze of Dan Partington and the Flying 15 of Mike Lyddon and Stella Shaw were sailed superbly and after corrected time would gain second and third places in the fast handicap race.

However, the stars of the race were Peter and Nicky Smith in their Merlin Rocket who mastered the conditions so well, despite their low crew weight, to win by a margin of 28 seconds on corrected time over the Blaze of Dan Partington.

Unfortunately, the Cherub, with victory in sight, capsized only 300 metres from the finish and could not be righted. 

Results

Fast Handicap
1st Peter Smith and Nicky Smith, Merlin Rocket, Blithfield
2nd Dan Partington, Blaze, Bala.
3rd Mike Lyddon and Stella Shaw, Flying 15, Bala
4th Keith McDonald and Andy Britton, Fireball, Blithfield
5th Lyndon Bneasley and Tim Dicker, Fireball, Greensforge
6th Jon Williams and Alex Rogers, Flying Dutchman, RYA
7th John Eaton and Mike Potter, Flying 15, Bala
8th Duncan Hindley and Peter Matthews, RS 400, Blithfield
9th John Saunders and Peter Lawes, Flying 15, Bala

Slow Handicap
1st Phil Quarry and Sarah Allen, GP14, Trimpley
2nd Tony Jukes and Adrian Smith, GP14, Chelmarsh
3rd Mark and Deborah Tissiman, GP14, Chelmarsh
4th Simon Fletcher and John Cookson, GP14, Trimpley
5th James Marson and Jo Penlington, GP14 Greensforge