big name sponsors they set about organising
some of the largest events on the
international calendar for the next 15 years or
so. Len was a former racer himself competing
between 1959-1967 under the British Tourist
Rules, which Cyril and Peter Benstead drew
up and are generally regarded as the forerunner of today's National series.
LMBRC ran its first International meeting in
May 1973 for catamarans under 1,000 cc and
this became a regular event for the
Buckinghamshire based club for the next few
years. In 1977 the club hosted its first major
International championship event in the form
of the European SE (850cc) Championship.
Over 20 entries from no less than 9 different
nations made the journey to compete in what
turned out to be a very successful and
memorable weekend; there was even time for
an impromptu European football tournament
between teams after the racing. Later the
same year the club held an International
meeting on the river Thames in London as
part of the official Queen's Silver Jubilee
celebrations. The event was televised and
attended by H.R.H. Princess Margaret who
arrived on the Sunday afternoon to officially
start the prestigious Jubilee Cup Formula
One race. The event turned out to be a huge
success and really helped to cement their
reputation as one of the leading clubs for
organising such high profile events. The
following year the club chose The National
Watersports Centre in Nottingham as the
venue for the European SD Championship.
Once again a large entry of craft was
attracted from several nations including some
very quick Italian and Scandinavian boats.
The venue offered superb facilities both on
and off the water and the club returned
several more times throughout the 1980s to
stage large international events there.
Despite a dozen club races and a national
championship meetings being held each year
on LMBRC's home water at Iver, the club
were still feeling ambitious and looking for a
suitable venue nearer the capital on which to
stage a possible round of the Formula One
World Series. The answer came in the form
of London's Royal Victoria Dock. A
successful trial in November 1982 paved the
way for a series of such events to follow over
the next few years. The World Series was
fully supported by the smaller classes,
providing continued action on the water
throughout the weekend. With on-shore
entertainment such as