Sunk, yard of ale contest that raised cash for town’s lifeboats
FOR decades, residents of Lyme Regis have enjoyed the seafront town’s annual Yard of Ale competition.
Now, however, it has been cancelled – over fears that it encourages binge drinking.
The Royal National Lifeboat Institution, whose supporters organise the event, said it was no longer appropriate to encourage people to drink large quantities of alcohol near water. The popular competition involves locals trying to finish a yard glass of ale, containing 2.4 pints, in the fastest time.
It is held as part of the Dorset town’s annual Lifeboat Week festival that has been running since the 1970s. The decision to scrap it was taken by Lyme Regis and Charmouth Lifeboat Supporters, the RNLI fundraising group that organises the festival. The RNLI cited concerns that the event drew large crowds to the road outside the beachfront Cobb Arms, where it is held.
Gary Valentine, the pub’s landlord, called the decision ‘sad’ and pointed out that part of the road was closed to facilitate the event. He added: ‘There’s not many people that manage to drink the whole yard of ale anyway, the majority spill half of it down their shirts.’ Chris Higgs, the reigning champion with a time of 9.5 seconds, said: ‘Let’s hope this isn’t the end of another great Lyme tradition.’ In 2006 the 30-yearold Lifeboat Week event of ‘conger cuddling’ – involving contestants knocking one another off blocks using a 5ft dead conger eel suspended from a rope – was cancelled. And the pram derby, which saw teams of women race around a course using wheelbarrows or shopping trolleys and drinking half pints at every pub, was scrapped over health and safety concerns.
This year’s Lifeboat Week event raised £36,000 for the RNLI.
An RNLI spokesman said it advocated the ‘responsible use of alcohol on or around water’.