Blue FPT wins Round Britain Powerboat Race

by Event Media on 1 Jul 2008
It was celebration all the way to Portsmouth today (Monday) when the end of The 2008 Round Britain Offshore Powerboat Race arrived in Portsmouth. Flat seas under a sunny sky was just reward on the final leg for an event that took competitors on a 1500 statue mile high speed voyage up the West coast and down the East. But the boat that led race on elapsed time was not the first to finish.

Andy Macateer and Nick Wilner aboard Venturer that lay 8th overall on elapsed time at Lowestoft creamed down to Portsmouth averaging 70.80mph for the 216 mile course but it had little bearing on the overall result. In fact it was later observed this team failed to pass a finishing line marker on the correct side and were penalised 60 minutes for their mistake.

The second to arrive was yet another Goldfish RIB, this time Gutta Boyz driven by Norwegian father and son, Nick and Ivar Tollefsen that crossed the line correctly a mere 60 seconds later. Unfortunately while, this boat held the lead on the early stages up the west coast, it began to suffer transmission problems which cost it dearly. Gutta Boyz lay 33rd overall on the eve of the final leg proving that had she had a trouble free run would almost certainly have won this classic event.

The overall elapsed time winner was third at Portsmouth after averaging 67.94 mph. This was the Greek entered Blue FPT driven by Vassilis Pateras and navigated by Britain’s Dag Pike, at 75 years of age the oldest competitor in the event. They returned a constant performance throughout always finishing among the leaders but never overall. It was a tactic that paid off and they celebrated in fine style on the Portsmouth podium. Vassilis was also the first Greek competitor to take part in a British Offshore event and the first to feature in this major marathon.

Among the many heroes finishing further down the fleet was the all women’s team of Scorpion Dubios driven by Sarah Jane Fraser and Miranda Knowles. The pair are experienced yachts women but here were racing powerboats for the first time while raising money for CLIC Sargant, the children’s cancer charity. They finished 12th at Portsmouth, 12th overall and fourth in their class.

The Garmin Racing boat of Top Gear cameraman Iain May also suffered mechanical problems throughout the event and even on this final leg were forced to stop to make further repairs.

While the attention remains focused on the leading pack, other perhaps less noticeable contest are taking place further down the fleet writes Ray Bulman.

Ocean Pirate is the hero of Lowestoft. It owner/driver Michael Barlow has worked endlessly over the past three years to restore his beloved craft that was built by local Brooke Marine for the first Round Britain in 1969 where it finished seventh. Michael was one of the first owners to enter the current event when it was announced two years ago and despite having a series of mechanical problems in the early stages of the race, is far from the back of the fleet.

Ocean Pirate is now lying fourth in the Historic Class and hopes to maintain this slot or perhaps finish even higher at Portsmouth on Saturday.

Harley Street dentist John Skuse is experiencing his first ever powerboat race. His Fairey cruiser Xanthus built in 1972 earned a reputation in its early days as the official starting boat for the majority of offshore races held along Britain’s south coast.

John, together with his two crew, Kevin Martin and Chris Holmes, have been living aboard which is the true meaning of a fast cruiser. Xanthus currently lies third in the Historic Class and although finishing long after the leaders their enthusiasm remains high.

'This race has been a struggle for us more than the boat and engines. They purr on without any protest while the boats itself, now many years old, doesn’t protest. We all hope it keeps purring to Portsmouth. And what a celebration we will have.'

Other unsung heroes of the 2008 Round Britain are father and son Francis and Stuart Whitley. They are driving Fugitive, a Yanmar diesel powered Lorne Campbell designed Shakespeare 960 cruiser.

This race is some way from the type of event when Francis competed in the small III category but his background experience is now paying off. Compared to many contenders higher in the standings Fugitive has experienced a trouble-free race and now lays 19th overall and second in the MC2 class – a well deserved reward.

The airsea rescue services came into play on the Newcastle- Lowestoft today (Sunday) when Tony Hamilton driving Garmin was thrown against the wheel. The impact left him in a collapsed state forcing owner Iain May to call for help.

Tony was immediately airlifted and flown to a hospital in Grimsby where he was reported to be safely recovering from his experience.

Sunday report: With winds of Force 4-5 forecast over England’s east coast, the 205 nautical mile leg from Newcastle to Lowestoft today, (Sunday) proved to be one of the most taxing of the entire event and posed a real test of navigation and logistics.

The majority of the 39 boats left running in the Round Britain Powerboat Race were faced with a straight choice; whether to stand offshore among the oil platforms and follow the rhumb line directly to the Norfolk coast or to hug the Yorkshire/Lincolnshire shoreline and seek more sheltered waters. More experienced competitors often opt for the inshore path as this helps to preserve equipment and crew but it runs the risk of encountering sand banks and other obstructions along the way so navigation is at a premium.

Having experienced moderate sea conditions as far as Flamborough Head, the crew of BA Captains in the Team 747 Fairey Spearfish chose the direct passage and led John Guille’s crew in Gee and the local Lowestoft team on Ocean Pirate offshore. Sea conditions worsened the further south the trio progressed and Gee suffered once again from failed trim tabs, letting Team 747 draw out a useful lead in their Historic Class but pressing on in the rough eventually detached one of 747’s tabs and the subsequent battering left Jonathan Napier and Cormac Lundy with back problems.

Like the overall winner of today’s leg, the Norwegian Goldfish boat, Lionhead, Drew Langdon took Silverline Original Style on an inshore passage but having successfully negotiated the Yorkshire coast and the Wash in good order, at 13.47 with about 80% of the course covered, a driveline coupling failed and subsequent attempts to change a propeller on the second motor proved unsuccessful, resulting in them taking a tow from the Cromer lifeboat. Crucially, this has lost them the lead in Class RB2 at the most critical time.

With similar south-west by westerly winds forecast for tomorrow’s final race leg, an equally taxing 190 miles across the Thames estuary, around the North Foreland and along the south coast to the Portsmouth finishing line, will probably contain a sting in the tail and all four CMD QSB 5.9 turbo-diesel powered boats will be on the line and hoping for better conditions.