So finally we were fuelled, I’d found my credit card and we were all happy. So once again we set off for another race but a bit shorter this time. At this moment of time I made my first biggest and most embarrassing error in my racing career. The ProVee boats which run at 100mph + were to have started at 10.30am so at 10.35am we were flying up the channel happily checking the boat was running OK and chatting about the forthcoming race. Suddenly I looked ahead and about 15 boats were headed towards us at vast speed and it suddenly occurred to me that they had started late and we were in their line! Mike reminded me that we were best just staying stationary rather than turning across so we just sat there as they flew by which was rather disconcerting!!!!! All Mike wanted was a camera. Sorry to any Pro Vee racers who wondered who the ‘idiot’ in the RIB was!
So after that shocking moment which left the safety officer in shock, we were ready to start. The green flag dropped and off we went again and once again we had a dreadful start. We had some different props on today which reduced some of the problems we were experiencing with the engines but we got caught in a load of messy water which lost us time. Then once again the management system came on and the engines slowed……..so frustrating. However after a shorter period of time they came back up again and we did manage some better speeds in fact on one of the 15 mile legs we were doing 79mph which was much better. However, with the bad start and engines still playing up we were behind the first two in our class which was disappointing.
We continued around the island and could see one of the Sunseeker XS boats in the distance which we were steadily catching, this gave me something to focus on. So when the engines were running well we were flying along (sometimes quite literally!). We finally finished the run around the island and came across No Mans Fort, just as we did another alarm came on and I lost concentration and looked at the monitors to see which one this was, at that precise moment we smashed into a massive couple of waves doing 75mph (not advisable) and I seriously thought we were about to meet our maker! We had gone vertical, landed on the next wave and gone vertical again and quite literally bounced across the waves………I did marvel at how well the boat handled it though and its far better than any rollercoaster at the fair!
So after this little incident we bashed on and up the finish line (with me praying that the engines would last!). We had come 3rd once again, not too bad (unfortunately we do not have average speeds for this race).
We had two prize giving's, one on a large podium in the public area of the pits by the bar (very popular venue!). This was fun and consisted of everyone soaking everyone else with champagne which when you have long hair is not so pleasant! We were awarded our laurels and then had to get back to the boat to crane out, wash down and pack up.
The evening prize giving event is very grand and it’s always an honour really to win an award here. Much to our surprise we earnt a 2nd in the World Cup despite our problems and with a 3rd in the National we were happy. However, we were then awarded the Daily Express trophy for being the fourth boat in the Cowes-Torquay-Cowes race (a great honour!) and I was awarded the ladies prize for best ladies performance which consisted of a stunning silver trophy (won previously with my phantom) and a beautiful Michel Herbelin watch.
Whilst disappointed with the engine’s performance overall we did remarkably well. Having spent over 4 hours in the boat I had learnt so much about its handling in this time that this was worth all the agro.
Now we have to get the boat ready and fixed before the national finals in Gibraltar, fingers crossed we have seen the last of our problems no