Race - 6, 4,2 & 1.3 litre & cruisers - Powerboat Archive

European 2 litre and Camden TFophy
Race - 6, 4,2 & 1.3 litre & cruisers
by Martin J. Napier
The weekend of 7/8th July was a busy one at the
Royal Motor Yacht Club Of Sandbanks, Poole. The racing
started with the first heat of the European 2 litre
championships, with Sunday seeing the final heat, followed by
the club's famous Camden Trophy Race, which has
traditionally been a Class III race, although cruisers have also
joined the fray in recent. years.
An entry of twenty boats for the European
Championships covered sixteen English, one from Guernsey,
and with International participation from Norway. Italian
entries had bccn promised, but by close of scrutinccring none
arrived. Weather conditions in the
week prior to the races wcre notable
for the continuous winds, and by race
day a force 4 was still blowing,
although having veered from N.W.
thro' W to S.W. as the start time
arrived.
Pre-race favouritcs for thc 2
litre title were much dcpcndcnt upon
conditions. with much informed
opinion favouring existing champions
Jonathan Lucas and Ian Orford in the
Forgecraft monohull C99 BRUT 33
SERENGETI. C43 WHICH WAY
NOW, the Cougar cat of Mike
Shcphcrd and John Fisher had built up
good form during the season, and
undcr a prcvious name, capturcd thc
World 2 litre title in 1985, driven by
Graham Peck.
With the seas fairly good in
the shcltcr of Bournemouth Bay it deceived many, and the six
lap course, including lhree circuits of a twenLy mile lap heading
out to Swanagc and thc Dolphin Bank took competitors out
into watcrs exposed to the swcll that had built up. Three
shorbr laps wcre to follow, but read on!
Thc rolling stafl had C43 WHICH WAY NOW C71
ARGO 2l (Norway) and C47 THE JOKER (Paul Denford)
lcading the pack wcstwards, and after the first mark the two
lcaders had nearly a quarter mile over the third boat.
Confusion appeared to rcign at thc Whitbread mark, whcn
navigators in scvcral boats sccmcd confused. Cleariy once out.
in the exposed waters, boals wcrc being slowed dramattcally,
and it seemed ages bcfore the lcadcrs wcre seen heading for the
mark off Hengistbury Head.
The pundits were bcing proved right as fte leader on
the first lap was C99 BRUT 3 SERENGETI at 50.98 mph, with
MIke Shepherd in C43 next. Afler a gap C6l CROSSLEY, a
sistcr boat of C99 led C71 thc Norwegian ARGO 21. By this
time Lhree boats had rctircd, and wc were informcd of two
metre waves out at the Dolphin Mark. On the next lap the first
three were unchanged, with CSl CARRYFAST the very fast
Campbell cat of Tony Jcnvcy & Eric Braithwaite making up
ground from sevcnth on thc first lap. Ncxt was C5 CELCON
of local Nigcl Cutler, and navigator Mark Withers. The Frode'
mono of Paul Denford and Doug Packer C47 JOKER, after an
early showing was next. The conditions out at fte seaward
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marks was deteriorating all this time and the list of retirements
slowly grew in the commentators caravan - the Peters
Bloomfield and Butler keeping the public on Bournemouth
Pier informed on events. On this third lap however, events that
were to dominate the heat occurred. C99's crew made a
navigational error, and after back tracking found themselves
way behind C43. Just as fortune seemed to smile on Mike
Shepherd fate struck, and the cat wits holed under the tunnel,
the crew reportedly unhurt. C99 then "stuffed" into a wave and
lost a further 15-20 minutes baling out the water. This left
Peter Lister & John Boddy in C6l CROSSLEY in the lead
when at last the survivors were spotted heading towards
Hengitsbury.
