Round Britain 2008

[Mike Lloyd]

Originally Posted by Captain Chaos

is that it finnished the Mike?

No plans to get it here for CTC & a swansong?

Fabio did say a couple of weeks that he wasn't keen on doing the CTC for several reasons but you know what the Italians are like, he might just arrive unannounced and have one last go. It's unlikely now though I would have thought.

[Captain Chaos]

what a shame, I'd love to have seen Cesa doing the business in the flesh

[hunton69]

Originally Posted by OldMan

Fabio did say a couple of weeks that he wasn't keen on doing the CTC for several reasons but you know what the Italians are like, he might just arrive unannounced and have one last go. It's unlikely now though I would have thought.

But he has something to prove now as we do. And the boat is ready unless Fiat have run out of engines.

[verytricky]

Originally Posted by Jon Fuller

WTF are you on about?

Originally Posted by hunton69

As its the 2000 reply i thoght i would add a rare RB8 photo

The poor chappie decided to mark the 200th post in the thread with a special picture. However, in the time it took to post, Mr Juller ( ie you ) posted the 2000th post, makings his 2000th post the 2001th post...

[Jon Fuller]

I think you need to read the thread agin nobba, coz the 2000th post was from Bandit, and it states quite clearly in his post that it's the 2000th.

When he posted it, it was the 2000th, I checked. now of course we're up to 2009.

And, if it were the case, wouldn't there be a post from me, just seconds before his? I did do the previous post to him, but it was 4 hours earlier.

[verytricky]

Funny how the Hunton post jumped from the top of page 101 to the bottom of page 100.....

Lucky for me I know Mr Fuller too well, and took incriminating screen dumps prior to my post. These were also sent to my account at HMG which would provide an indesputable timestamp.....



Gotcha!

[BluFin]

Originally Posted by hunton69

But he has something to prove now as we do. And the boat is ready unless Fiat have run out of engines.

Its a 20 Year old design, 20 Year old boat, It would struggle to keep up with the more modern outfits racing today - one best left for the history books












(Right that should enough to see him at the C-T-C) All joking aside a super rig that will be timeless.

[Carl]

would be a real shame not to see it again, running right. and 558 cinzano i hope those boys get her up and running for cowes

[Jon Fuller]

I can assure you, the 4 hours tween mine, and Bandits post is genuine, and unaltered. I did not post in that time, and did not remove a post from within that time either (on my life), so how could I have caused his post to be 2001 rather than 2000 by posting in the interim as your original post suggests?

check out the time stamps from the two screen shots you've posted! nearly 4 hours appart. So how was I responsible for sneaking in a ruining bandits post???????????? mine at 07:14, his at 11:09

I'm waiting?

Reckon you're losing the plot.

Originally Posted by verytricky

Funny how the Hunton post jumped from the top of page 101 to the bottom of page 100.....

Lucky for me I know Mr Fuller too well, and took incriminating screen dumps prior to my post. These were also sent to my account at HMG which would provide an indesputable timestamp.....



Gotcha!

[Mike Lloyd]

Just had the following from Team Birretta from Belgium. Fantastic story full of joy, heartache and tragedy but they were determined to finsh until faced with the cold light of day. Together with JF and Toby these stories will go into the eventual book of the race, with others of course. Enjoy this unique story of REAL offshore racing.
---------

Competing in The Round Britain Powerboat Race 2008
Team BIRRETTA Raceboat N° 12.

We, in Zeebrugge, first heard about the Round Britain Race in 2007 during the organisation of the third Belgian Offshore Challenge with the Belgian Powerboat Race of the Seas P1. We were interested but did not really know how to manage this thing. At first it looked as if it was nothing for us, with some experience of offshore racing in Italy and in the Red Sea, Egypt. Soon we discovered that it was something you have to do if you love offshore racing and that we had to be there. Our boat was up to it but it needed some working on. Contact with the British teams Hot Lemon, Seahound IV and Mystic dragon helped a lot. Fabio Buzzi gave the next push and so we started to prepare. Friends with the Buro Team were keen to join and proposed to make a Belgian team with two boats and so we did. They were not doing it for winning but just to be there and meet the challenge. That was the spirit.
The most difficult thing was to find somebody to join us with a Mobil home and do the extremely difficult task to drive around Great Britain and keep up with us. Eddy was the man and it should be said, what he did was tremendous, we often forget the guys on shore but they are the most important assets to do an endurance race of this type, without them you are not able to do it I think. And so the weeks and months passed by. Spending every free minute on the boat, preparing the navigation, studying the seas around Britain that are unknown to us.

