Saturday dawned and once again the skies were clear however, gradually a sea breeze started to blow and slowly but surely the sea started to chop up in traditional form peaking in ferocity at about the same time we had to race!
We could now see that the conditions were getting considerably rougher as time moved on and as we drove out to the start we experienced a few airborne moments and enjoyed watching the other crews experience the same, quite spectacular in some cases as we headed out to the muster area.
We hadn’t had a really rough race for a long time so we were all a little apprehensive as to how the boats would hold up.
The start boat made its way over and once the start crew had counted the starters to ensure no one was missing, the yellow flag went up signifying to everyone that the start was due to happen imminently. I got the boat turned around …and we were on the plane and ready to go. Next second the green flag was up and we were off. The mouth to the harbour is greatly effected by the shallow seas in that area and tide changes. Big, steep waves often play havoc with boats entering and leaving. Today was no exception and the start went straight over this area…just typical!
This made for an eventful start and we all shot off at a fast pace, but the boats were being flung all over the place, even the larger heavier ones in Open class were reaching heights I had not seen before. All anyone could see was white spray and big waves, not for the faint hearted.
I hoped that this would clear as the start sorted itself out but disconcertingly the sea conditions stayed the same, I was really disappointed that there was no opportunity to floor it! Damn waves just kept getting in the way.
The boats pounded along leaping metres into the air and I don’t think many of us enjoyed the first few legs.
Some of the hard boats in Formula 1 were having a fairly good run though, as were the V24 canopied boats whose drivers were securely fastened in and protected from the waves by their canopied consoles, oh how I wished for one of them at that moment!
Up ahead all I could see were miles of white horses and large steep waves, the sort that were to send shockwaves through the spine like you wouldn’t believe!
We now started to settle into a rhythm and run alongside Drew Langdon in his new Buzzi RIB ‘Buzzi Bullet’. His 10 metre hull and additional weight ensured that his boat was running very well in the rough and they were having the ride of their lives whilst quite literally Mike and I were hanging on to the boat with whitened knuckles as it was flung all over the place.
I can remember seeing the pink 4 litre boat, DK Transport being flung into the air like a toy so much so you could actually see inside the whole boat as they went vertical, I was expecting to be picking the crew out of the water any minute. Trouble is about a second later we hit the same wave and did precisely the same…it felt like my spine was going to go through the top of my head and it hurt. Once again, we were hurled into the side of the console and left our seats for a split second, I almost waited to feel the cold water as I thought we would be thrown out.
The waves in some places must have been at least 6 feet high and being so mixed up it was difficult to read as well, which made for a real rough ride. It was not enjoyable as each wave flung the boat out of the water which meant that the props were never in the water long enough to propel the boat through the sea and get on top of it.
Every time we seemed to get going again, so another wave would hit us hard and once again we would be airborne. On one occasion we hit a very large wave and literally bounced across the top of three others with absolutely no control. In situations such as this we just literally had to sit there, hold on and hope the boat would right itself, which to be fair it always did……..I am sure I have grey hairs now though! Who needs Alton Towers for rollercoaster ride.
Every time we rounded a buoy to the next leg of the course I hoped that we would come across some calmer sea but this unfortunately didn’t happen and we hit one wave after another, pounding on and on.
After the first lap we rounded the buoy by the harbour only to be confronted with Max Walker and Mark Priestly doing what I can only describe as a little ‘dance’ together as they circled around the buoys. Unfortunately, I think the rough seas had gone to their heads as they had gone around the buoys the wrong way and were trying to correct themselves. It looked hysterical for all to see as they tried to correct the course.
Fortunately, I have now learnt never to question Mike on navigation and whilst all the boats were going the wrong way around this particular buoy, we remained on course which turned out to be correct.
By this time several boats had broken down, as you would expect in such rough conditions. We were also experiencing engine problems with one engine intermittently running on very low power. Max Walker with his 4 litre batboat was also struggling and for a majority of the race we were running side by side which was a lot of fun.
Finally, after 5 laps and 54 minutes we were flagged in with the chequered flag, thank goodness, I was extremely relieved as not only was the sick engine now flagging but our bodies were starting to feel very beaten up!
As we returned to the pits several people were shouting over to us that we were overall winners and everyone had been disqualified. As it had turned out, everyone that had finished had gone the wrong side of the buoy which meant they were out of the race! Mike, having bravely stuck to his guns had navigated a perfect race which left us in 1st place.
After many objections and lots of discussion it was decided by the race committee that whilst the teams were incorrect at the particular marker, it was complicated by an additional ‘spare’ buoy and because of this they would reinstate two boats. This left us 2nd overall and 1st in the RIB Formula 1 class.
So overall it was an ‘interesting’ race and still some 3 days later I still ache and I am sure am an inch shorter!