V24s Spectacular in Scotland

Having driven from sunny Norway, the V24 fleet arrived in Scotland to be met with wind and rain. Poor visibility forced Saturdays (23/7) raced to be red flagged after just one lap of an already shortened course. A decision was taken to run the RYA Championship race the following day together with the V24 Championship race.

Sunday dawned fine as Scotland redeemed herself in fine style and racing was a 'go' amid the stunning Largs scenery. click to enlarge

Ten V24s set off, all determined to gain more points for the two championships. The start could not have been closer with the entire pack running perfectly behind the start boat. Running up to the first mark Martyn Weeks and Jason Nichols (V1 Lamco Design) stormed up the fleet to head the pack with Tom Powell and Danielle Strawford (V7 Playfair Offshore) but there was little between all 10 boats. V7 took the clear water and raced head to head with V7's Ricky Hill and Alan Layton (ColourPro/ColourMet) and Mark and Odette Priestley (V16 Express Logistics).

Sadly the fleet were out of site while they raced around an island. Despite not being able to see much of the action, the boats did race very close to Fairlie Quay and spectators were treated to V24 racing at its best. After the first lap and 10 miles of flat out racing, all 10 boats passed the lap line with a mere 21 seconds separating them.

Tom Powell (V7) had just about stolen the lead from Ricky Hill and Alan Layton (V9) but they passed the turn buoy neck and neck with Ricky giving everything to gain on V7. The Priestley's V16 was hot on their heels never giving a second's respite to the two lead boats.

Waiting eagerly for the boats to round the island again, spectators were not disappointed as again they thundered to the lap line a little more spread out but still with just a few seconds between them. The lead boats were still V7, V9 and V16 and within seconds of them, Mark Pascoe and Peter Phillipson (V11 Sportrib.com) and Terry and son Mick Mills (V3 It Wasn't Us) battled it out for 4th place.

Bat Out of Hell (V2), with driver Cliff Smith and navigator Mark Bridges, lived up to her name as they chased Charles Gardiner and James Sydenham (V24) to the turn buoy. Gardiner was a few boat lengths ahead of Smith and ran wide on the mark. Smith decided to go for the gap on the inside but with the boat running at full tilt and a little too trimmed out, they barrel-rolled and finished bottom up.

With the fleet racing so close together it was just a few seconds before the remaining boats V1 (Lamco Design), V69 (Seahorse.org) and V4 (Spirit of Gibraltar) were at the scene and all pulled up to offer assistance. Cliff and Mark had not yet appeared and with the safety boat en route to the scene, Mifi Mifsud (V4 Spirit of Gibraltar) donned his diving goggles and jumped in to check on the crew.

Cliff and Mark emerged from their upturned boat totally unharmed. They had used their air supplies and, following their evacuation training, they waited until the boat had filled with water before attempting to escape, a manoeuvre that was not totally appreciated by Mark's fiancée Ali, watching from the Quay!

Once they had appeared unharmed V4, complete with a rather wet Mifi, and V69 set off to complete the race. V1 decided to call it a day and headed back to the pits.

In the meantime, hard racing had continued round the island with the boats all still running close together giving spectacular action at each lap marker. Tom Powell and Danielle Strawford managed to just hold off Ricky Hill and Alan Layton to take the chequered flag with the Priestleys in 3rd place. Mark Pascoe held onto 4th position and Terry and Mick Mills took 5th which they were happy with as they are running a new engine.

Mifi's quick actions were applauded by his fellow competitors. 'I was sure they were OK,' he explained. 'But they had taken a while to come out and it is no good waiting, so I just went in after them.'

Cliff emerged triumphant from the incident explaining, 'I'm one happy man that I'm racing in a canopied boat. I had an accident like this is in an open boat a few years ago and ended up in hospital for 3 months. I'll be back at work tomorrow so you can't say better than that!'

They are now working hard to prepare the boat for the Cowes Classic at the end of August. Meanwhile, 9 boats will be making the journey to Oregrund, Sweden for the final round in the UIM European Championship on 13-15 August.

Littlehampton Regatta 05|07|2004

The weather not only affected Wimbledon this weekend but 'rain also stopped play' at the Littlehampton Regatta. Well, not exactly rain, but bad weather, wind and rough seas put paid to any hopes of racing on Saturday. After much debating, it was finally agreed that the National race would be postponed until Sunday. Fortunately, the wind let up over night and it was all systems go for yet another tough race in the RYA V24 National Championship.

Nine boats were on the start line but sadly Tom Powell and Danielle Strawford's V7 (Playfair Offshore) did not play fair and refused to start having stopped in the muster area. When the green flag dropped the eight boats left to race thundered down to the first mark closely bunched with Cliff Smith and Mark Bridges (V2) and Mark Pascoe and Peter Phillipson (V11) reaching the mark first hounded by the rest of the pack.

