Land yachting sails into Brean

5:00pm Wednesday 19th March 2008

LAND yachting was far from a breeze at Brean beach last weekend as around 20 competitors braved the appalling weather conditions to compete in keenly fought races.

The twice-yearly Brean Land Yacht Club Regatta was a washout on Saturday, March 15, as a lack of wind combined with torrential rain to knock the scheduled races off course.

But on Sunday, March 16, conditions yielded a little, allowing seven races to go ahead in front of a few hardy souls lining the sands.

Brightly coloured land yachts were scattered across the beach for the races, which sees yachts powered at high speed across the sand by the wind.

Mike Young, chairman of Brean's Land Yacht Club, spoke to the Weekly News about the regatta - and the attraction of the adrenaline pumping sport.

He said: "About 20 took part on the second day after the first was a washout due to no wind. But we got seven races in on the second day and everyone enjoyed themselves. Despite the weather it was a great day.

"Land yachting is a green sport and can get very exciting, with speeds up to 60 or 70mph. We have two national competitions like this every year, with one now and one in November - but we also race every month."

Anyone wishing to find out how to compete in land yachting can visit www.breanlandyachtclub.org.uk or call 01278-751545.

See this week's Weekly News for more pictures from this event.