Finally the day of departure was there, Wednesday June 18th 2008,and we started in the morning. The Burro got off at 6 ‘o clock to Portsmouth, we had to wait until 10 ‘o clock because a spare engine bought in Canada arrived at 9 o’ clock and we had to check it, deciding to take it with us or not. Previously we decided to go to the race the old fashioned way, by boat from home to the start line. The sea was not good and bad weather was announced but there was no way back. The first 45 miles were ok but then the sea got worse with high waves and a bad wind, against the tide. In the channel between Calais and Dover the sea was a mess and suddenly we lost steering because a hydraulic tube broke loose, touched the engine and split open so that all the hydraulic oil was flushed out. With great difficulty we managed to enter Dover harbour steering on the engines against high waves.
Since help was not available there we had to stay overnight and wait till the day after. We slept on board in the rain and bad weather. The day after we managed to fix the problem by noon and since the weather was not improving we found a truck driver with a lorry that brought us to Portsmouth. Arriving there we were too late for everything, the drivers meeting, the reception with Princess Anne, etc. The race still had to begin for us and we already had two difficult days behind us.

Leg 1- Portsmouth – Plymouth.
Here we were at last glad to be in the Solent ready for the first start and yes we were excited and went for it. A start with over 45 powerboats is something you have to live through to know what it is. The adrenaline running through the veins is tremendous when your boat is thrown from one side to the other by the wake of the boats in front of you. Anyway everything went well and we were with the first four leaving the Solent, that was great and we forgot all the trouble of the days before. Once in open sea the wind and waves became our enemies, the sudden changes of the sea state made it difficult to go fast but we managed and saw other boats choosing for shelter near the coast, we went straight forward and got the full treatment of the bad English seas. Finally we arrived something like the thirteenth boat in Plymouth after a hard ride. We were glad and enthusiastic in Plymouth but worrying about the weather forecast for the following day. The things we heard about other competitors, one boat that went down, others with mechanical problems.


Leg 2- Plymouth – Milford Haven.
Confusion all around, not knowing what to do, was the feeling early in the morning with bad weather, difficult sea states, large waves and so on. The RB08 organisation called a briefing of all the crews, discussed with us the situation and cancelled the leg but we had to be in Milford Haven the day after. We were lucky and solidarity between the teams was building up. Everybody helped each other and a real mobilisation was orchestrated by the British, great! We did not know what to do, at first transportation was promised for the BURO but then cancelled. It took us some time to make arrangements with our friends. They would wait and go by sea in the morning with the next tide. We found transporters but only late in the afternoon. At last we were on the road worrying about our friends who had to face the worst going by sea. Everything went well, we arrived in Milford after midnight, got the boat in the water had a short sleep and early in the morning found our Belgian friends who just arrived with the BURO after a hell of a ride across the Bristol Channel that morning. Everybody was now ready for the next leg to Bangor Nortghern Ireland.

Leg 3- Milford Haven.-Bangor
This was looking good for us and after a tremendous start passing most of the boats we were on our way straight up north in a direct course to Bangor. The Birretta was doing well, 63-65 knots, jumping from wave to wave. After a few minutes we were alone in the open sea and going fast. After 50-60 miles suddenly the cockpit was filled with diesel, it seemed that one of the supplementary tanks was loosing all its fuel. We decided to slow down not knowing how much fuel we lost. We also changed course and crossed the Irish Sea to the coast of Ireland to be able to get fuel if needed. Our speed was 45 knots and we were moving comfortably without any trouble but a little sad because we were going to lose time. Anyway safety first, that is the most important thing. Some thirty miles from Bangor we saw that we would have enough fuel and speeded up. That was great and the closer we came to Bangor the more boats we saw and passed. That was really fun until we missed the finishing line. Then the fun was over, we slowed down too early and lost several minutes again. Endurance racing is something in which everything must be right otherwise you lose. You have to stay concentrated until the end. Again a day full of racing finished. In the beautiful marina a guy who had a boat there and owns a company of building generators offered spontaneously to fix the tank and we were grateful because being in a foreign country in the evening, having to start the following day early it is not so evident to find help and get things fixed. It helped us to prepare for the following leg. We had to sleep on board again in a not a comfortable situation but the necessary pints of beer helped us through the night that was again a short one.

