One of the organisers of the annual powerboat record event on Coniston has been presented with a RYA National Award by HRH The Princess Royal, President of the Royal Yachting Association, for his contributions to the sport.

Richard Solomon is a member of Windermere Motor Boat Racing Club where he has held many official positions but his role in the sport has been extensive at a national level as well. Richard served for many years on the RYA Circuit Racing Committee (CRC) and its predecessor the Sports Boat Committee as his club delegate until 1999 when he decided to retire from this duty. While on these committees he took on various responsibilities including recording all rule changes, making sure the wording was correct, and also responsibility for Water Approvals where he would advise and assist clubs with the requirements for their water.

Shortly after retiring from CRC, Richard became Chairman of the RYA Powerboat Racing Committee, with his term ending in 2007.. His national role began when he joined the NW Regional Committee of the RYA as a club representative but he was then seconded onto the precursor of the Sports Council and other national bodies. He has been Officer of the Day and Time-Keeper for both club and national events, even though he retired from active racing 30 years ago.

Two members of Redesmere Sailing Club have been presented with RYA awards for their work which has helped the club, based at Capesthorne near Macclesfield to develop as a venue for training as well as competition and pleasure sailing.

Geof Weston has been part of the sailing community in Cheshire for more than 40 years and a driving force at Redesmere for more than half that time. He receives a Lifetime Contribution Award. As a handicraft teacher, he became a key player in the Cheshire Schools Sailing and Canoeing Association (CSSCA) which uses Redesmere as a venue. He helped the CSSCA become an RYA Training Centre and also encouraged the Association to broaden its activities to coastal waters as well, even taking youngsters on sail training ships like the Francis Drake from Holyhead.

He encouraged many of the youngsters to both improve their sailing and then go on to become Dinghy Instructors and Senior Instructors themselves to cascade their growing experience and knowledge.

At Redesmere Sailing Club, Geof began by helping with the summer training weeks for club members and then assisted the club to become a recognised RYA Training Centre.

He gave up teaching and working for himself, building up a furniture making business before retiring and constructing a garden railway at 16mm to the foot scale. Now 76 he still helps out with the summer courses. Goef still sails the 18 foot Yachting World Rambler that be built himself and has often sailed in the Menai Straits of North Wales.

The other award for outstanding service was presented to Rachel Ward who started sailing at Resdesmere with her father at the age of six. Now she takes her own seven year old daughter sailing there in her double-handed Scorpion dinghy.

The citation says that for more than 20 years Rachel has been unstinting in her commitment to developing sailing at the club. She started by volunteering as an assistant on sailing courses and then became a dinghy instructor. She remembers attending her course for the qualification at Ullswater which was very high as a result of heavy rain. She said the clubhouse was flooded and they were launching their dinghies between the tree tops. Driving there, she said, it had been difficult in places to find what was road and what was lake in the Lake District.

She has been Commodore of the club and then Chief Instructor and Principal of the Training Centre helping to develop an inclusive sailing club open to all abilities and providing opportunities for every member. "I just want everybody to love sailing as much as I do," says Rachel.

She is still working with youngsters, coaching and mentoring them to achieve their potentials, whatever their abilities and ambitions. Her citation says: "It is difficult to see how Redesmere would be the highly successful club it is, without her involvement."