Classic Offshore Powerboat Owners Club
7 Riding Way Wokingham Berkshire RG41 3AH
Hello and welcome to the new Classic Offshore Powerboat Owners Club.
A few of us ‘oldie’ racers who remember the glamour days of offshore racing from the 1961 Cowes/Torquay/Cowes race to the 1990’s are a bit fed up with what is happening today, few entries, too many rules, no noisy boats, (this suits the government) except for a few v24’s, so we decided to look for the ‘elephants graveyard’ where do they go to in their dying days, the same place as old powerboats. We have been around to try and find them, and find them we have, in fields, barns, back yards, many needing refurbishing, why have them lying around when they could be out on the water. So far we have some 20 owners of classic boats who will consider putting them back on the water, and surely more to come. And lets have some good old parties, who remembers the parties at the Gloster Hotel, Cowes, the Bournemouth and Torquay hotels, and what about the good times at Swanage. Whitby and Hull, I could go on. At Cowes last year two attractive ladies came to me and said where are the parties, I couldn’t answer that one. They had their party dresses ready. Yes, lets get back on the dance floor, have some good dinners and prize givings.
That’s the glamour side, nostalgia, well we don’t expect to start races with 70 boats, nor at this stage run a London/ MonteCarlo , however Chris Strickland has proved it can still be done, our intentions are to begin with running say six races in conjunction with existing clubs to boost their entries and to make an impact on the sport. With luck we will have 4 or 5 boats out for the Brass Monkey Race run by the RMYC, providing they are prepared to include a ‘Classic’ Class. There will be trophies and eventually we hope prize money, we are an active group of business men who intend to make this THE powerboat Club and are already seeking sponsors.
We are applying to the RYA for affiliation and a club constitution is already under way. Basically boats have to be 15 years old, any class of race boat can enter, we will tailor the racing to suit the engine sizes, we are aiming for the old Class 1 and 11 boats, but Revengers, Tremletts, Phantoms will all be welcome. We propose a subscription fee of £100 a year to commence with.
I ASK FOR YOUR SUPPORT TO MAKE A GO OF THE CLUB
J Iddon, acting Secretary, Tel 0118 9794932 or
Seahunter325@hotmail.com
hmmmmmm,food for thought
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