Offshore Superboat Championships marred by crash

by Bob Wonders on 9 Mar 2009 Peter Jack and Jamie Callan, driver and throttleman aboard the Super Vee Lite offshore powerboat ‘Grumpy Mongrel’, were rushed to hospital after their boat ‘skydived’ during the Geelong round of the Offshore Superboat Championships on Geelong’s Corio Bay.

Paramedics from a newly-formed marine rescue team operated by Ambulance Victoria, were aboard the official race rescue boat and were quickly on the scene.

The paramedics, Wayne Barnes and Michael Atkinson, said they 'feared the worst’ when they arrived at the accident scene.

'Both were in the water, one with an obvious head injury and the other in pain from broken bones,' Paramedic Barnes explained.

Callan was placed on a spinal stretcher by the paramedics and both men were transported to hospital.

Jack has sustained a broken ankle, while Callan is believed to have broken small bones in his back and suffered concussion.

Race director Russell Embleton visited both last night and said both were feeling as well as could be expected.

'I think Peter will be having surgery in the next 24-hours to put a pin in his ankle,' Embleton said.

'Jamie is a little the worse for wear, and is due for further examination, but I’m confident both will be discharged and back on the road to good health very soon.'

‘Grumpy Mongrel’ was almost totally submerged following the crash, but a crane was able to recover the vessel and haul it to shore.

Paul Gibbs, chairman of the championships, estimated Jack and Callan were running at ‘about 115km/hr’ when the boat flipped.

'It may have looked as though the water was calm to those ashore, but it was fairly lumpy on the course, almost a metre chop and plenty of wash stirred up by other boats,' he added.