News & Race Reports

Salcombe 2009 Race Report

2009-09-30T20:21:26Z

RACE REPORT - SALCOMBE OCR NATIONAL FINALS

By Sheena Williams SEPA

Saturday & Sunday 19^th & 20^th September 2009

It was not without a little trepidation and a sad heart that the OCR contingent made their way down to Devon for their first race since the tragic events at Dover, which left both crews and officials alike shell shocked and bereft. But although thoughts of Alex were never far from anyone’s minds throughout the weekend, the fabulous welcome and racing infrastructure afforded to the racers, from the tiny fishing village of Salcome, served to restore the camaraderie and fervour that OCR is renowned for! With its narrow cobbled streets - lined with nautical boutiques - winding their way along the edge of the river and some excellent racing, the sunny September blue skies of Salcombe helped to ease the blues that had descended on the OCR Fleet.

After a night time white knuckle ride through the countryside roads of South Devon, we arrived in the town of Salcombe, nestling alongside the River, where Heats 3 & 4 were due to take place on Sunday. After meeting with the organisers of The WestCountry Watersports Racing Club in The Ferry Inn for a meal and liquid refreshments, it was off to bed for an early start.

Saturday dawned and the weather lived up to its expectations; bright sunny skies with a gentle breeze greeted the racers as they waited to be led out into the Bay for Heats 1 & 2 of the 2009 Offshore Circuit Racing Finals. Ten boats lined up on the start line to battle it out for the first four places in the Championships, where race cancellations had left the top contenders with everything to play for. A short course of 8 buoys with a dogleg and a chicane situated in the Bay gave the drivers some challenging corners and inevitably chance for Richard Mason in ‘Racing Green’ to again miss a buoy and be forced to safely retake it against the oncoming fleet. A quick rolling start and a faultless drive by Jeremy Gibson in ‘Y Knot’, who led from start to finish in his yellow Bernico hull, left the other A class drivers to battle it out for second and third places.

A28 ‘Harwich 2010’ driven by Sharon & Stuart Atlee had travelled all the way from Kent, only to find their 130hp Yamaha had a decidedly intriguing note to its pitch. The 20’ Norwegian Tintorera hull was down on power and pulling a huge rooster tail – although Sharon carried on to finish the 1^st Heat, she was forced to pull out with a broken rectifier and sit out the second heat of the day.

A return to OCR from Offshore 3B saw Matt & Sarah Webb out in A25 ‘Avago’ to pitch his skills against his former contempories to round off his 2009 racing season. Although Matt was not in the running for the Championship, he kept up a good pace in an unfamiliar boat to keep in close contention with the frontrunners.

Heat 2 saw newcomer this year to OCR, Phil Hancock/Barry Hollett in A11 ‘The Rock’ get off to a blistering start; catching the rest of the fleet ‘napping’ on the start line, the businessman from Devon nicknamed ‘The Doc’ passed the Committee Boat some 50 metres in front of the rest of the chasing A boats and with the clear water in front, he never let up his pace, winning the second heat by a clear margin, despite the best efforts of A19, A29 & A9. Sadly he was deemed to have infringed the starting procedure and was given a time penalty. National fleet beware though – ‘The Rock’ is coming to get you in 2010!

Competing in their third event of the season, the team of B27 ‘RAW Edge Racing’ Sian Williams and George Butler got some invaluable racing practise in ahead of their debut, in separate outfits, in the National Series in 2010. Sian and George 19 & 18 years of age respectively hope to compete against each other in the B class next season, so this heralded their last race together before the friendly rivalry begins. Both from Kent, they put the little 16’ Phantom through its paces in Heat 2 after being forced to pull out in the 1^st Heat with a loose plug lead. Sian and George learned a valuable lesson in ‘checking for minor problems’ before holding the orange retirement flag aloft – and George is an apprentice Marine Engineer! Notch it up to experience ………….

