Water ski action in Wyre back in the day

Our archive pictures take a look back at water skiing in Stanah, on the River Wyre, in the latter half of the last century.

The Memory lane front cover picture today shows Lance Dickinson, of Wyre Water Ski and Powerboat Club, in action on the water.

In 1976, he was chosen to compete for Britain in the European Championships in Austria. He is pictured in July 1976.

Also shown in 1976 are winners of a waterskiing competition at Stanah. From left, they are: Geoffrey Griffiths, of St Annes (second place), Abe Hardman of Bury (winner) and Brian Musgrave, of Blackpool (third).

Wyre Water Ski Club, which was based at Stanah, features strongly in our archive photographs of waterskiing.

Ray Simpson and Barker Atkinson can be seen, in March 1975, in a speed boat – heading out on to the water.

Ray is also pictured in action, waterskiing with Chris Frost – braving cold weather for a morning’s ski trip across the River Wyre, in March 1975.

And David Ball can be seen, also at the waterski club, in 1975.

A boat is pictured launching, in the same year, at the club, in one of our black-and-white shots.

Wyre Water Ski Club was the first to have a new, state-of-the-art purpose-built ramp for waterskiing, at Stanah, shown in our picture from December 1985.

For the first time in Britain, an all-steel waterski ramp for tidal water was designed and built at the waterski club.

Special rigid polyurethane structural foam, supplied by the Tyfoam Group Limited, Swansea, was used to fill the sponson, or buoyancy tanks

It is shown in use, as a club member performs an impressive jump.