MORE than 50 sailors from all points of the compass braved the elements on a cold day to sail a two-and-a-half-hour race around Pennington Flash in aid of the Royal National Lifeboat Institute.

Leigh & Lowton Sailing Club's RNLI Pursuit Race took place in the week of the institute's 175th anniversary.

Stuart Talbot, representing the Leigh and Lowton Branch, handed out prizes.

The big winners at The Flash - Helm and Crew: Keith Escritt and Clive Harries (Grimwith SC); Junior: Tim Hulse (Leigh & Lowton SC); Singlehander: J Stewart (West Lancs SC).

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.