Now chair of the Haslemere and Hindhead RNLI branch, Frances will be speaking, with video, at a special afternoon of cream tea and fizz at the Dart Marina Hotel on the afternoon of Thursday, March 26.

The Fastnet Race, long celebrated as one of the most prestigious and demanding yacht races, turned into the deadliest sailing disaster in modern history. Out of the 303 vessels that set off, only 86 ...

303 yachts left the shore—but not all returned. In August 1979, the Fastnet race became a fight for survival as a brutal storm tore across the sea, killing 19 sailors and changing offshore racing ...