Pair sail around the three longest lakes in England, Wales and Scotland in 28 hours

Laura Hodgetts

RS Aero sailors Ken Fowler and Peter Barton took 28 hours to sail around the three longest lakes in England, Wales and Scotland

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One year after becoming the first person to sail solo around every island in England and Wales, Ken Fowler teamed up with a World Champion RS Aero sailor for a new ‘micro’ challenge.

With 262 islands and 1,336 miles under his belt, Ken joined forces with Peter Barton for their own take on The Three Lakes Challenge, sailing the lengths of Llyn Tegid (Bala Lake) in Wales, Windermere in England, and Loch Awe in Scotland.

Ken, a retired air traffic controller who only learned to sail 15 years ago, added a non-stop time constraint as he was inspired by The National 3 Peaks Challenge, where participants climb the three highest peaks in Scotland, England and Wales within a 24-hour window.

He said: “We discovered the Three Lakes Challenge undertaken by canoeists where the aim is to canoe the three longest lakes in England, Scotland and Wales. No one appeared to have ever attempted this in a dinghy, so we decided to attempt that in a non-stop challenge of sub-36 hours.

A man sailing a dinghy on lakes

Launching at the start of Loch Awe – 25 miles to the end of the lake. Credit: Ken Fowler

“After the last seven years of epic scale dinghy sailing adventures to raise money for Cancer Research and Oakhaven Hospice, this year’s micro-adventure will hopefully inspire others while raising more funds for these two amazing charities.”

Ken’s previous challenges aboard his RS Aero, Yodare, have been solo adventures, with supporters ashore.

He added: “For this adventure I really wanted someone to share exactly my experiences, so step forward Peter Barton, a world champion sailor in the RS Aero. His support throughout all my adventures has been constant and amazing. Having lost both his parents to cancer he totally gets why we keep undertaking these fundraising challenges and was keen to participate.”

A dinghy on lakes

It took the pair 28 hours to complete the challenge. Credit: Ken Fowler

For the non-stop ‘three lakes sailing challenge’, the duo split the return journey by sailing one length each.

They completed Loch Awe by a civilised 11am, before launching on to Windermere at 2.30am the following day, where light winds meant two slow traverses, before getting back on the road to the final lake Llyn Tegid (Bala), which was completed that same afternoon.

The pair completed the challenge in 28 hours, sailing 81 miles.

Upon becoming the first dinghy sailors to complete this epic challenge, Ken said: “We’ve set the mark for others to follow and I hope this record is broken many times by fellow sailors in the future. This challenge is achievable for many and the memories of the adventure will stay with you forever. Go out there and beat it – please!”

To find out more about Ken Fowler’s fundraising visit yodare.co.uk.

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