Sunday saw an enforced innovative idea of not just one - but two starting line-ups in the form of two grids. The long narrow course spread along the banks of the Estuary, although fantastic from a spectator and camera angle point of view, was just too short and narrow to allow for the usual OCR rolling start. Cue two grids, comprising of the fastest four boats from the first race in the front row of the grid followed by those remaining in the second – some 10 seconds adrift. As can be attested by the photos - close-ups of which you can see the ‘whites of the drivers’ eyes - as competitors on the front row of the grid look for the dropping of the Union Flag – it was phenomenal how sensational this came across, with not one of the rigs an inch in front of the other! Four finely tuned racing craft side by side on the starting grid about to leap forward as one, feet from the spectators lining the banks of the river – starts don’t come more spectacular than that!

For the River heats, stalwart Rob McCarthy decided to test next season’s Bernico hull to see how it stood up to the competition and he started in the new white rig planned for 2010, leaving the red, white & blue Union Jack Bernico on the trailer in the carpark. The only problem was he forgot that this new hull runs at its best trimmed in and it took him the whole heat, complete with huge rooster tail and an engine almost on tilt before he realised this. When questioned later he confirmed that the first instinct is to trim out when you find yourself dropping back into the pack; he later remedied this error by managing his more usual second place in the final heat of the day. Both heats were again won by the immaculately prepared outfit from the same stable of A19 ‘Y Knot’ Jeremy Gibson/James McGing who put in faultless performances on both days to complete a quadruple set of wins and take maximum points for the weekend’s racing.

On the second grid, ten seconds behind, A11 ‘The Rock’ Phil Hancock/Barry Hollett leapt into action closely behind a late starting A28 ‘Harwich 2010’ Sharon & Stuart Atlee. Sharon’s engine had been intermittently cutting out and she needed a ‘jump start’ from B27 between heats – only just managing to get to the starting line in time whilst still adhering to the 6 knot speed limit in the Harbour – just! With her late start practically coinciding with A11’s start, the two boats sped up the course towards the River mouth. ‘The Rock’ clearly the faster, took several laps and a good soaking before managing to pass ‘Harwich 2010, such was the good natured battle between the two outfits.

Another newcomer to A Class this season, is A16 ‘Eyes Wide Shut’ Kieron Crouch/Darren Douthwaite who have been steadily improving at each event until they are now pushing the front runners. An exciting crew to watch, as they perfect their skills ready for the new season and build on the success of their debut this year, they kept the crowds lining the banks of the River entertained, especially on the bottom turnbuoy.

With the long straits, allowing the crafts to get up to maximum speed, there was only one real winner on the day and that was Jeremy Gibson/James McGing. However, although the course wasn’t suited to top contender Richard Mason, racing with his son Ashley, in A29 ‘Racing Green’, he had clearly done enough in his previous OCR encounters to notch up sufficient points to take the British National Championship honours and become British National OCR A Class Champion for 2009. Our congratulations go to Richard for his sterling efforts throughout the season – well done to him for being such a good role model for our youngsters to aspire to. We look forward to seeing him back on the circuit in 2010 to defend his Championship.

Finally, may we take the opportunity of thanking John Cook, Roy Trot, Rob & Carole McCarthy and all the extended McCarthy family for their hospitality and hard work in organising this event and to all the launch & rescue/patrol personnel that toiled arduously throughout the weekend to ensure it was a success. Particular mention to The Ferry Inn for hosting the Saturday ‘Curry Party’ and to Cookie for organising the fun model boat racing entertainment – and last but not least - Ian Gibson, the Harbour Master, who stopped all craft – and I mean all craft – either end of the River exactly on cue! Simply the best!

Charity Donation

2008-02-10T19:02:51Z

On Friday 8th February, Chairman of OCRDA Bob McCarthy along with this years A Class Champions "The Gringo's" Mark and Jason Walker from A11 "The Rock" presented a cheque for £732 to Lady Williams at the Cancer Day Care Centre, Gibraltar for the Macmillan Nurses.