Meanwhile OOD John Iddon had made the decision to
curtail the race at the end of the third lap, after sixty one miles,
and so the dart shaped monohull heading towards the line,
which proved indeed to be C61 CROSSLEX was the winner of
the first hcat. Second went to lhe cat C8l CARRYFAST with
an unazed Nigel CutJer in C5 CELCON third. Average speeds
being 38.75 k.,38.22k., and 37.92k, respectively. The
following also completcd the three laps: C47 JOKER, C22
GOLDSTAR TV,C24 GUERNSEY SKATER, which losr eighr
minutes stopped, C99 BRUT 33 SERENGETI, C30 LE
GOPHER and C45 DOUBLE'M'MUSIC.
The following morning the wind strength had
increased, and six laps totalling 76 miles were embarked on by
tcn survivors. Monos C6l, 18, 30 & 47 led the Skater catC24
and C81 CARRYFAST, as the fleet headed inro rhe
strengthening sea. At the first mark lhe pattern for the race was
established with points leader C6l CROSSLEY heading C24
GUERNSEY SKATER. C47 JOKER was also in conrenrion
before C81 CARRYFAST took third place by the Sadler Mark.
This order was maintained, and at the end of the lap C24
averaged 42.99 mph to just hold the lead. C6l was clearly
better heading its narrow form into the seas and CARRYFAST
looked very comfortable in third place. C18 MARSHAN of
Colin Sleap was fourth, but on the second lap the boat hooked
and tossed ils crew out in t}te seas just east of the Sadler Mark,
boti being rescued without too many ill effecs. C5 CELCON
was anoLher victim in this part of the course, when Nigel
Cutlers cat flipped in the difficult conditions. C47 JOKER and
moved up to fourth as the race finished another gruelling lap.
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Powerboating lntemational

and these positions held until the end of lap lbur, with C24
pulling away from C61 on the seaward laps, and the mono
catching up into the wind. On lap five C6l CROSSLEY took
the lead near the Sadler Mark, but crossing towards
Hengistbury the GUERNSEY SKATER cat re-took the lead
and held its position through the sixth and final lap, to average
39.14 knos, just beating C61 CROSSLEY by three seconds.
C8l CARRYFAST finished four minutes later and C4'l
JOKER, C30 LE GOPIIER and C70 RNR MOTORS were the
other finisher's. Dave Fromow used Jonathan Lucas's prop on
C30 LE GOPHER another aluminium Forgecraft, !o improve
his performance, the team still admitting to leaming about the
qualities of the alloy 2 litre after their previous seasons in 1.3
litre class. C24 GLIERNSEY SKATER, upon being retrieved,
was found to have its engine skeg snapped off. A technical
disqualification appeared possible before the wise decision to
allow Jason Hunt and Jeff Fox to hold their place, which made
them third overall in the Championship. Colin LeConte,
importer of the Skaters from the USA being clearly pleased
with the boats performance.
OVERALL CHAMPIONSHIP RESULTS
C61 CROSSLEY P.Lister[. Boddy 700 points
C81 CARRYFAST T. Jenvey/E. Braithwaite 525 points
C24 GUERNSEY SKATER J. HunVJ. Fox. 495 poins
P. Denford/D. Packer 338 points
C47 JOKER
C5 CELCON N. CutlerM. Withers 225 points
C30 LE GOPFGR D. Fromow/D. Twyman 180 poins
headed S.E. to the Sadler mark otl Poole Harbour. MIOO
FAYS ONE, D50, V22 TI{E RENEGADE (Robert Humphrys
and Peter Moore), and Pll MOTORVATION (Colin Curran and
crew) headed the field early on, but Neil Holmes was moving
up through the field from fifth position, despite having stated
before the race, that he did not intend to show everyone else
the way round!