Leg 4- Bangor-Oban.
Everything seemed ok; the tank was fitted to the boat. We did not have to take extra fuel since it was a short leg and the weather forecast was good. It seemed it would be our day and it was. It was a great leg. First a confusing sea with different parts, changing wave patterns, not easy to maintain high speed but then in the second part, between the islands it was great, almost flat sea, the Birretta really flying, stable, straight on. It was heaven, we did about 65 knots and the boat was cruising like a train, which is enjoying power boating in a relaxed way. The scenery was great with the islands and the structure of the water changing all the time due to the inflow of water between the islands. Most of the time we were alone except at the end where we saw other boats appearing behind us. This was really a great leg. In Oban there was some difficulty getting fuel and finding a place to sleep but we decided to continue to Fort Williams to prepare for the trip through the Caledonian Canal. Staying there at the entrance of the canal was marvellous, the scenery, the atmosphere, everything was great and gave us the opportunity to enjoy the environment.


Leg 5- Oban-Inverness.
No racing today just a relaxed ride through the channels and a fast ride through the lochs. That is something you have to do once in a lifetime. With a fast powerboat in the middle of a loch on flat water cutting through the water with mountains on both sides is something special. Then going through the lochs all of this was something you must have done. It took us a whole day but it was worth it.
At last in Inverness we had our lay day. It started with an evening of partying with the Scots an experience never to forget. The lay day was a day of getting the boat in shape again and preparing for the second half of the race.
We started to get to know and appreciate the other teams and the people behind this tremendous organisation. It must have been a hell of a job to get everything together and moving this fleet around Britain. And they did it. It is thanks to them that we are the lucky guys who could experience this fabulous experience and this fabulous race.

Leg 6- Inverness-Edinborough.
Early in the morning we got ready and then the waiting started, almost 3 hours, power boating needs a lot of patience, but that is the name of the game. At last after a long ride that was difficult because we could not get onto the plane and that is a problem with a boat with steps and surface drives, this boat is not made for slow cruising, always pushing, burning fuel and with the nose up for almost one hour is really working. Anyway if we had to do it, it had to be done and you know the wide-open sea is waiting and there you can go full throttle. I was great to see that all the boats were following in a disciplined manner. The starting procedures were going well and you could see that most of us became experienced powerboat racers as the event went on. The start was again great and we were going very fast. The sea was not that bad and we went well, an average of 60 knots and that was good. But disaster struck. Suddenly Jean-Pierre gave me the order to get the throttles down and at the same time I smelled something burning. One engine was overheated, I stopped the engines and saw black smoke coming out of the engine bay and a second and a half later the automatic extinguisher exploded with a loud burst. We were convinced we had fire on board and started emergency procedures. Quickly put the firetraps, I started to prepare everything to abandon ship, the grab bags and the life raft ready to launch while Jean-Pierre was sending a PAN PAN PAN message, Fire on Board. He notified the race-security office of our situation. The coastguard immediately contacted us and made the necessary arrangements to send a rescue boat. We were waiting and trying to evaluate the situation. We didn’t want to open the engine bay because if the fire would start again when we gave it extra air we would lose the boat and that was not an option. After ten minutes we were sure everything was save and stopped the procedures for abandoning the boat, put the life raft back were it belonged together with the grab bags. This was a good exercise and we were glad that we were prepared for such a situation. In the mean time the RNLI guys arrived and started to tow us to the nearby port, Macduff. On the one hand we were glad that everything was safe, on the other hand we were disappointed because this could mean the end of the race and that was hard to live with. Anyway during the towing we were discussing the possibilities, going home, we had a spare engine, if the damage was not that important .... we had to wait and see.
First the Macduff experience. The men from the RNLI towed us in a very professional way, these guys know what they are doing, all our respect, splendid and thanks again. I had to climb the ladder and the first thing I saw when I came up the quay was the friendly face of a man in his sixties “I am the local journalist, what happened? Can you tell me your story? Who are you and what happened?” So I told him the facts, Round Britain Race, smoke, explosion, RNLI and Macduff. In the mean time the entire village surrounded us and offered help. First we opened the engine bay to measure up the damage and saw that it was not that bad at all. The engines started up but the starboard engine started to heat up again. We checked the cooling system and obviously something was wrong with the raw water-cooling. We could not fix it without the necessary equipment and the necessary spares. We started our quest for help, craning, transportation and so on. We informed our friends of the situation called home to explain things and reassure everybody that we were safe.
Everybody in the town helped us and by 8 o’ clock that evening our boat was out of the water and blocked on a trailer ready for the trip to Edinborough. There we arrived at midnight. Then came the difficult decision, what will we do?, we were out of bed since the early morning 5 o’ clock it was midnight, fixing the engine would take us through the night and we were not sure what was wrong? Next-door was the Superfast Ferry that could take us home. After 10 minutes we decided to go for it but that was not so easy. Luckily the craning people were prepared to help us during the night and we started. At around 3 in the morning we were able to lift the engine out of the boat, saw that an engine mount was broken and that the raw water pump was hit. We took the water pump from our spare engine and put it on the engine from the boat and started procedures to put the engine back in. In the morning at 6.30 the engine was in. Cleaning the boat a little bit, putting the gear back and we were ready at 7.30, just for the roll call. We did not know if it would work. After roll call we put the boat in the water and the engine started without any problem. WE WERE BACK IN THE RACE!!!. Awake for 28 hours, ready for the next start, a little tired but happy.

