In the run up to Cowes Torquay Cowes (CTC) the weather and sea conditions had deteriorated so much so, that the weekend before had caused mayhem with the National racing in Poole.
Fortunately, the weather front causing the high winds moved away and behind it was perfect race conditions. The drivers briefing was held at 7.45am and we sat bleary eyed keeping our fingers crossed that the weather would continue to improve.
There are loads of things to consider when preparing for such a long race, for instance what happens if a prop bush goes? So you end up carrying spares, toolkit and of course food and water for the hour long break in Torquay.
The tension started to build, spectator boats increased and a couple of helicopters appeared who were filming for Watersports World. The tension was building and we were ready to start.
As always the Red Funnel Jet Ferry started us off, this is a nightmare as it takes ages to go at a semi decent pace whilst everyone vies for position and a lot of jostling goes on until the yellow flag is dropped and the green raised, I often find myself offering a few choice words to the ferry something along the lines of hurry up!
We set off at quite a pace and were up with S2 Wettpunkt this is a very fast hard boat taking part in the Harmsworth series. For a while we were up with them and I nearly had a heart attack when we reached the first tight turn and realized the extent of the rooster from their engines. To get caught in that would have meant us getting soaked and blinded for a few seconds. Fortunately, such a big fast boat requires a larger turning circle so we managed to avoid each other.
By now some of the F1 RIBS had made up some lost ground and the racing was close with Stuart Anthony in R21 and Max Walker in R69. It was going to be a hard race as any lapse in concentration and weight on the throttle could lose a place and we were all level with each other.
The first part of the course is a lap in the Solent which I personally loath as it stops you from getting into the flow of the race but once this is over you come out of the ‘slop’ and head towards The Needles with 200 miles to go, it’s a great feeling!
The Solent was remarkably flat with the occasional boat wash just to remind you that we were in the sea and not on a lake. We headed past a fairly large spectator fleet, out past the Needles and into open sea (Poole Bay). Here the sea had a little more movement and there was a small amount of chop to get the boat hulls out of the water and working more efficiently.By now R5, R21 and R69 were together with Wettpunkt (hard boat) just ahead the huge and very fast endurance RIB (111) of Andy Macatteer (crewed by Paul Lemmer, Nick Wilner and Andy Sutcliffe) following.
By now we were all well under way. Continuous sparring amongst the 3 leading F1 Ribs made sure that all 3 drivers were constantly focused and time seemed to fly by. Navigation was really important here as all three teams have excellent co-drivers and one mistake could lose valuable ground. The pressure was on and we were all feeling it.
We rounded the headland (St Albans Head) and hit some tidal races which for about a quarter of a mile meant we had some very steep chop but with a bit of bow tank the boats cut through this at about 75mph turned sharply to the right and headed out towards Portland. Again all five boats were together and the pressure was really building. Every moment off the throttle whilst airborne slowed the boats and we all fought for position whilst knowing that we had to stay in one piece to complete the long race.
Once again the waters were remarkably calm with a few rollers and washes to make sure that any lapse in concentration resulted in the occasional flyer, which we certainly had. One literally threw us sharp right, not quite a hook but highly irritating! The course continued for another 19 miles and whilst the coast there is very beautiful I don’t think anyone would have noticed as we were all vying for lead position. By this stage I was decidedly tired and by now my arms were burning, and there was sweat pouring down my face….why did I wear the wetsuit under my race suit? (great way to lose weight though!).
Fortunately, after a few minutes I regained my composure (!) had Ozzy Osbourne and Bark at the Moon blaring in my ears (no we haven't got a stereo just a good memory!) and suddenly I had second wind and I was out to beat them all! There was no more ‘discussion’ with Mike, and I concentrated on the job in hand.
Portland can be very confusing, there are 4 yellow buoys marking a rectangular ship holding area, you pass 3 of these to starboard and 1 to port forming a left turn. It has been known for a confused raceboat to do a couple of circles within this area until a dizzy navigator finally susses it out! Fortunately on this occasion none of us even slightly hesitated and we barely slowed to round the turn.
Here we came across some rougher waters with some confused seas slowing us slightly, giving the large RIB Eraser II a chance to catch the leading boats. Five boats all headed out across the 39 mile leg of Lyme Bay at full speed (or as nearer to full as you can with a full tank of fuel and fully laden with spares and oil!).
We were slightly behind Max Walker in his new F1 RIB and were gradually catching him up to overtake. However, Max was having none of it and despite miles of sea either side did his best to push us off track. Fortunately, our extra speed got us ahead and after a few choice hand signals from both Co-Drivers (although Rigger assures me it wasn’t his idea) we were ahead of Max and fast catching Stuart.
We were now on the leg spanning across Lyme Bay and for first timers to the CTC this can be quite eerie as being 12 miles offshore you cannot see land. Having crossed the rougher section by Portland we came out to flattish water once again, broken up with some rolling waves thrown in to ensure concentration was kept.
It was about this moment that something real vile happened. I came across a flock of seagulls, one of which obviously never considered a boat could go that fast. Sadly, he did not get out of the way in time and then ‘splat’, I had bits of seagull all over the front of the boat and over my visor……….few more choice words at this point! I couldn't see a thing but was concerned that if I wiped the visor it would just smear. Mike was telling me to keep an eye out for some buoys, I was replying with ‘what buoys, sorry cannot see a thing…’ not good at 80mph when you are in a hurry. Nevertheless, we continued on, the boats were now burning fuel and becoming lighter and this was apparent by the increase in speeds.