Meanwhile seas at Hengistbury were between 8 & l0
feet, but they did not strop Holmes moving through the field to
average 51.32 mph as he crossed the Boumemouth Pier line in
the lead. Ml00 FAYS ONE was next, but stopped almost on
the line, after a stop-stail session. The boat got going briefly,
then became stationary with another dose of the fuel problems
which have dogged it so much of late. PII MOTORVATION
was next, the Shead designed cruiser taking the seas well,
ahead of D50. P33 AMBASSADOR COMMUNICATIONS
led a group, with P8 HELLS ANGELS, D25 AMBROW then
D89 and D90. Pl6 FIRECRACKER, the veteran Tremleu
cruiser, which should have been at home in these conditions
was actually the first to retire, the crew not wishing to risk
damage to the venerablc boat, which won the Beaverbrook
Trophy in the 1974 Cowes Classic.
The Phantom mono B64 C.I.Y.S. was coping
admirably with the worsening sezu;, but John Iddon, rccciving
reports from patrol and rescue boats, was making the decision
to curtail lhe race, and to savc the sole 1.3 litre boat another lap,
the red flag was displayed. The only 2 lite cat, C9l GO FOR
IT was still struggling around the first lap, as D3 FINA
The CAMDEN TROPHY RACE,
which followed the 2 litre Championships had
just one 6 litre boat in its invitation class (M100
FAYS ONE - John Hampton, John Fay and
Brass Wilcockson), seven 4-litre, a solitary 2
litre (C9l GO FOR IT - Graham Biggs &
Richard Smith), and Jason Muclow & Michelle
Pim from Jersey in the 1.3 litre mono 864
C.I.Y.S. Five cruisers (B) also joined the race.
Of the 4 litre field, Neil Holmes and Jim Cox in
the re-built D3 FINA UNLEADED, after its
overseas adventures, headed an interesting list.
Geoff Purves' D6 HOSPITALITY INN, the
new Hicks cat with the highest nominal H.P. -
394. Dl0 was Howard Wret.ham's cat
CELCIUS MELORDATA, known previously
as ATLANTIC COMPUTERS, and was
navigated by Jim Baker. D25 AMBROW
TRAILERS (Scot Campbell Younger & Andy
Brown), is the Cougar cat perhaps better known as PANLIMA
fielded by Ian Birnie. D50, as yet un-named, but originally
WESTONS KODAK, now driven by Richard Strutton JNR.,
Graham Palmer is similar to D90 FAT CAT. Jason Mucklow
used to field this Hicks cat, but now Paul Miller drives, whilst
Tracey Mucklow keeps the family involvement. The most
spectacular 4 lire craft however, is the Lorne Campbell,/Midas
trimaran D89 SGL JET of Les & Judy Salvidge, which has
demonstrated some superb form, interspersed with frustrating
faults and problems.
This race, which carried National Championship
points status, started on a course which OOD John Iddon
hoped would enable a full length race, in the rising S.W wind;
which was deceptive in the bright sunshine. Six laps of an ll
n.m. circuit were embarked on, with the start boat of Mike
Bellamy leading the boats towa-rds Branksome, before they
Po wcrboating Intemational
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' R rB ilOTORS
'.-,.&
LTNLEADED hcadcd towards BournemouLh Picr to finish is
second lap. John Iddon, performing acrobatics on the roof of
the timekeepers caravan, flew the rcd flag, which brought Neil
Holmes and Jim Cox's winnins drive to an earlv end. at an
average of 41.98 knots.
As second boat D50 (Strutton & Palmer) headed west
from Boscombe Pier towards the line, the conditions were
clearly illustrated, when the cat stuffed in the very confuscd
seas. The rescue teams, including l.he HURRY ON team cver
present and ready to put up with the most uncomfortablc seas,
soon werc on the spot, and the crew wcre passed to the St.
Johns first aiders for checks, luckily both proving to be okay.
The cat was lakcn in tow, before getting too close to Lhc beach.
Pll appearcd ncxt, to take the second ovcrall and first cruiser at
an average 38.70 knos, and P8 FIELLS ANGELS was rhird at
38.63 knos.
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