This weekend saw the opening Round 1 of the Aqua Adrenaline Tour powerboat series in Torquay. The Round comprised 2 races on both Saturday and Sunday - each race lasting approximately half an hour - about 6 laps of a course around Torbay. The whole lap being visible to the large crowd gathered on Beacon Pier.
The boats - mostly Phantom 18, 19, 20, 21 and a few Bernico's - are split into 3 Classes depending on engine size. There is also a single V24 Mannerfelt "bat boat" entered for the series. These boats use an inboard 5.7 litre V8 Volvo Penta engine developing 320 hp. All the other boats use outboards from Yamaha and Mercury.
There was a massive 31 entries for Torquay - the series is in very good health and was very pleasing for race organiser, Bob Mc Carthy. The series has not seen this number of entries for many years.
The weather was dry and sunny on Saturday when I attended, although the wind was making sea conditions rough which created spectacular viewing as the boats bounced high out of the water. Race 1 on Saturday was red flagged when one boat capsized....fortunately with no injuries for the crew. Race 1 was delayed to allow for the recovery of the crew and boat. I overheard a couple of competitors exclaiming how tough the conditions were after race 1.
Race 2 was won by Who Dares Swims - crewed by driver Graham Lawton / Darren Douthwaite - a Phantom 19 powered by a Yamaha V4
Championship dates:
28th April - 1st May - Torquay
9th - 11th June - Newhaven
14th - 16th July - West Bay
22nd - 24th September - Howth, Ireland
6th - 8th October - Plymouth
For a selection of pics from the event, please visit my Flickr site:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/rivier...57680164157703
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