Thankyou to everyone who donated money last year and we look forward to raising even more for charity this year.

ILLFRACOMBE RACE REPORT

2007-07-17T16:14:06Z

Written by Fleur Tytheridge,

FORMULA 1 OFFSHORE CIRCUIT POWERBOAT RACING

ROUND 5 RYA NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

14^th & 15^th July 2007 – Ilfracombe

Teams…

No: Boat Name: Driver: Navigator:

A2 Black N Blue Steve Allan Alison Fairman

A7 Vital Spark Matt Humby Robbie Mould

A9 Bernico Racing Bob McCarthy Nigel Couch

A10 The Black Pearl Phil Bennett Nicki Groves

A11 The Rock Mark Walker Jason Walker

A13 Team Voodoo Graham Lawton Craig Lawton

A19 Y-Knot Jeremy Gibson Ben Ward

A29 Racing Green Richard Mason Jake Julian

A30 Aquaholics Stuart Williams Steve Yabsley

Future Events…

Date: Venue:

August 4 & 5 Stewartby (BASIC RACE ONLY)

August 11 & 12 Dover

September 8 & 9 Salcombe

September 29 & 30 NATIONAL FINALS (Venue TBC)

Saturday 14^th…

It was yet another eventful 2 days of racing for the A class powerboat teams in Ilfracombe this weekend. Saturdays racing commenced with good weather conditions which was a well received bonus for both racers and spectators as we saw Ilfracombe’s pier packed with a welcoming crowd.

Heat 1 had Aquaholics and The Rock leading the way for the 9 participating boats, each powerboat battling the waves to gain water. The Lawton brothers (Team Voodoo) decided to go for a swim as they stuffed their boat into a wave at one of the turnbuoys, seeing navigator Craig dunked and driver Graham hanging from the boat by the steering wheel! However, they managed to keep their position in the race and carried on although very wet! Vital Spark retired from the race as his new navigator couldn’t hack the pace but rejoined the second heat with a replacement! The Black Pearl also had to retire from the first heat due to an engine fault but did not rejoin that day. The rest of the heat went smoothly with just the few normal occasions of missed turnbuoys and near-on collisions!

Heat 2 gave the eager crowd yet something else to keep them entertained as we saw Y-Knot’s driver Jeremy and navigator Big Ben roll their boat, leaving them swimming and their boat sinking! Fortunately, the boat was towed to safety and both were fine – except for 2 wounded egos! The heat went just as well as the first after Y-Knot’s stunt, giving spectators an amazing performance.

In both heats Aquaholics won 1^st place, The Rock came 2^nd and Racing Green got 3^rd place.

Social…

All teams and their supporters spent Saturday evening in Ilfracombe’s Yacht Club enjoying a BBQ and drinks aplenty! As the beer started flowing so did the testosterone as the lads started competing in strength! We won’t announce who won and who lost! Jeremy and Big Ben (Y-Knot) danced their worries away to a night of soul disco, ensuring everyone joined in on the dance floor! Once the bar was dry, the gang returned to the pits for an infamous “Pit Party”!

Sunday 15^th…

A late start for Sundays heats due to weather conditions not permitting. We had little rain but it was rough waters that postponed the racing and it now seems to be a regular occurrence to dive for the trailers! However, the weather did not deter our spectators who showed in full force again. The course layout was adjusted, removing the chicane, to ensure a safe race and, in a bid to still compete, the heats were shortened to just 1 lasting 32 minutes plus 1 lap instead of the usual 25 minutes. Unfortunately, Team Voodoo did not race in this heat due to an engine failure.

