A cacophony of sound filled the air around Hythe waterfront as rowers huffed, capsizers shrieked and spectators cheered.
Fortunately, Hythe remained cloud-free until after the Waterside Raft Race on August 15, 1999.
As a result it was hoped the race had raised at least £1,000 for the RNLI.
Winners were local ambulance men in the Shaky Sue, which covered the 1,400-metre course in 16 minutes.
They were closely followed by The Hobbits while a ladies’ team, the Jolly Tarts, took third place in 23 minutes. However, they were by no means the slower - the last team came home in 58 minutes.
“We had a wonderful day and the best-ever raft race because of the weather which brought out the sun,” said organiser Chris Ashworth at the time.
An RNLI lifeboat from Calshot was on hand, as well as many Association boat, the Alison MacGregor.
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