Having had a break of 5 weeks I was raring to go! Following certain changes to the team and only one practice session due to a broken gearbox I was slightly nervous that I would feel 'rusty' after the break. The first race on the Saturday was quite short (around 40 miles) but it was mercilessly hot up into the early eighties and with overalls, helmets and life jackets we were hot. Daren joined me for the race on the Saturday and we started well. The sea conditions were slightly rough but fun to race in and we finally edged our way up to finish third in our class. The sea provided us with some fantastic moments on occasion leaping about 10 ft into the air and literally flying for metres before landing beautifully and taking off again at 75mph.
The race was not without its fair share of drama when Chris Bryan and Vicki Crump managed to turn powerboat racing into a contact sport, crashing at a corner early in the race. Both had to retire due to damage to their boats which needed fixing before the next days race but no one was injured thankfully, well other than pride!
Fortunately for us we had run four consistent races in the series finishing in the top four on each occasion which won us the overall 'Club Classic' Championship. I was delighted with this, my first championship win in my first year, not a bad record! Along with the prestige came several fantastic trophies, laurels and the podium presentation and champagne…great fun! Great also for the confidence!
So after the days excitement Sunday's race loomed and along with that a new co-driver, Geoff Purves. Geoff has had over 20 years of racing experience at Class II level and is now a permanent member of the team. Sunday's weather was the complete opposite to Saturday. Rain and wind, typical for a Bournemouth race. This was Geoff's first time in the Co-drivers seat of a batboat and as the sea became rougher and rougher I feared he would not take to the constant battering, however, he loved the boat and surprisingly trusted my driving and we had a great race. The race continued for about an hour and half and the sea conditions continued to worsen. The boat took to the conditions well particularly as we have made a few changes to the running of the boat which certainly seemed to help. One or two notable exceptions literally kept us on the edge of our seats where the boat on a few occasions decided to go skyward and upon landing hooked violently practically throwing us out, the only thing I can liken it to is a very twisty roller coaster ride but wow what an adrenaline rush! This was due to the sea conditions and we managed to survive with no damage to ourselves. We finally finished a credible 7th. Not the best result ever but the race had gone well for us in difficult conditions and with a new team.
The boat is now running better than ever and we should be ready for a fair crack at the Europeans over in Cowes next week.