Quote:
Originally Posted by LuvMyBoat
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As always there are at least two sides to a story and I'm sure that this story will live on for a while yet.
I doubt anyone wished this event ill but the fact remains that ii will be a shadow of what it could have been.
I was inspired to build a Marathon boat on the back of the success of RB08 which will probably live on in memories as the last great race unless things change, the boat was to be ready for RB12 but that got canned fairly close to the start and despite everything we got round Britain on our own missing out quite a bit due to dreadful weather (race organisers would have ended up with a trailer race if it had gone ahead) and contributed a bit to charity in the process. If people remember there was competition as to who could put on the next race - doubt there is a queue anymore!
When the Cowes Monte race came along I thought I had finally got a use for the boat but speaking personally when it came to payment number three after having paid two deposits I felt I had lost confidence in the event as to my mind not enough had been done and it seems I was not the only one. Collectively those that pulled out were blamed either wholly or partly for the cancellation.
I put my boat up for sale in January as I was unable to persuade my sponsors to part with sufficient cash to help me get the boat to Monaco, at that point like many others I believed that the race, being so close and still being supported by the RYA would still run, as luck would have it the new owner of the BananaShark Stirling had intended to race in the event but subsequent business pressures (in a very good way) meant he wouldn't have sufficient time to compete, as a result the race boat built for Marathon racing may have Cowes Torquay as the longest race in it's history, a great shame for those who made it possible, Kevin, Jeremy, Graham and all those who wished us well with the project and to them I thank you all very much indeed. As things stand with the state of marathon racing and the state of the high performance business in the UK it will probably be the only boat out of those moulds, at least for a while.
I wish all of the entrants in the trip to Monte all the very best and I hope it is a great adventure for you all and the event exceeds all expectations and is a source of inspiration for bigger and better events in the future.