A few navigational hiccups (not helped by turn mark 6 sinking!) spread the fleet out a little over the first circuit. Mark and Odette Priestley (V16) and Ricky Hill and Alan Layton (V9) were racing neck and neck both gaining advantage and then loosing it to the other. Pascoe and Phillipson were in hot pursuit, followed by Charles Gardiner and Lee Booth (V24) who were gradually making up ground after an unfortunate start. Spirit of Gibraltar (Glen Mir and Mifi Mifsud) lived up to their name coming out with fighting spirit for a number of tussles with V24 over the first few laps.

Gardiner and Booth managed to gain on V11 on each lap and finally overtook Pascoe and Phillipson on the 5th lap and continued to make steady progress on Hill and Layton.

With the conditions worsening as the race progressed, there were plenty of nerve-racking moments, not least of which when the then leaders Mark and Odette Priestley headed skyward and had a nasty landing giving Hill and Layton another opportunity to fight back at them. The first four boats continued to provide excellent highly competitive, close racing with the leaders (V16 and V9) constantly changing position.

On the 5th of the seven lap race Gardiner and Booth (V24) pulled out all the stops to overtake Pascoe and Phillipson, clawing their way to third position. The penultimate lap saw the Priestley's gain a heathly lead when V9 (Hill and Layton) had a mechanical problem. Gardiner and Booth were able to take 2nd position to finish just 5 seconds ahead of Hill and Layton.

Further down the fleet Terry Mills and son Mick were having a rather uncomfortable ride following Terry's cracked ribs sustained in Ramsgate but they stayed the course, finishing 7th and gaining more championship points in the process. Cliff Smith and Mark Bridges were not having the best of races, having started with such promise, they soon faded from the main action and finished in 6th position. New team Marc Lamont and Ana Banet (V69 Seahorse.org) ran a sensible race gaining more experience in readiness for the trip to Norway in two weeks for the second round of the European Championship.

Tributes paid to powerboat victim | 28/06/2004

The woman's boat was in a collision with another craft Tributes have been paid to the Jersey woman killed in a powerboating accident in St Ouen's Bay.

Susan Wright, 44, died when the boat she was navigating was in collision with another powerboat which had spun out of control.

The accident happened during the Thunderducks race off La Braye at about 1300 BST on Saturday. Roy Smith, the chairman of the Jersey Powerboat Club, says everything was done to try to save her.

Wreaths have been laid at St Ouen as a tribute to Ms Wright.

A full police investigation has been launched into the accident. Ms Wright was navigating Chris de Ste Croix's Thunderduck boat in the second heat of the series when the accident happened.

The pair were thrown into the path of another boat which hit Ms Wright and Mr de Ste Croix. Mr de Ste Croix suffered a broken collarbone and severe bruising.

Full speed ahead after storms | 26/06/2004

The Wales Powerboat Grand Prix in Swansea has finally gone ahead after summer storms died down.

Round five of the Honda Formula 4-Stroke championship was cancelled on Saturday amid high winds and driving rain.

Gales fell below force five on Sunday, allowing round six of the 150hp powerboat race to start, although laps were reduced from 12 to seven as winds were still quite strong.

Event organisers said the 225hp race would go ahead too later on Sunday, after earlier worries over rising wind speed.

As for other events at the Swansea Bay Festival, an aerobatic display which had been cancelled on Saturday, was allowed on Sunday, as was a jet ski race.

But parachute display team the Red Devils were forced to cancel their 10,000ft freefall.

Event spokeswoman Katie Holt said the first race went ahead at 1200 BST and the later one was also back on course. "We were concerned earlier as the wind was still quite strong. "It's some consolation that we've been able to race a bit so the whole weekend hasn't been wasted. "The aerobatic display went ahead as did the jet ski event so the thousands who turned up for the powerboat racing didn't miss out on too much."

After heavy rain in most of Wales on Saturday, largely dry and sunny weather returned on Sunday.

The disruption to the first day of the Honda Formula 4-Stroke Powerboat Grand Prix was a blow to Swansea on the first occasion it had attracted the event. Last year more than 250,000 people attended the Swansea Bay Festival.

Powerboat skipper dies in Jersey | 27/06/2004

A Jersey woman has been killed in a powerboat race in St Ouen's Bay.

The woman, who was in her 40s, died when her rigid inflatable boat was hit by another vessel at lunchtime on Saturday.

Competitors from France, Australia Guernsey and the UK have been taking part in a two-day event, the biggest powerboating event the island has seen in recent years.

The Thunderduck competition is organised by the Jersey Powerboat Club.

The racing, which originated in South Africa, pits skippers of specially-designed rigid inflatable boats across a set course.

About 20 boats were competing off La Braye when the vessel carrying the woman crashed into another which appeared to have spun out of control after hitting a buoy.

Police want to hear from anyone who may have witnessed the crash, including those who may have been videoing it.

The Jersey Powerboat Club have called the death "tragic" and say they are co-operating closely with the police on the investigation.

Sunday's racing has been cancelled and competitors will be laying wreaths on the sea at St Ouen in memory of the woman who died

The underdogs bite back for European glory | 20/06/2004

The first round of the V24 One Design Powerboat European Championship in Ramsgate yesterday (Saturday) gave spectators thrilling action all the way as rough seas ensured the boats spent as much time airborne as in the water.

