Olympic sailor Andrew Simpson remembered with world record bid

Andrew Simpson (right) won gold with Iain Percy at the 2008 Beijing Olympics

Thousands of sailors are expected to set the record for the largest sailing race in the world - in memory of a British Olympic champion sailor.

The inaugural Bart's Bash, organised by the Andrew Simpson Sailing Foundation, will involve more than 14,000 sailors, from 750 clubs in 65 countries.

The event is in memory of Andrew "Bart" Simpson, who was killed while training for the America's Cup in May 2013.

Races will take place globally between 0:00 and 23:59 BST on Sunday.

Father of two Simpson, who lived with his wife Leah and sons Freddie and Hamish in Sherborne, Dorset, won Olympic gold at Beijing 2008 and silver at London 2012.

Nearly £120,000 has been raised by the fundraiser so far for the Andrew Simpson Sailing Foundation, which was set up in his name by fellow sailors Sir Ben Ainslie and Iain Percy, Simpson's widow and sister Amanda to support youth sailing.

Ainslie will race at the Queen Mary Sailing Club at the Queen Mary Reservoir in Ashford, Middlesex, and Simpson's teammate Percy will race at the Andrew Simpson Sailing Centre in Weymouth, Dorset.

A total of 471 clubs in the UK are taking part in the simultaneous races at various venues.

Among other events are races at the Southampton Boat Show in Hampshire, at the Clipper Race Yacht Club in Gosport, Hampshire, and one starting at Port St Mary in the Isle of Man.