Leg 7- Edinborough-Newcastle.
We started slow and cautious because we wanted to finish the race and would go easy on the engines. Not looking for trouble, it was not necessary to go fast but you know, everything went well, the sea state was good and the further we came the faster we went without putting too much strain on the boat. It went well and we were happy to go for it. Especially the last 50 miles the sea was good and we did our 60 knots again. So we entered Newcastle without any trouble. The organisers awaited us with a BBQ which was fantastic and everything was ok again. That evening we had a little party with the Belgians and it seemed that we would finish. We slept well. Being without sleep for more than 42 hours helps for a good nights rest.

Leg 8- Newcastle-Lowestoft.
Another leg to go and we were confident. The weather forecast was not good but you get used to that. The race went well and we were going on a good pace. We did not go for the full throttle but made a good 50 knots. After about 50 miles disaster struck, a burning smell again, other engine overheating and the same problems. Now we knew it was finished, we did not have enough spares nor enough time because we need to get out the starboard engine out to remove the port engine and that would take more than a night. So again help from the RNLI and towing into Hartlepool. For us it was finished, with pain in the heart we started everything to get the boat home and leaving the race. This was a difficult day but we are no magicians.



The Round Britain Powerboat Race 2008 was a unique and wonderful experience. For a power boater it is the ultimate race. It is long, it is in open sea, it is challenging and you have to go for it. Endurance racing is the ultimate test for the boat and the crew. Everything has to be good, the preparation of the boat, the navigation, and the people involved and then you need a little luck. If I could do it again I would, for the experience, for the people you meet and for the challenge.

Thanks to everybody of the Belgian team, thanks to the RB08 organisers who made it possible and thanks to all those fellow competitors who helped us, and the ones that supported us. Thanks to all our relatives who let us race and gave up some of our limited spare time for giving us the possibility to join this great and unique event.

Thomas Vandamme.
Team Birretta - Race Boat No: 12.

[Cookee]

Originally Posted by Captain Chaos

better than the 1/6th page SB&R could be arsed to give it this month then

Chaos - You're a month to early - that issue came out on the first of July, clearly no time to get it in until the next issue that is due out on the first of August for which I have written nearly 5,000 words - not sure how much will get printed as I'm not the editor - Chris Davies has supplied the photos, so it should be worthy of a gander if only for the photos!

Ps did you see the preview the month before?

[Jon Fuller]

Originally Posted by Cookee

Chaos - You're a month too early

Yeah, Lea says that's how he usualy performs.

[Dozzer]

I think that Mike Lloyd did an amazing job getting the RB08 off the ground, and being a past Event Director for the Cowes-Torquay-Cowes race totally understand that this race must have taken alot out of him and he needs to be congratulated for his efforts, because in running the RB08 he might have re-kindled proper offshore racing in the UK again!