The gruelling hour long race over 50 nautical miles saw position changes throughout the 11 boat fleet on every one of the 12 laps. The conditions ensured that both drivers and navigators were tested to the limit with turning marks being very difficult to spot in a swell reaching 2m at times.

Both boats and crew returned battered and a little bruised but in good spirits for the continuation of the RYA National Championship races tomorrow. ‘It was a tough race but we are a happy team!’ commented eventual winner Cliff Smith (from Littlehampton). ‘We must have started as the underdogs after our last race which was a bit of a disaster so we are especially thrilled with this win and looking forward to getting back out there tomorrow.’

Having finished last in their first race of the season two weeks ago, the turnaround of fortune for Smith and navigator Mark Bridges in their boat Bat out of Hell (V2) now has them well placed for the next round in Norway on 18/19 July.

Max kept at bay | 17/06/2004

POOLE'S Max Walker was denied a hat-trick of wins in the Poole Bay Cancer Charities Offshore Powerboat race on Sunday when he was headed home in a tight contest by lone female driver Jackie Hunt from Hampshire.

Walker and co-driver Rebecca Vowles in their 30ft RIB Apricot Print set off on the 40 mile race in determined mood leading from the rolling start of the non-championship race.

They averaged more than 70mph for the first two laps but couldn't shake off Hunt from Hook in her slightly more powerful 400bhp RIB Extremeboat who was never more than two boat lengths behind for the first half of the six-lap race.

With experienced former world champion Neil Holmes from Hedge End reading the maps and providing encouragement, Hunt made her move on the final turn of lap four and led as they started the final two laps.

Despite his best efforts, Walker's final charge on the last lap was hampered by a back marker and Hunt pulled clear to win by five boat lengths.

Behind the leaders there was another exciting dice, this time a three way battle for the V24 class boats initially led by former world record holder Peter Little from Oxford in V27 Brita ahead of Arundel's Tom Powell in V7 Playfair and Poole's Mark Bridges at the wheel of V2 Bat Out Of Hell.

But on lap four all three overshot a turning buoy and it was Powell's co-driver James Sydenham from Poole who put his local knowledge to good use and got them back on course first.

Thereafter they eased out a comfortable lead to finish clear of V27 and V2.

Formula One looked as if it was going to be yet another close finish with Poole's Martyn Weeks and Jason Nichols in their batboat Lamco Design only just holding the advantage from former world champion Ricky Hill from Cardiff in Colorpro.

However the challenge faded on lap four when Hill's boat retired with engine failure leaving the local crew with an easy run to the chequered flag.

Second place was inherited by the closed canopy catamaran Castrol Marine Products skippered by Derby's Doug Gardiner with Waterlooville's Carl Tate in his Bakdraft boat Explosion in third.

Fourth in class and making history was one of the youngest ever offshore competitors, female navigator AJ Windsor from Verwood, the 16-year-old graduating from her racing exploits in K Class.

She was sitting alongside Guildford's former European champion Michael Spinks who was giving his now ageing 23ft catamaran Bar Centro its first outing of the season.

Finishing a lap down on the leaders were the two Formula Two boats led by the 21ft Bakdraft monohull Etetra Racing driven by Gary Payne from the Isle of Wight who gradually drew ahead of Allhallow's Steve Manix in his similar boat Team Sheridans.

The lone Touring Class boat, Revenger Lite Relief steered by Mark Saunders from Poole, was one of only a handful of boats that didn't make it to the finish, retiring after two laps.

Spirit of the race went to Simon Everett and Farrah Azam who made the trip to the south coast from Uttoxeter only to lose power 100 yards after the start.

Despite the 200hp Mercury engine on their 24ft monohull Invincible only running on two cylinders, they lived up to the boat's name and limped round completing their one and only lap some 20 minutes after the winners had finished the race.

Powerboat support for Charity Gala | 31/03/2004

A V24 powerboat, one of only 14 in the UK, was on display last Friday at the Botanical Gardens in Birmingham in support of a Charity Gala for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.V24 is one of the fastest growing motor sports in the UK and produces some of the fastest, closest and most exciting powerboat racing ever seen on these shores.

The boat was on display to attract auction bids for a 'co-driver race experience' in a full RYA basic race. Teammates Lee Booth and Richard Bendy were delighted with the Gala and the chance to showcase the boat in the West Midlands. Lee said, "I think we slowed the traffic down a bit on the way over here as people just stared at the boat. She is every bit a real race boat and there's not that many of them in the world. The team and V24 were very happy to be able to support such a worthwhile charity and hopefully the money raised will help find a cure for juvenile diabetes".

The prize was won by a member of Price Waterhouse Coopers, but in a gesture of even greater generosity, was then donated to 14-year-old Emily Nesbitt, the charities Fund a Cure speaker for the event. Unfortunately Emily won't be able to race in the boat, but Mark Sanderson of V24 Powerboats and the Pole Position team have promised to take Emily and her family on a fun powerboat day out in the Solent to make up for it.