The weather all the way up had been wet, Saturday was scrutineering day where the boats and safety equipment have to pass a stringent examination before being allowed to race. The rain thankfully held off, but rumours of gale force winds on the Sunday were spreading. To add to this, a few of the drivers went out for a test in the Clyde and came back saying the sea was quite difficult to read and drive in. Glad we didn’t test!
Sunday dawned very wet and very windy and this was to set the scene for the entire day. Unfortunately, with the high winds and changeable weather the decision was made on safety grounds to run a rough weather course of 54 nautical miles, and it was certainly the right decision. To highlight how bad it was, the decision was made on the grounds that with the increasing number of people falling out of the boats whilst racing (eek), how easy it would be to pluck them out of the water. With 2 metre swell it was considered difficult!
The fleet consisted of 15 RIBs of all shapes and sizes and it was great to see so many ‘race’ RIBS out. There were also 14 safety RIBs all ready to rescue any of us with problems. This was a fabulous turnout out with a large number of local people assisting, our thanks go to them for being a great rescue team.
As we got ready, the rain grew steadily heavier and heavier and the wind varied in speed from Force 3 to a gusting Force 7.
Phil Pennicot was Safety Officer of the day and with a very able team got the race off to a prompt start which meant we didn’t have to sit around in the driving rain for too long.
The flags were lifted, yellow then green for go and we all shot off in the traditional cavalry style start. After a messy start from me, we shot past the Formula 2 fleet and caught up very quickly with the rest of the F1 competitors. As we all shot off, the driving rain hit our visors and it was difficult to see the sea state (I would say that that’s an advantage!).
I just wedged my foot to the floor. For the first 3-4 miles the whole Formula One fleet were neck and neck. However, wee slowly went past Drew Langdon in his amazing new Buzzi, ‘Buzzi Bullet’, then Jamie Edwards in the sister boat to ours Mr Mako, then finally past last years F1 Champion Stuart Anthony. It felt incredible and the boat was just howling along steady as anything, it was weirdly easy to drive and I almost relaxed for a minute.
We were now way ahead of everyone in the lead and I was trying to concentrate on the course ahead which was lost in the rain. How on earth Mike ever managed to keep us on course was beyond me! He just kept correcting the course which looked to me like we were heading into oblivion! At one point the sky and sea just seemed to merge and we were blind to the sea state in this sort of a ‘white out’. It meant that people were really having to drive by feel and instant reactions, which is tiring and can lead to costly mistakes.
The sea conditions at this stage were flat and the boat was eating the miles, and we started to open up a small lead on the other boats. Then we hit a fair bit of choppy sea, then suddenly hit a rogue wave and hooked out (boat turned violently to right angles) and for a second I had totally lost control which at 80mph is a little disconcerting. I screamed at the boat to sort it out and off we went again still in the lead.
Great for half a mile, no problems. We then came off the top of a wave very high in the air, as we landed, another wave caught the back end of the boat and we were nose diving into the sea like a submarine. I braced myself, as we hit the sea hard, the tubes bent into the bow of the boat and I remember wondering if they were going to burst with the force and violence of the impact. As it was, the Formula Class number, Mark Pascoe logos and Union Jack were ripped off the boat. But I floored it and we just sprang back up again and off we went…such an amazing boat.
By now we had reached a rougher spot, the sea was very mixed and we hit yet another rogue wave, and once again hooked violently, only this time we both came out of our seats. The violent impact caused Mike to drop the chart and the GPS to go down. While we got back in our seats, recovered the chart and restarted the GPS all hell let loose. At this point we were supposed to turn between two islands but Mike hadn’t asked me to. As I came up to the second island I suddenly heard him screaming ‘Turn RIGHT!’ so I turned the boat and off we went. We were back in business and still in the lead.
Fortunately the next leg was fantastic, 11 nautical miles, straight line in sea with a tiny bit of chop, FANTASTIC. The boat flew and were seeing speeds of over 80mph. It felt incredible, as we just popped across the top of the waves. This enabled us to open up a commanding lead, passing the lap line a minute ahead of the other boats.
We rounded the top marker again and I quickly looked behind me but couldn’t see anyone. However, this is a driver’s nightmare as now I knew that I mustn’t let off and give Stuart a chance to catch me, but also I couldn’t afford to make a mistake and push too hard causing engine failure or worst still an incident which would lose us our number one slot.
We turned the top buoys and hit another load of driving rain which was getting worse and worse. The visibility was incredibly bad and our communications were barely working, I could not understand a word Mike was saying! Poor Mike was struggling to get me to understand where to go.
Another, leg later and we rounded the island again. Unfortunately we then got caught in some big beam sea (sideways on) which I am sure was about 2 meters high. I looked across at one point to see a wave at my side higher than me! The boat felt like it was being picked up and tossed about and I really thought we would topple over. I then slammed on the throttle to get us out of it which worked.
We then rounded the buoy to the last 11 nm stretch which was flat about 20 minutes before. No longer was it flat!
The sea state on this leg had turned into an odd combination of waves. We had been warned that the sea there could be very mixed as it bounces off two coastlines and an island. The sea appeared through the rain to be a following sea (surfing), but then the boat would hit the odd large rogue wave which was a ‘head on’ wave (opposite to surfing) and breaking at the top. This would just send the boat skyward and then the mixed angles of the waves caused the boat to lurch violently on landing. The first time this happened Mike and I found ourselves pretty much sitting on the deck, out of the console, having been thrown clean out! The ride we were experiencing, at 70 mph bore more resemblance to a rollercoaster ride! It was difficult at this point, I had to make a decision to risk the race, by driving hard and possibly falling out of the boat or just going for it and hoping for the best.
This question was soon as answered as a few miles later towards the end of this leg, Stuart was catching us, mind made up, I was going for it! That period of time was a nightmare but the ‘red mist’ took over and with Mike’s encouraging comments (!!) we got going at a decent speed again.
Fortunately, towards the end of the last leg the sea state got less rough and we were once again able to get going and left Stuart behind.
As we rounded the last turn and headed for the finish line, Mike asked me to aim for a very large chimney (power station!)on the horizon (about a mile away), the rain was so bad that I could not see it!
However we flew through the finish back in the 80’s again and finished one of the races of our lives in first place, over 30 seconds ahead of Stuart Anthony an 5.5 minutes ahead of Drew Langdon.
This earned us not only National points but also the coveted Stockdale Trophy for the fastest boat. A fantastic start to the season. Stuart finished a good second, pushing us to the end!
Gareth Williams won the Formula 2 race with his Pascoe RIB so it was two wins for Mark Pascoe boats.
Others did not fair so well. Martin Lai with Ocean Dragon caught fire causing a lot of damage to one of his engines. Poor Neil Lewis, first season with his new boat (Maverick Energy) literally lost an engine. He came back with it hanging off the transom by the steering cable! Finally, Jamie Edwards had fuel problems leading to him breaking down and then spending ages in freezing water holding the boat off the rocks.
All in all it was an amazing race, with every type of conditions possible. Heavy sea, heavy rain and gusting winds….a great start to the season though