I would also like to thank Rob, Tim & Steve of Race Marine for attempring to "flog a dead horse" during the early part of the race before we officially retired.

We changed a lot in the Fountain 38 to make it more reliable, drives, gearboxes and we thought that the engines would be ok, but two weeks prior to the start we blew an engine in testing and the panic set in! We then bought (so we were told by the seller) a mint pair of 525's which turned up in a crate looking nice and shiney. What we did not know was that they also had some electrical gremlins in them!

So initially feeling quite pleased that we had done our breaking down before the race, and did not bank on a brand new starter motor jamming in at the start, draining the batteries! Breakdown 1 We limped over the start line on one engine, had a new starter fitted, swapped batteries over so that we had one good and one drained either side and set off for Plymouth. We must have done the lenght of the Solent in about ten minutes, and arrived at Portland when one engine died..........no juice in the battery to power the hungry electric fuel pump! Breakdown 2 As a result our steering failed and we had to be towed into Weymouth. Rescue number 1 Our mechanics swapped the batteries, fiddled with the electrics got the second engine running and although we retired from the stage at Weymouth decided with Rob the mechanic to go to Plymouth by sea.........halfway across Lyme Bay with the boat doing amazing speed in rough water......both engines stopped! Breakdown 3 Followed two hours later by Rescue 2 We ended up being craned on to our trailer with Garmin and gambled on the next leg being cancelled so our transport went straight to Milford Haven...........and we were the first boat The guys worked on the electrical gremlin and we were confident that we could make up lost time especially as only one leg had been run so far.

Milford Haven start........lets go.....big swell, boat starting to gain speed and fly, fantastic, faster, more air, not many more to overtake before we would have to navigate........starboard engine cutting out in mid air and loosing steering, spooling up on landing....interesting, then again, again, again........nooooooooooooooooooo! Everybody overtakes us and we decide to go back to Milford Haven as we dont fancy being in the middle of the Irish Sea on one engine doing 10 knots!Breakdown 4 We make way back to the marina shadowed by the lifeboat boys (Thankyou), and we are lifted by Buzzi,s hired in crane.......he has engines out and oil everywere! Boat and trailer were duly transported to Inverness.........yes another first boat arrived by land prize!

We gave it one last go, look for the electronic gremlins and a test on Loch Ness.......that'll do nicely.........yes, nooooo....breakdown number 5 and yes rescue number 3 Ok someone upstairs is telling me something!

So boat sent packing to its workshop where it has had a thrashing and maybe ready for the Cowes-Torquay-Cowes, and Pilots and Crew continue Round Britain to cheer eveyone else on and of course drink beer,wine, petrol etc.

So, that was our race!

[THUNDERBOLT]

JUNE 21st 2008
That Saturday morning I was up early, raring to go and was at Keyhaven by 8.45 am, giving me plenty of time to walk to Hurst Castle. It appears I was not alone either, in all around 200 people were heading for the vantage point where the Solent narrows (which was crowded with as many as or more spectator craft) to watch the entrants come through on the first stage of the Round Britain Powerboat Race, what memories flooded back as I approached the end of the spit…The Cigarette and Miss Enfield, SURFURY, Yellowdrama. Hurst had been a favourite viewing point for countless offshore fans over the years but in recent times there was nothing to see, true powerboating had died, until today, when we would witness the spectacle of up to 48 offshore racers smashing their way out through the tidal race, past the Needles towards Lyme Bay and Plymouth the first stop in the Race round Britain 2008.