All five boats were now racing hard against each other and every airborne moment was costing valuable seconds, so it was imperative that the drivers drove well and the co-drivers cajoled (that’s one way of putting it) them to ensure that the right foot was firmly on the throttle, whilst ensuring that the navigation was as accurate as possible.
We were now flying as the boat lightened and we now headed past Erasure II and it was us head to head with Stuart. Sadly for us Stuart had the better line and pipped us through the finish line both achieving an average speed of 74.5mph. Everyone agreed that the racing had been incredible and very close.
We were now in Torquay for a quick re-fuel, fortunately time to clean the helmets (eeow), and sort of relax before the journey home.
Cowes-Torquay-Cowes 2003 Heat 2
The hour long rest is never a rest as boats have to be refuelled, helmet visors cleaned and engines fully checked to ensure that nothing is breaking or broken. It’s also important to ensure that we have something to eat and drink to prevent dehydration. The rest is useful as I don’t think one of my muscles wasn’t shaking when we stopped!
After exactly an hour it’s time to start all over again. It’s imperative to start exactly on time, too soon and you are penalized, too late and you add valuable time to the second leg.
So we started again, Stuart starting a few seconds ahead. We passed over the start line, past Ore Rock and out to sea across Lyme Bay once again. Once again the sea conditions were excellent and we had a nice following sea to return on.
R69 caught both us and R21 and all three raced neck and neck across the 40 miles of ocean to Portland. Fortunately, seagulls avoided us for the rest of the time which was a relief!
Its always amazing heading across Lyme Bay as you cannot see any land and there are very few boats out there. The sea was calm with the odd roller again, but as the sea was following there was no real reason not to leave the foot on the throttle and get on with it.
It was good to have two other boats to race with, last year we had been on our own due to engine management problems and I’d had to focus on the clouds to go in a straight line as there was nothing else for my eye to use (don’t ask!).
Once at Portland we turned left and headed towards St Albans Head where this time, the sea whilst a little lumpy was a lot more forgiving than the outward journey. We were still all pretty much level.
At one point a large cruise boat looked like it was going to cross our line, I prayed that he would see us and stop as I did not want to have to take diverting action as this would slow us all down. Fortunately, he kindly stopped to let us go by.
Another 20 miles and we were crossing Poole Bay. Up until now all 3 boats had been very level with each other but sadly Apricot Print had engine problems which slowed the boat by about 5 mph which left Stuart and myself to battle it out across Poole Bay everyone was way behind us now.
Once again as we were burning fuel so the boats were getting faster. The sea started to chop up and the extra air under the hull meant that we were travelling at much higher speeds of 80mph plus. As we passed Hengistbury Head and the Needles, we were closing the small gap between the boats. We headed towards the North Head buoy at Milford on Sea and it looked like we would finally take Stuart, however we just didn’t have the extra speed to take him, had to slow for the tight turn right and then another to the left before heading out to the Solent.
The waters were now the choppy, sloppy mixed sea that you would expect in the Solent but the pace was hotting up and we chased Stuart relentlessly. Both boats were often alongside each other and we frequently passed yachts and cruisers with one of us to the right, the other to the left which made life exciting for all of us!
We now entered the Solent and still had three laps to do before we finished. By now the teams are getting tired, concentration is difficult and your muscles ache like mad and you still have to haul the boat around a fairly tight course through mixed washes and boats that do not expect a powerboat to go past them at 80mph! You have to have your wits about you to drive at those speeds in those conditions without having to try to win a race as well!
On the second lap the ferry pulled out of Cowes, I saw Stuart’s boat thrown into the air and we shortly followed, we had one lap to go and it would be torturous to make a mistake now.
One more lap and I was hoping against hope that we wouldn’t have anything annoying happen (last year we broke down yards before the finish line and had to finish ‘off the plane’!).Every wash that appeared I tried to drive over carefully but keep up with Stuart. I began to realize that with the conditions and shorter legs it was unlikely we would take him but it was still worth a try and with Mike’s encouragement (!) I kept my foot firmly on the throttle but to no avail.
We both battled to the end finally rounded the last buoy turning into the start chute and crossing the finishing line, wow was I relieved we had finished in one piece. We had all had one hell of a race which was really close.
To give you an idea of the pressure we were all under. All boats were pretty much travelling at the same speed throughout the race. The drivers in F1 are very experienced, hard drivers and will not back off for any reason whatsoever, so to keep up with them you have to do the same. Mike sits in the back and shouts the speeds to me (from the GPS) and ANY drop in speed he is shouting like crazy (I do shout back!), every distraction and large wash or wave can have an impact on this speed. We raced 210 miles like this and to say it was exhausting was an understatement.
Final positions were R21 in first position in the F1 RIB BIBOA World Cup and 2nd overall in CTC, R5 were 8 seconds behind finishing 2nd in the F1 BIBOA World Cup and 3rd overall in CTC. Both boats averaged 74.5mph.
R69 Max Walker and Mick Spong were 3rd with R47 Buzzi Bullet (Drew Langdon and Jan Falkowski) in fourth place. The team of R47 must have been one of the unluckiest of the weekend. Having earned a great position of 2nd place in one of the Harmsworth heats in very rough conditions, Drew’s engine bolts had sheared as well as the bolts holding the gear boxes to the engines, a fair amount of damage was done. This was fixed Steve Causley of Race Marine who worked all hours to fix the boat before next races at the weekend. Drew’s bad luck continued to deny him success throughout the weekend and he finished a disappointing 4th in the BIBOA World Cup.
This was the end of a very long days racing but it wasn’t over yet. With Chris and Gareth’s assistance from Marinautic we now had to fuel and prepare the boat for the next day’s racing.
Now onto the final heat of the BIBOA World Cup – the Round the Island Race….