Sponsored by
RETRO: Yacht race disaster
Dateline: August 1979
THE BIG STORY
Thirteen people, including a Yorkshireman, died in the Fastnet boat race after a force 10 gale swept into competitors as they rounded the southern Irish coast. It was the worst disaster to hit the 605-mile race, which dates back to 1925. Some 385 yachts entered the race and on August 15, the day after the storm hit, 85 were still unaccounted for.
The Yorkshireman was William Le Fevre, 46, of Harrogate, a director of Grattan Warehouses, who one of four crewmen to lose their lives on the US yacht Ariadne. It was his first Fastnet race.
Speaking from home, widow Ann said her husband had been looking forward to the race and had sailed in bad weather before. The storm wrecked 25 boats worth more than 5m. The race starts off Cowes on the Isle of Wight in England, rounds the Fastnet Rock off the southwest coast of Ireland and finishes at Plymouth.
HEADLINES
Yorkshire's coal pits lost a staggering 38m in the previous year, it was revealed. Nationally, the Coal Board made a trading loss of 19.4m and blamed the poor figures on the bad winter and rail and road strikes. Prospects were grim, too, with the coal board facing a 65 per cent pay claim from miners.
The BBC unveiled two big guns in its autumn schedule: Mike Yarwood and Shirley Bassey. At the time, Shirley was celebrating 25 years in showbiz. There was also Larry Grayson presenting The Generation Game, Terry Wogan on Blankety Blank and Michael Parkinson would be on twice a week on Wednesdays and Saturdays.
Films on at the cinema included Arabian Adventure, starring Christopher Lee, cartoon adventure Dumbo and The Magic of Lassie, described as the "brightest, happiest film of the year" and which also starred Mickey Rooney.
The Grand revealed its autumn/winter line-up, which included Death of a Salesman, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Hello Dolly, Peter Pan, Mike Harding, Barry Humphries and The Bob Monkhouse Show.
Singer Rod Stewart became a dad. Wife Alana had a baby girl, Kimberley, on August 21 in Los Angeles, weighing 6lb 13oz. Alana, 32 and Rod, 34, married in April. She already had a four-year-old son to actor George Hamilton. After the birth, Rod went straight to recording studios to work on his latest single.
Lord Mountbatten, Admiral of the Fleet, last Viceroy of India and the Queen's uncle, was killed in an explosion while on his boat in the Irish Republic. It was later revealed he was assassinated by the Irish Republican Army. He was born in 1900 and his grandmother was Queen Victoria.
Schoolboy Marcus Hooper became the youngest swimmer to conquer the English Channel, less the 24 hours after the age record had been set. The 12-year-old was three months younger than South African Kevin Anderson, who made the crossing a day earlier, on August 5.
The first British nudist beach opened in Brighton on August 9.
THE WORLD
The US refused to allow a Soviet jet to leave, sparking a major international diplomatic incident. The jet contained Ludmila Vlasova, wife of the Bolshoi Ballet's Alexander Godunov, who had defected to the West three days earlier. US authorities believed she was being returned to Russia against her will. Godunov said his wife wanted to stay in the US and the airport authorities demanded to speak with her in person but Russian authorities refused to let her leave the plane. A stand-off ensued. Vlasova was let off the plane and convinced US officials she was returning to Russia of her own free will and the plane eventually took off.
August 16 marked the second anniversary of Elvis's death and the YEP produced a special anniversary edition to mark the occasion.
THE GOSSIP
The Shadows's guitarist Bruce Welch wed a 35-year-old beautician on August 1, five years after meeting her at a health spa he had checked into to lose weight. Fellow band members Hank Marvin and Brian Bennett were among the guests. It was the second marriage for Bruce, who was once engaged to Olivia Newton-John. The Shadows were famous in their own right but started out in 1958 backing Cliff Richard.
Abba star Agnetha Faltskog allegedly split with boyfriend Lars-Eric Eriksson, an ice hockey player, who was seen out on the town in Stockholm, which was enough to spark the rumours.
Erik Estrada, star of the hit US TV series CHiPs, was critically ill in hospital after falling from his motorcycle during filming. Estrada, 30, lost control of the machine in an alley on the outskirts of Los Angeles and was thrown into a stationary car being used as a prop. He recovered and went on to star in the show until 1983.
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Leeds
Sunday 12 February 2012
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: 0 C to 5 C
Wind Speed: 7 mph
Wind direction: North west
Tomorrow
Sunny spells
Temperature: 4 C to 8 C
Wind Speed: 17 mph
Wind direction: North west
