The press release put out last week, seems to have resulted in widespread local coverage, which, I'm happy to see, has mainly focused mainly on the positive outcomes of the race effort.

The story was briefly picked up by Glossop.com and shortly afterwards my visitor statistics went haywire as solid mass of visitors arrived from there and other places.

Despite most of the coverage portraying the entry in a positive light, it seems that some people are puzzled at the reasons for the club withdrawing support, as "elegantly" summed up in this comment:

Why did Glossop Sailing Club withdraw its support?

As previously stated, I am unclear on this issue as this is one of the things, I seek to ascertain in the near future, as a result of a series of meetings with relevant people.

Nevertheless, The Glossop Chronicle covered the full story, and also apparently contacted a "spokesman" from Glossop Sailing Club.

SAVING THE DAY

FOUR young sailors from Glossop Sailing Club claimed a mammoth success in a marathon event that was surrounded in controversy.

A depleted youth squad from Glossop Sailing Club achieved 10th place out of a field of 28 - their best ever result in the annual National Junior 12-Hour Race in Southport recently - despite the club dropping an anchor in the works.

Team captain Tim Dobson and five other club members drove to Southport raring take part, only to receive news on their journey that the sailing club would be not be using the boat because of health and safety reasons.

Four of the six aimed to still participate when South Windermere Sailing Club came to the rescue.

The Cumbrian club had a boat, but needed additional crew members.

So both clubs merged for the event and produced a respectable performance.

“The Glossop Sailing Club Team had arrived full of enthusiasm and were eager to sail but unfortunately our boat failed to materialise,”

says Tim.

“We are so thankful to South Windermere Sailing Club who were short of crew members and suggested that we merge with them to form a joint team ‘South Windermere and Glossop’.

“With a skeleton crew of four from each team we sailed their boat into the highest position that any boat from either club has ever completed in the race.

“This was a truly remarkable achievement for both clubs and we know that we have made some friends for life.

“Whilst we were extremely thrilled with our result, I just felt so disappointed for our team members who could not compete.”

Tim claims this is the highlight of the year for the club. Everyone had worked extremely hard in preparation for the event, which sees clubs trying to cover the longest distance in a set time. Reasons for the club withdrawing its support are still unclear.

Young sailors take turns to be on the water, two at a time, so the boat is going non-stop.

National sailing champions and Great Britain squad members were among the field so the merged team faced very stiff competition.

“As a result of our success, we have now developed a relationship with South Windermere Sailing Club and we are investigating the possibilities of working together more in the future and competing in some more friendly races,”

adds Tim.

A Glossop Sailing Club Spokesman, said: “Due to circumstances out of our control we were unable to take the risk of using the boat. From assessment of criteria and rules we had to withdraw.”