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On Saturday 16th November, friends and family gathered for a memorial race and celebration of the life of Dave Eccles. Over 40 sailors from clubs across the region and north Wales participated in a one off pursuit race. This reflects how many people’s lives were touched by Dave and how widespread he influenced others. This was followed by a Celebration of Dave’s life in the Club House, together with non sailing family, friends and neighbours. I know how much this...

Dear members and friends We have some very sad news to pass on to you all. Dave Eccles passed away on Thursday 3rd October. Many of you will already have seen the news on Facebook and on the 24/7 WhatsApp chat. Originally associated with Pennington Flash in the 70s and 80s at Lowton Sailing Club where he served a stint as commodore. Dave continued to volunteer wherever he sailed over the years. Serving as Vice commodore at Elton sailing club...

They did it!!  After coming a close second to Leigh & Lowton in the last 2 events, Toddbrook/Combs claimed overall victory in the 2024 S2S event.  Pushed hard by new entrants West Lancs they came from behind to clinch the win in the last few hours with some outstanding performances. The S2S is a team event held annually in June at Leigh & Lowton SC in GPs, Ents and Fireflies starting at sunrise (4.40am) and finishing at sunset (9.40pm).  We...

Chris Pickles and Matt Sharman were run away winners in a glorious but fickle New Years Day.  Chris commented afterwards that he had been trying to win a pursuit race at Leigh & Lowton for close on 20 years and was delighted to finally do that.  It’s an event that has always attracted stiff competition, even if some may be suffering a little from the night before! A decent breeze got Lochlyn Grant (LLSC) off to a good start in...

Obituary We are sorry to report that Mike Broatch passed away recently in hospital. Not everyone will have known Mike, but he was a stalwart of the Solo Class for many many years. Sailing on the flash dating back to pre amalgamation days at Lowton sailing club. When he was not taking an active part in the racing he would often cox the rescue boat and was a highly respected race officer. In earlier years he was also an active instructor...

Leigh & Lowton SC kicked off their winter programme with their traditional Guy Fawkes Pursuit, this year on Guy Fawkes night itself, so there was Mulled Wine, Parkin Cake and Treacle Toffee available by a roaring fire after prizegiving.  Over 50 competitors took part in this traditional start to the winter series, with the Revett Series running up to Xmas and New Years Day Pursuit and Icicle Series still to come over the winter. The wind gave OOD Howard Green...

The first event of the North West Sailability Series was held at Leigh & Lowton SC on Tuesday 25th April.  This is the second year this series has been held and attendance shows how popular it is becoming.  A total of 9 sailors arrived for the event from a variety of clubs around the North and North West. The racing was keen, but there was also great coaching from Alan Jones and Matt Daly on hand for the less experienced,...

In 2022, we unfortunately lost one of our younger members in a tragic accident, pursuing the outdoor hobbies he loved the most.  Haydn has been etched into Leigh & Lowton history by having this event renamed after him.  A one minute silence was held before racing started on this inaugural Haydn Griffiths RNLI Open Trophy Day. Members and visitors young and old gathered to make this such a special occasion.  So many stories exchanged during the day and all the...

The Tipsy Icicle Series has provided dinghy racing for NW sailors for decades and in its 2nd year back from CoVID disruptions it provided the great racing it has become known for.  Across the series 160 sailors competed making this still the biggest club dinghy winter series in the UK and one we all look forward to. Prizewinners were spread across many different clubs, with a good proportion of the North West’s clubs participating.  The Asymmetric Fleet has grown and...

A glorious winter day at Leigh & Lowton Sailing Club welcomed the 50+ competitors for the long-running New Year’s Day race.  The wind maps were showing various different forecasts for the day, with competitors concluding that a gentle SSW was the most likely outcome. This proved to be accurate as the Optimists got things underway in a zephyr of a F1.  Along with the Toppers and Fevas a fleet of juniors totalling 12 in number were out early.  The breeze...