It isn’t a National race and is open to all, however many of the National boats compete.
The week preceding the race had seen some of the worst snowfall, winds and cold weather for a good few months and the weather forecast did not do much to inspire. However on race day we were lucky enough to be blessed with a wonderful sunny day and a North Westerly wind which usually means the sea conditions are highly condusive to powerboat racing even though it is extremely cold!We have been working on the boat and doing a considerable amount of testing over the winter, in some instances having to break the ice in the slipway to get the boat out onto the water. So racing in cold conditions didn’t really concern us. The only concern in this type of weather is what happens if one of you falls out of the boat as the conditions quickly cause hypothermia. Fortunately, we did not have to concern ourselves with this problem, this time, but we were all advised to wear wetsuits under our race overalls just in case.
The course was very simple and most of the buoys were by line of sight. It was fantastic being able to go out and have a blast on the sea and 20 boats all motored down to Boscombe Pier to the start line. I have to admit, I was pretty nervous as it seemed ages since we had raced but as soon as the green flag was up and we were off it felt the same as always. Unfortunately, however we had a surprisingly bad start, the ‘green’ start flag looked yellow with the sun behind us and suddenly everyone was going flat out except us!
Stuart Anthony, last years F1 National Champion was in the lead with us in hot pursuit owing to our confusion at the start. However, the boat was running incredibly quickly and we passed the pier a few feet behind him having caught up in the start run and had the pressure on almost straight away. He could not get way from us and we were catching him fast.
At this stage we were doing speeds ranging from 63mph to 75mph we all seemed a bit ‘rusty’ after the winter’s break.
The sea conditions were good, along by the pier it was almost flat save for the boat washes but going out to the far mark it was a little bumpy. Heading back to Boscombe Pier there was a bit of mixed sea which required a little more careful driving.
After the 2nd lap we were getting closer and closer and Stuart was feeling the pressure, then suddenly just off Bournemouth Pier, we both hit a rogue wash from a cruise boat Stuart’s boat was not running as well as ours and it slowed him. We braced ourselves but our boat did not react too violently and we recovered well. Stuart was now chasing us and we have it on good authority that the spectators on the pier were enjoying an unusually close race.
This was incredibly exciting racing, we were in front and having to keep up a good fast pace to make sure he got no closer.
Finally, after the 4th lap Stuart did run alongside us and both boats were only a few feet apart from each other…for a short period of time. This was real hard racing and the pressure was seriously on both boats and crew. My foot was rammed hard to the floor and we accelerated past him. The boat seemed to go into another gear and we flew past him right in front of the Pier and spectators, this was one hell of a buzz.
By now the boat was reaching speeds of over 84mph and just flying, even the wash from the other boats we were lapping couldn’t slow us, in fact if it wasn’t for the turn buoy we were fast approaching, we would have been accelerating to an even faster speed. I have to admit though, bearing down on a turn buoy at speeds in excess of 80mph was somewhat interesting, get it wrong at that speed and you are likely to barrel roll.
By now our confidence was really high and there was no stopping us, Stuart was getting further and further away and we were on our way to a very convincing win.
At one stage in the bigger, choppier sea Mike was shouting at me to go faster, he then looked at the GPS and realized that we were doing a very respectful 80mph in sea that was far from flat.
The 8th lap arrived and we were so determined to win it was agony, we were praying I wasn’t going to make a mistake. Fortunately, we didn’t and in Tom Crump’s words as he presented us with our trophies, we won ‘very convincingly’ leaving second placed Stuart 9 seconds behind us and the third placed boat 3 minutes behind.
The work we had put into the boat over the winter had really paid off and the engines seem to be cured from the electrical problems we had suffered last year. Chris Lewis and his team at Marinautic have done an amazing job of ensuring that the boat is now very fast and reliable.
It was one of those days when everything came together. We came away with an armful of trophies, the Winter Gold Cup for being the first over the line, The RIB Challenge Trophy for being the fastest RIB, another for first in class and finally the Ladies trophy for the fastest woman.
All in all it was an amazing result and just goes to prove that when the engines are working as they should, we do have a VERY fast boat. We are very much looking forward to a good seasons racing!