Origin of the West Kirby Marine Lake

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Rod
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Origin of the West Kirby Marine Lake

Post by Rod »

I was watching a video of Fireflies team racing on West Kirby's marine lake and got to wondering when these small bodies of water, right on the beach, were built? Whose idea were they? The purpose of this marine lake is obvious, to have a sailing water not affected by the extreme range of tide on the coast. Are there other ones besides West Kirby's? Do they get refilled at high tide? Or are there pumps? It seems a concept uniquely British; I have yet come across anything similar (but maybe someone knows a similar body of water located outside England).
Rod M
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davidh
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Re: Origin of the West Kirby Marine Lake

Post by davidh »

HI Rod...another person who must be psychic - I was on your web page just this afternoon - twice in fact! Bottom line, we need to talk! Can you PM me with your details?

Rod....the Marine lake at West Kirby is so important to the UK dinghy sailing scene (well, not only the history but even today). I've 'chapter and verse' on the subject but am struggling to meet yesterday's deadline - will post more once I've done that!

D
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Pat
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Re: Origin of the West Kirby Marine Lake

Post by Pat »

Southport, a little further north on the same coast also has a marine lake, famous for the annual 24hr race.
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JimC
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Re: Origin of the West Kirby Marine Lake

Post by JimC »

There are some others round the place. I think they were originally to promote salt water bathing without the nasty waves, or am I wrong?
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Re: Origin of the West Kirby Marine Lake

Post by JimC »

There are some others round the place. I think they were originally to promote salt water bathing and general leisure boating without the nasty waves, or am I wrong?
clibb
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Re: Origin of the West Kirby Marine Lake

Post by clibb »

If you can find a copy of John Millar's history of West Kirby Sailing Club "Anything but Sailing", and surely the longest, fattest book ever written about a sailing club, you will find a potted history of the lake itself.

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Re: Origin of the West Kirby Marine Lake

Post by dieharddinghysailor »

Rod
I believe the marine lakes were built, as stated , to promote salt water bathing; with the advent of the train, seaside holidays became all the rage, the fresh air sea breezes and salt water an invigorating and exhiliarating change from the 'dark Satanic Mills' smokestacks and smog of the industrial areas. So building a seawall enclosed area for bathing and boating (mostly rowboats, as rowing was also very popular from Victorian times - see the old photos of Thames skiffs literally blocking the locks on the river as folks wait to get through - the ladies in their crinoline and frilly parasols langushing demurely on the stern bench!)
The other reason is that in many areas of GB there are huge tides, so the edge of the sea could be half a mile or more away. One could not expect delicate ladies of a sensitive nature to tramp that far from their bathing hut to immerse themselves in the briny, so - create a walled-in area for everyone to enjoy close to the promenade. Not to mention the fact that it would be less choppy on the lake.

There are Marine Lakes dotted all around the English Coastline, ad well as the smaller but equally significant Pond Yacht lakes. Couldn't find much info.on the web, though........

Of course it's just possible I'm talking a load of bollocks, in which case........goodnight..!

Cheers

Mike Scott
Whidbey Island. WA. USA
davidh
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Re: Origin of the West Kirby Marine Lake

Post by davidh »

Rod,

The answer is 'a little bit of all of those you've had so far'. Probably though Mike Scott is closest but then he hails originally from not a million miles from there so he knows!

But it was originally social and technical drivers. The same railway network that was built to shift the trade of an empire about meshed in neatly with the rise of the Trade Union movement (post Tolpuddle Martyrs) when the old adage of "six days thou shalt labour" was replaced by the first payment of a paid holiday. The popular holiday destinations soon became established but for locations such as West Kirby, there was an addition hook in that they could be easily reached - this was the start of the 'day tripper'.

But, as Mike S also pointed out, this area is know for it's tides. It is not that the range is huge (as with Weston Super-Mare on the Bristol Channel) but the flatness of the area means that what tide there is goes out a long way! ( A digression.... I did the 505 Worlds Qualifier just around the corner from West Kirby at a club called New Brighton. It is the only time I've ever seen the windward mark laid by tractor! When we launched almost the whole course was still high and dry - yet by the published start time we were able to sail. The warning there is that the water can cross the sands faster than you can run.....). So, if an area was reliant on the new tourist trade, then it needed to be able to offer something more than a vast vista of sandy mud! If you only had a week of holidays and that week was neaps - low tide at midday, you'd be stuffed. So, the Marine Lakes fulfilled so many functions - it looked good, you could swim and increasingly, sail!

There is one other factor in this! As Pat J said, just up the coast at Southport there is another lake (home of the 24 hour race). It is easy to think of the 'engine room' of yachting (and dinghy sailing) development as being the Solent/Thames/South Coast but you'd be wrong - the North West of England was every bit as important - as was the East Coast.

Marine Lakes are great - if you want to know just how good they are, try visiting Weston Super-Mare when the tide is out - you really feel as if you could walk across to Wales!

D
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trebor
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Re: Origin of the West Kirby Marine Lake

Post by trebor »

Rhyl boasts a large marine lake, their used to be a water ski jump.
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Re: Origin of the West Kirby Marine Lake

Post by roger »

Ryde has a boating lake. I fell in it several times as a lad.
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