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British Grand Prix – Race 1
After our troubles in
Italy we approached the British Grand Prix on a mission! Steve
Causley our mechanic had worked hard over the few weeks between
races and with testing, the problems with the boat had been
sorted. For us, Cowes is the place to win, the atmosphere,
together with support from friends and family really makes this
event special.
Our fated weekend in Italy had cost us dear
and we had to do well in Cowes to make up for this. I spent all
week watching the weather forecasts which seemed to change
daily!
Saturday dawned and we got ready for the
race. An agonising wait as our race did not start until 3pm, but
the hours flew by as we prepared ourselves. Finally the hour had
come and we made our way to the muster area. Disappointingly the
sea was pretty flat. The course was fast as well with few turns
so not our ideal conditions.
What stunned me was the number of people out
to watch! There were thousands lining the shore and hundreds
watching from their boats.
Mike and I had planned our start and knew
where we wanted to be off the start line. We mustered for a very
short time, the flare was let off and then we seemed to be off
very quickly with no time to get into position. I thought we had
got a good spot until first Fainplast then Kiton shot past us on
either side and that was it, we were soaked. The boat was
drenched and I was looking at white water for what seemed like
forever! This gave us a terrible start but we were lying 2nd
coming into the first turn buoy which was OK as I was fully
expecting to be last after that!
With Jolly Special in the lead, ourselves
closely behind, then Ocean Dragon and Carpenter, the pressure
was on! We turned Elephant and had a good turn. Right on Jolly
Special’s transom. We were heading for mark 2 now alongside the
huge number of spectator boats.
We got to where we thought the buoy was and
couldn’t see it, the most heart stopping moment of the whole
weekend! Mike suddenly screamed at me to turn tight left, and I
could see Jolly Special do the same, we had almost missed the
mark! Never had I banked the boat over so hard to get to the
turn. As Mike looked back he laughed saying that the rest of the
fleet had followed us back to the left to turn the buoy.
The boat lurched to the left and then to the
right, and as both boats got back on track, Carpenter came
storming through the both of us just missing us! It was only
the first lap and we’d already had two ‘near death’ experiences,
what the hell was the rest of the race going to be like…….!
We were now really in the thick of it.
Carpenter in front and Ocean Dragon just behind and really
breathing down on us, they were fighting to keep their lead in
the championship and taking no prisoners. The Chinese lion dance
before their race clearly giving them renewed aggression!
Mike was looking all around, telling me where
everyone was. Keeping me on the course, doing the lap timing and
making sure we kept to the marks. I had never seen him so busy!
We turned around 4 and the two gates at the end of the course
then continued out on the second lap with Jolly Special first,
Carpenter second, us third and Ocean Dragon fourth.
I was really working hard and puffing like a
steam train with the exertion (no I will not sell recordings of
this!). Mike was sweating under the pressure, his usual coolness
not so cool and very, very focussed! But we were working well as
a team. We sped up to Gurnard, then Elephant and managed to cut
Ocean Dragon off on the turn. I think we soaked them so they
were not too happy. Now with them out of the way (but on our
heels) we had to focus on the other two.
Fortunately, we then saw a similar
opportunity to get Carpenter. We were level with him on the
outside coming into Gurnard and got a good turn here. Mike told
me where they were and when to go and we blocked him off. This
stood us in good stead and we managed to finish the lap lying in
second place….phew.. So far so good, however we had another 9
laps to go and both teams we had overtaken were hot on our
heels.
Mike also had another responsibility, to make
sure that the time for each lap was not too quick. We would be
penalised for over speeding otherwise. It was bizarre but every
time we could have passed Jolly Special, he told me not to as we
would then be too fast. That was very frustrating and both teams
ended up slowing down dramatically for the gates at the end of
the course to shave off the speed.
Both boats were going amazingly well and the
Dragon getting over the race shyness of Italy. I have come to
think that the boat is a big show off and will only perform in
front of large crowds! We kept on the heels of Jolly
Special. They were deploying their usual tactics and zig-zagging
across in front of us, spraying us down and ensuring that our
boat was filling up nicely with seawater! In fact it was
slopping around the cabin floor so much and I was wondering if
we would catch a fish. They were blinding us at every
opportunity, they’re good at what they do but someday they may
regret it
J.
On the leg back towards the gates we had an
awkward moment. Once again we were being sprayed by Jolly
Special but then both OSG and Kerakoll flew past both of us
literally spraying us all with water.
This was actually very disturbing, Mike was
screaming at me to turn right for the buoy but I could not see a
thing, nor could Jolly Special and so the tension was high in
the boat for a few seconds as I knew both of us were really
blinded. I came out of the whiteness and there was the spectator
fleet in front of us…oops. I have to admit though, seeing those
two boats speed by at over 100 mph was stunning and something I
won’t forget in a hurry.
The rest of the race continued in this
way. We were desperately trying to pass Jolly Special but sadly
with both boats running on the limit for the speed we were not
able to over take without picking up penalties or worse,
disqualification. In fact both teams were using the two gates at
the top end of the course to slow the boat to lose some
speed. We would approach the turn and Mike would ask me to slow,
slow, slow then suddenly he’d say ‘GO!’ and off we would go
again, probably very confusing for the spectators.
Although we did have this issue, we also
tried everything we could to try to take Jolly Special, but they
were fighting hard and making no mistakes. I did have one moment
when I made a cracking error, I turned to look behind me, caught
a big beam wash and the boat went very violently from side to
side and if we hadn’t had harnesses we would have been out. This
was all from my lack of concentration and having a ‘blonde’
moment when I didn’t throttle on at the right moment. Just goes
to show the Dragon will bite back if need be. That’s the last
time I’ll do that!
