The Cowes Powerboat Festival 2009

[Ciao]

Or this?

BOHINC TO RACE LATEST BUZZI DESIGN AT COWES

Hannes Bohinc, the Austrian powerboat world champion, will aim to become only the fourth man in history to complete a hatrick of wins in the coveted Cowes-Torquay-Cowes when his Wettpunkt.com team lines up for one of the worlds most demanding endurance events on Saturday 29th August.

Twice winner of the Harmsworth Trophy and currently challenging for the Powerboat P1 Evolution Class World title, Bohinc will race the very latest Fabio Buzzi design, a 39ft rigid inflatable (RIB) powered by twin FPT N67 560hp diesel engines.

Whilst the FB RIB 39’, will be officially launched at the Festival International de la Plaisance in Cannes later this year, Buzzi and Bohinc selected the Cowes Torquay to debut Wettpunkt.com - a lighter racing version- in the knowledge that the 170 nautical mile race, through notoriously difficult waters, would provide the most arduous challenge possible for man and machine.

Wettpunkt.com will be one of the most easily recognisable craft when around 50 boats muster off the Royal Yacht Squadron, Cowes , at 9.50 am on Saturday 29th, its distinctive snake design has been created by Knud Tiroch, one of the worlds most celebrated airbrush artists.

“My intention all season had been to race at Cowes but it was difficult to find the right boat/ engine combination until Mr Buzzi presented his latest creation,” explains Hannes Bohinc, owner and throttleman, Team Wettpunkt.com.

“It is a fantastic craft, very strong and durable. Fabio tells me it is unsinkable which is important to know for this tough event. I hope the public enjoy the snake design that I have chosen.”

Bohinc, a founder member of the British Powerboat Racing Club and passionate supporter of the Cowes classic, will race with fellow Austrian Max Holzfeind and distinguished English navigator, Ed Williams-Hawkes; a formidable line-up for a craft designed for pleasure use and yet to race competitively.

“The FB RIB 39 has no racing history so we may not be capable of winning the Cowes Torquay Cowes this year,” continues Bohinc. “Nevertheless, we are not travelling to England just to make up the numbers.”

[Mike Lloyd]

Originally Posted by timtap

So does this mean it's just a two horse race between Silverline and Going Lean ?

I wouldn't go so far as to say that, there are a couple of dark horses coming along, what about Vee's new 100mph Marathon boat which I hear is just about to leave the USA, then of course there is Blastoff, the Bounty Hunter and Hannes's new baby. Watch this space.
ML.
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[timtap]

Originally Posted by OldMan

I wouldn't go so far as to say that, there are a couple of dark horses coming along, what about Vee's new 100mph Marathon boat which I hear is just about to leave the USA, then of course there is Blastoff, the Bounty Hunter and Hannes's new baby. Watch this space.
ML.
.

Thanks Mike , I was just trying to Gee things up a bit co's it's been a bit quiet on the Info front lately and it's getting close to the big day. A little disappointing to suddenly see last years winner drop off the radar but now it could be an interesting match. Any hope of the new Goldfish having a go too ,as it seemed to have a brilliant debut in Gothenberg last week ?

[Ciao]

[Scand]

Originally Posted by timtap

Thanks Mike , I was just trying to Gee things up a bit co's it's been a bit quiet on the Info front lately and it's getting close to the big day. A little disappointing to suddenly see last years winner drop off the radar but now it could be an interesting match. Any hope of the new Goldfish having a go too ,as it seemed to have a brilliant debut in Gothenberg last week ?

is there a new goldfish?

[timtap]

http://www.powerboatp1.com/news/en/501/article.aspx

92 MPH

[S1DEY]

hears the new boats

[Scand]

same hull and tubes as the old 36?

[Scand]

Originally Posted by Ciao

One of these was tested with 2x560hp FPT's in a norwegian boating magazine, did just over 81 knots apparently.

[topgun]

May be quick but uuuuuuugly, bit like a Suzuki Hayabusi, maybe the same designer.
Is that a small car thats landed between the tubes !!!!!

[Matt]

That looks awful. Is it a windup?

[Mike Lloyd]

Originally Posted by Matt

That looks awful. Is it a windup?