But first let us rewind about 2 years, I was fortunate as a committee member of the newly formed Classic Offshore Powerboat Owners Club to hear member Mr Mike Lloyd announce to us that he was putting together plans for a revival of the Round Britain Powerboat race, there were more than a few gasps of disbelief as Mike reeled off his ambition to re-stage a race last run in 1984, there were also some rumblings that the date set would not give him enough time to put everything in place and his biggest hurdle was to find a sponsor, for what would be the race of the century…..
The websites burst into life as soon as Mike’s plans became public knowledge and to the amazement of many doubters the entries started rolling in for a race that was only in the planning stages! Throughout 2007 the thought of a true offshore powerboat race had re-ignited the enthusiasm of ex racers, new kids on the block and spectators young and old who remembered the days when the sport took to the open seas and made hero’s out of every participant.
As Mr Lloyd persevered with his newborn monster it became obvious, especially as the sport had been dormant for a significant number of years that he could not handle every aspect a venture of this magnitude was producing, especially with an entry list already nudging toward the 70 mark. So a call to assist went out to all who had experience with offshore racing and its complexities, (ie; re writing the non existent rule book etc) it was the formation of Cowes Organising Committee headed by veteran racer and organiser Tim Powell was the result.
By the spring of the new year with the race months ahead, the course was set, the venues booked, an entry list of quality craft including some major names from the past and present but no major sponsor, the decision was taken to fund the running of the RB08 through the entry fee’s and with 90% of the entrants endorsing this option, the race was on!
One major coup for the Committee was the entry of Fabio Buzzi along with sponsorship from Fiat for him and with support for the race itself, their perseverance and enthusiasm had paid off.
So it was that on Saturday June 21st offshore powerboat racing saw its rebirth in Britain and a final total of 48 boats set of on their epic journey, some never to return.
For spectators, participants and organisers there was a buzz in the air, not experienced since the heady days of the C-T-C, this was the result of one mans dream to restage a true offshore race, The RBR. Mike Lloyd’s vision and tenacity had paid off, the resulting spectacle his just reward, plus, as an added bonus and maybe though his sterling efforts, another epic adventure had stirred into life ..the revived CTC.
It would be a brave man to predict the future but who knows what could follow next?

Mike James
COPOC

[FALLING OUT 91]

Does Anyone Know Of A Scott Hodges Who Raced In The Round Britain 2008 And If So What Was The Name Of The Boat He Was In.


Falling Out 91

[Jon Fuller]

I know Scott Hodges, but he wasn't in RB08, at least not the SH I know.

He raced IIIB, and IIIC.

Very nearly married Tracy Clarke (ex IIIC world champ, daughter of John)

[Mike Lloyd]

Trying to encourage Bobby Cowe of Bravehart 111, who came fourth overall in the RB08, to take part in the CTC, only to find him in Majorca. He had just driven the boat down by sea which took him 6 days and the boat didn't miss a beat. He said they were so confident in the boat they never even took any spanners. Unfortunately they are now going to sell it. That was a great boat, Bobby only received it from the manufacturers two weeks before the race, went out there and thrashed it round GB and came fourth overall. I have many memories of watching that boat from a distance in the Helicopter going hell for leather.
ML.

[hunton69]

Originally Posted by OldMan

Trying to encourage Bobby Cowe of Bravehart 111, who came fourth overall in the RB08, to take part in the CTC, only to find him in Majorca. He had just driven the boat down by sea which took him 6 days and the boat didn't miss a beat. He said they were so confident in the boat they never even took any spanners. Unfortunately they are now going to sell it. That was a great boat, Bobby only received it from the manufacturers two weeks before the race, went out there and thrashed it round GB and came fourth overall. I have many memories of watching that boat from a distance in the Helicopter going hell for leather.
ML.

But they never drank until they got to Inverness.

Proves that reliabilty not just top end speed is whats needed for RB

All the more frustrating for us as they ran the same drives and blocks

I guess finishing the boat the day before the race had something to do with it.

Watch out for them in 2012

[cfun]

Although I have not put a 500 or 525 efi into any boat one thing that really does surprise me is the kind of hit and miss reliability issues of these marine engines although I am not saying they (Merc) are more or less reliable than any other marine engine it really does seem to be in the lap of the Gods weather you finish a race or have a Mechanical/electrical break down, however I would give a new 525 a better chance than the old 500's of finishing, maybe the wiring harness and sensors are better against corrosion I don't know, can you imagine the problems if your car was so unreliable that every trip you made you could not guarantee getting there, even rally cars and F1 seem more reliable during competition

[Jon Fuller]

Originally Posted by cfun

even rally cars and F1 seem more reliable during competition

Maybe their understanding of the challenge, and preparation is better.

I reckon 90% of failures in racing are down to instalation and rigging, and understanding what they're doing, or rather not. Not problems with the kit itself.

You've only got to take a wee tour of some of the rigging on race boats that people aparently think is going to go the distance.
The words "A clue" and , "Not a f*cking" spring to mind, but not necessarily in that order.