So eliminating any blonde moments, showering
from Evolution boats and anything else that got in the way, we
had a good race. Jolly Special kept us on our toes the whole
way. It was a good second place and both teams had fought hard
to get their places. I just hoped that Sunday would be rougher
and more our water…..be careful what you wish for!
British Grand Prix –
Race 2
We were pleased with
the results from the day before but we had still more to do. The
boat was going extremely well and we had all to play for.
All morning the sea looked flat, there was a
slight breeze but that was all. The Honda fleet then went out
and seemed to have a harder race and judging by the number of
damaged boats it was obviously getting a little more choppy. So
when we went out to the muster area I was delighted (well I
think so!) to see white horses everywhere and some pretty nasty
‘Solent Slop’. This could be our race but it was also Ocean
Dragon’s water as well ……
I was determined to get a better start today.
They started us once again in a very messy way and once again it
was yellow flag up and go. We had no idea that the start was on
and we just followed the others. However, I could not believe
it, once again both Kiton and Fainplast showered us and we had
what I thought was a bad start, what a nightmare. Then I saw
some clear water to my right and took it, seeing Jolly Special
there as well the race was on.
It was only after a couple of minutes that it
dawned on me that the conditions were actually pretty bad. We
were catching Jolly Special and he was really struggling. Ocean
Dragon was on our inside and very out of shape and we’d had a
few knocks. We reached the bottom of the course (Marks 1 and 1A)
and Ocean Dragon missed a turn buoy and turned on the course to
correct their position. Carpenter and a couple of others were in
amongst us, so waves or no waves I was gunning the boat hard.
As we turned the corner we headed out to Mark
2 I realised that we were nicely ahead. I was determined to
retain the lead, increase it but keep the boat together at the
same time. Mike was telling me where everyone was and we slowly
opened up the lead. As the course was so rough we hardly needed
to worry about the speed which enabled him to guide me better to
the buoys.
We completed our first lap and I was pleased
to see the Sunseeker team behind us lying second. Absolutely
fantastic for them in their first P1 Grand Prix. Seeing them I
realised that I had to keep that gap open as much as possible
and made sure I watched the speed and kept the foot down all the
way.
The second lap was OK. The leg from the gates
to Gurnard was nice and when you hit a good rhythm it was easy.
I could see that the chop was big but we just kissed the top of
the waves. It was amazing, I got the balance just right and the
boat and I were working as if we were one. A few of the waves
got bigger and there were a few more holes at the end around
Marks 1 and 1A. This corner was a little unpleasant as the waves
were beam on around the turn and could push the boat from side
to side if you didn't get it right. Our experience in the bigger
seas in Anzio really helped us with this and we were turning
well.
We came around this bend to a serious
following (surf) sea. There was a large underlying swell with
some vicious, steep chop on top. We hit the first one like this
and the boat just went skywards. I can honestly say I have never
been so high in the boat before….any boat. It was stunning to
think a boat of this size could fly so high and so far…..the wow
factor was incredible, that to me is what makes the racing
J
This whole leg from Mark 1A to the gates was
the same. We had to focus so hard and on one of two occasions,
whilst ploughing through a wave we would catch another at
another angle and the boat would bow steer as a result. I was
experimenting with trim and drive height all the way and after a
few more laps found the ideal combination and although most
people think I am crazy, it was actually quite a pleasant
experience. It was tiring though and I had to ensure that the
boat did not get a battering and would last. However, I had to
keep the speed up to keep the boat level, any drop off and the
Dragon would be all over the place.
As
we headed down towards Gurnard, we saw Chaudron take a huge
flier on the other side of the course. We heard afterwards that
they stuffed the boat so badly that the force of the water
ripped their helmets off, losing one of them and they had to
retire ... ouch!
By now, we had only a few laps to go, no one
had passed us (not even the Evolution boats other than at the
start). It started to dawn on me that we could win this. 5 laps
to go and the just had to hold together. I tried everything to
keep the Dragon in the water. Mike was telling me to slow down
and save the boat, but in trying to keep the boat on top of the
waves, we had only slowed by 3 or 4 miles per hour. The tension
both on and off the water was building and I just so hoped we
could finish.
The sea was now growing in size and the one
respite between the gates and Gurnard was getting rougher, and
the far end was getting very large. My one distinctive memory
was approaching Mark 2 and seeing this incredible rogue wave
appear from nowhere. Literally a sheer wall of water about 8-9
feet high. At that point all the common sense was to back off
but I knew if I did that, the boat would be hit hard. So there
was only one thing for it, I drove at it and went through, spray
everywhere but the feeling was awesome!
On another occasion we hit a big one, landed
and another took the stern and rammed it into the oncoming wave,
it was just the forward the momentum that kept even a boat of
that size from stuffing. What a boat!
Finally we were on our last lap, I drove the
most carefully I had ever, just pinning the boat to the water
the best I could, I cannot tell you the relief as we went
through that finish line, just awesome is the only way to
describe it!
Following about six minutes back were the
Sunseeker team, what a finish they had! First Grand Prix and
they had come second with Microlink a good close third. It was
great to see an all British line up in the rough stuff…what we
do best
J
We were told afterwards that on the last lap,
we recorded the fastest lap speed of any boat on the course
(including Evolution) and that we had finished third overall.
Not bad considering we had slowed down to save the boat!!
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