No, it's for real and you will see it running at Cowes. Might be fast but for goodness sake, give me a hard boat any time.
ML.
.

[Jon Fuller]

Larger images.

Looks like you could get 'spat out' of that with relative ease.

[Foolish]

is it supposed to resemble the FB parrot ?

[Jon Fuller]

To me, it either looks like one of those daft BMW enclosed motorcycles, or one of them futuristic looking security cabins at the entrance to a industrial estate!

No doubt it's a flyer though.

[PhatFrank]

Originally Posted by Scand

same hull and tubes as the old 36?

Here's links to some videoclips from Norwegian TV on the Norwegian navy's new Goldfish RIBs. The first is from training in Norway and the second is from a false alarm they had today in the Red Sea on the way to Somalia. Their mission is to hunt down pirates... shame I'm to old to enlist again

http://www.tv2nyhetene.no/innenriks/...t-2835278.html
http://www.tv2nyhetene.no/spesial/pi...n-2860523.html

Click on the videos to see the clips - norwegian language but quite cool clips. One 36 RIB and one 29 RIB...

[timtap]

Silverline 47 off the list for CTC

Preserving the Rig for P1 Championship final race ?

[Mike Lloyd]

Originally Posted by timtap

Silverline 47 off the list for CTC

Preserving the Rig for P1 Championship final race ?

Yup and I don't blame him. Drew will however be at Cowes in another very fast rig! He wouldn't miss the Cowes Torquay Cowes.
ML.
.

[Ciao]

Originally Posted by timtap

Silverline 47 off the list for CTC

Preserving the Rig for P1 Championship final race ?

Looks like we will be seeing the return of a Pro Vee!

http://www.britishpowerboatracingclu.../c%20sport.htm

I wonder how many other Pro Vee rigs are out there ready to race?

MC Sport could be quite a class!

[Ciao]

SAILING LEGEND SIR ROBIN KNOX-JOHNSTON WILL COMPETE IN THE GREATEST OFFSHORE POWERBOAT RACE IN THE WORLD : THE COWES-TORQUAY-COWES RACE - AUGUST 29th 2009

Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, the first sailor to circumnavigate the globe single-handed and non-stop on his yacht Suhaili back in 1969, has today announced that he is teaming up with the world’s top female powerboat champion, Shelley Jory to take on the longest and toughest one-day endurance powerboat race in the world, the Cowes-Torquay-Cowes on 29th August.

THE TEAM

Racing as Team Scorpion with Shelley as the Driver, Sir Robin, an icon of the sailing world, Chairman of Clipper Ventures plc and now aged 70, has never before experienced powerboat racing but jumped at the idea of being Shelley’s Navigator when she first suggested it to him just a couple of weeks ago.

“When Shelley asked whether I would like to navigate for her in the Classic Cowes-Torquay-Cowes powerboat race, it took one second to accept. This is something I have not done before so naturally I want to find out what it is all about. This will be fun with the spice of competition,” says Sir Robin.

Shelley, a spring chicken at 39, is currently competing in the Powerboat P1 World Championships in the first all-female team to race at this level. So what prompted her to sign up for this race and then invite a total novice (to powerboat racing), to accompany her?

“I had this wild idea whilst preparing for my next P1 race that I really wanted to compete this year in my own country and what better race to do than the CTC (Cowes-Torquay-Cowes). I knew I needed an excellent endurance boat and it was a no-brainer; it had to be a Scorpion. I have raced against record-breaking Scorpions such as Hot Lemon and Seahound for many years and I was very impressed with the way the all-girl team handled the Scorpion Dubois Sting in last year’s Round Britain Powerboat Race,” says Shelley.

She tracked down Patrick Byrne who owns Scorpion RIBs and they immediately hit it off. She knew she needed a good navigator and who better than the most famous navigator in the world with whom she had been sharing a BBC Radio studio over the past two years? Shelley’s co-presenter on BBC Radio Solent’s Friday evening programme, H20, is Sir Robin Knox-Johnston. She admits that she wasn’t at all confident that he would accept her ‘off the wall’ suggestion but Sir Robin agreed instantly and asked when they could start training!

Shelley continues, “So for my 14th consecutive Cowes powerboat race I have a very keen novice on board and the best endurance boat on the water to get us to Torquay and back.”