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Torquay is one of the favourite and oldest
powerboat venues and we are always made to feel very welcome by
spectators and sponsors, and the atmosphere is always great fun.
The weather conditions were expected to be changeable for the
weekend, the sunny conditions of the previous week were not
expected to stay.
For most of the National classes the form of
the racing had changed slightly by mixing some tight lapped
circuits for the crowds and sponsors, with some longer legs for
the teams who like the longer endurance legs. More of the racing
will be like that this year to keep spectators and competitors
happy (because some of us are crazy enough to want to travel miles
and miles at top speed in a race boat).
Against all predictions, the weekend got better
and better and none of the predicted rain came. At most of the
events you are allowed to take the boats out for some last minute
testing. We decided to go out for a short run to try out a
different set up. Now this wasn’t the best plan in the world. The
sea was pretty mixed up and with the helmet intercoms repeatedly
going down, (Mike could not hear me and some would say that was a
good thing!) we were too distracted so we decided to come in
having had a few too many ‘airborne moments’.
Personally, I hate testing the day before the
event anyway, you just never know what you’re going to break and
it’s always something which you won’t be able to replace at short
notice.
Race Day
Race day dawned with clear skies and very calm
conditions. The teams with rough weather boats were praying for
wind. My body was quite happy with the calmer conditions
especially as this was the first race of the season and the day after
the first race is always agony!
The briefing took place in the morning as
normal. A weather forecast was presented, we were advised on the
start boat and start procedures and everything was pretty much
going according to plan.
The race started at 2.30pm on time and without
incident. The wind had dropped and the start was fairly
uneventful.
The first turn buoy was by Haldon Pier where a
large number of spectators watched. This was an easy turn into
the race and if you got it right you could turn the boat at
70mph.
The race was now on and it was us and F1 RIB
Apricot Print driven by Max Walker giving us a good run for our
money. We headed past the buoys and out to sea, past the cliffs
and towards Ore Stone. At Ore Stone we then turned right and
completed a couple of small laps. Unfortunately, we were having
an unusually bad race and I just couldn’t keep the boat going at
the speeds I needed to. We hit a couple of biggish waves which
sent the boat skywards and sideways, giving away more room to
Apricot Print who was just beginning to draw ahead. I cursed the
boat every time it leapt out of the sea.
After the first couple of laps we then did a
tight left turn past Ore Stone and out towards Teignmouth, a
longer leg of about 6 miles lay ahead. I could see Max’s engine
rooster ahead and a big expanse of water and was battling away
hoping to get some more speed.
We were now travelling at about 81mph and the
sea conditions were pretty good, a nice chop which kept the hull
up and out of the water. A worrying sight was the black rain
clouds in exactly the direction we were headed in, but fortunately
we just got caught in a short shower, which was enough to wash the
salt from the visors.
After a couple of fairly tight, right hand
turns, we then headed back for 10 miles to Torbay and Berry Head.
Here the sea had lumped up a little and whilst we were still
travelling at top speed we had to be aware that the odd wave could
catch us out. Two big ships were on our starboard side, I never
did see what they were but apparently they were something to do
with the Navy and more than a little sensitive to fast approaching
boats! There was one reason alone for not getting the navigation
wrong, you either got the navigation right or you could end up
being fired upon!!!
We rounded the turn at the top of Torbay (Berry
Head) and came northwards towards the harbour. The sea here was
great, a nice chop but nothing to get us out of shape, but I still
couldn’t keep the speed up and was watching Max edge away from us
… extremely frustrating!
This leg lead us northwards to the front of
Torbay alongside the seafront. This leg is always great as it’s
very sheltered no matter what the conditions. For this reason
it’s always the fastest as well and it’s a damn shame that you
have to steady up slightly for the lap gate and turn buoys by
Haldon Pier. Many a time I’ve had visions of us just carrying on,
but the cliff wall is the one thing that stops me!
So we rounded the turn, went through the lap
line and completed a further small lap before once again heading
out to Teignmouth.
Whilst we were focussed on catching Max Walker,
fellow F1 competitor Martin Lai in Ocean Dragon was having fun and
games with his engines. Martin is based in Exmouth. He was
‘missing in action’ until he radioed in a while later to say where
he was! Having blown a gearbox on one of his 2.5litre EFI engines,
he decided to keep the boat on the plane and travel the short
distance from the Teignmouth diffusers back to Exmouth!
We continued racing and once again this leg was
lovely, nice chop and conversely very good speeds however we still
managed to catch a big wave/wash on the outer leg coming back
towards Berry Head. The boat caught the wave and went skywards,
levelled up in the air and then nose dived into the next wave. I
braced myself back in the seat ready to hang on.
The reason for this is whilst, the boat does
not stuff in the same way that traditional hard boats do, it does
have this rather unfortunate habit of veering violently to the
side at about 90 degrees. The nearest thing to it is being sat on
a rollercoaster with no seatbelts. If you let go you are going to
go into the water which at 70mph plus is not pleasant (it’s also
very cold).
Having shaken ourselves off after this little
incident we continued on the course, passing the odd race boat
which we were starting to lap.
The boat was now lighter and subsequently
flying along but sadly not enough to beat Max. Whilst the last
few laps saw the gap closing slightly it was not enough to catch
him. For some reason Torquay whilst being very enjoyable, has
never been my race and this time was no exception.
Max Walker and Mick Spong in Apricot Print won
their class with us behind, 2nd place in F1 RIB. Yes,
I was disappointed!
The rest of the teams faired very well and
there were no real incidents on the course other than the usual
blown powerheads and gearboxes.
Now we have to work out how to get the boat
back to its usual speed before the next race in Ramsgate! And no,
gluing my throttle to the bottom of the deck won’t work!
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