TIMES are rapidly changing on the waterfront as summer 2004 witnesses the last days of speed on Windermere and a shift of emphasis from the Lakes to the much-neglected Cumbrian coastline.

When the 10mph by-law for Windermere was given Home Office approval, most people thought that a compromise would still be worked out during the five years of grace until the limit came in to force.

Now, as speedboat users contemplate a final summer, entrenched views would appear to make any deal unlikely and next year England's largest lake is likely to have a decidedly empty look.

Out will go the traditional motorboat racing from Windermere Motor Boat Racing Club's south lake headquarters, Broad Leys.

Out will go the week of water speed records - an autumn end-of-season feature for many years.

Out will go water skiing and the numerous small powerboats who would find no fun in keeping within the 10mph to seek pastures new.

To an extent the moves have already begun.

A number of WMBRC events will be held in Barrow Docks, which have already been hailed by some as a much better place for spectators to watch the action than from the restricted viewpoints of Windermere.

Water skiers and powerboats can increasingly be seen in Walney Channel. With multi-million pound plans afoot to regenerate unused docks for recreational use and create a new marina, the drift to the coast is already under way.

That change of emphasis is powerfully demonstrated on June 12 and 13 when tall ships and powerboats provide the focus for the Barrow-based Power and the Glory festival of the sea.

The RYA National Powerboat Championships provides the power with six classes of boat battling it out at speeds of up to 120mph in Ramsden Dock.

The glory come from around ten tall ships, including the giant Russian training ship Mir, which will be in port for the weekend, Barrow being one of the few ports in Britain which can accommodate a ship of her size.

The Matthew of Bristol, an exact replica of the ship captained by John Cabot over 500 years ago on a voyage to Newfoundland and Zawisza Czarny, which was a Polish naval training vessel before being captured by the Nazis in the Second World War, will also be on show.

Former whaling ship, Artemis, along with tall ship race regulars Baltic Beauty and the Earl of Pembroke, which featured in the television series Hornblower, are also Barrow bound.