All boats had a great start with close competition throughout. The Rock was taking the lead this time but with Aquaholics on their tails. Racing Green, performing very well at this event, were holding 3^rd place and were not budging. It was a great race throughout, although very choppy, ensuring all the boats were in the air more than they were in the water! Aquaholics decided to give the spectators something to talk about when following the footsteps of Y-Knot in Saturdays racing. After hitting some rough water they too ended up taking a swim as they flipped their boat which was left bobbing in the sea! Luckily enough both were fine and the boat was recovered. There were some hairy moments throughout the race but the remaining boats successfully completed the heat giving 1^st place to The Rock, 2^nd place to Racing Green and 3^rd place to Bernico Racing..

The Results…

1^st – A11 The Rock

2^nd – A29 Racing Green

3^rd – A9 Bernico Racing

For full results, photos and all the action, visit www.ocrda.org to check out the latest.

We hope to see you at the next event for truly adrenaline fuelled, fast fun and free for all the family. And if you’re interested in taking part, why not get in touch and you could be driving or navigating in the next National event in OCR’s “Avago Racing” powerboat.

TEIGNMOUTH RACE REPORT

2007-06-04T16:53:31Z

TEIGNMOUTH ROUND 3, 4 HEATS, 26TH AND 28TH MAY 07

Saturday 26th, Flat water on the sea front made the first 2 heats very comfortable to race in. At the drop of the Flag all boats arrived at the first turn buoy at the same time, with the exception of Aquaholic A30 which arrived well before the others. Each time the distance at the start runs between the boats are getting closer and closer. Steve and Ali in Black N Blue A2 gave us a run for our money, during the start lap they managed to stay on our starboard side up to buoy 6. Mark held the inside line and turned tight, Steve went wide fortunately for Mark and myself we were able to cut across him and take the inside line for buoy 7. From this moment on we obtained a decent distance and now felt comfortable. Steve and Ali also had a good distance from the rest of the pack, no way were they going to be caught. Mark and I had our sights set on A30 they had at least 100mtr advantage on us. Mid heat A30 seemed to take buoy 6 too tight and squeeze through the gap between B15 driven by Wayne Parsons and navigated by Mark Shear who at the time were taking the turn with A25 Avago racing on their starboard side. Wayne had nowhere to go other than try and keep a straight line. Stuarts prop picked up the buoy and A30 came to a sudden stop. Now Mark and I were in the lead, with A2 still in second place and A13 in third with a considerable distance between each boat. The only way that any overtaking would happen at that stage was if any of the lead boats would cease to race.

Heat 2 saw the boats take a standing start, Mark and I in A11 The Rock took the lead from the start and maintained it with Steve and Ali hot on our heels. The Lawton brothers in A13 and Bernico Bob and Nigel Couch in A9 battled it out for a while to take the third place with Bernico Bob taking it in this heat.

Due to the weather and sea conditions the racing on Sunday was postponed until Monday, however the plug was pulled too soon and by 3pm the sea was race-able by this time it was too late the crews were out and about doing their own thing. Unfortunately the A2 crew were not able to race on Monday and had to leave. Dare I say that had they remained in Teignmouth they would have certainly put on another good show.

On the Monday the weather was similar to that of Saturday. A30 was now back and ready to race. Again Stuart and Steve arrived at the first turn buoy ahead of every other boat and took a considerable lead. Mark and I followed in second place with A13 in third. We managed to keep our placing and I was now convinced that the final heat would be a photocopy of the one we had just run. How wrong was I !

The Start of heat 4 was identical to heat 3 all the boats in the same positions, however we suffered a set back. Part of the electrics on the boat failed the trim and rev counter failed us, the screen was blank. Mark was hoping to get a feel for the trim without the visual on the counter, to make matters worse the trim was not responding. The boat was doing every thing except what it should have been doing. A30 now obtained a greater lead and the pack was catching up. Eventually A9 and A13 overtook us, as we waved A29 past our electrics came on again and we were off. Apologies to Richard and Jake in A29 who must have thought that we were being cheeky and playing with them. We soon caught up with A9 and A13 we ran the back straight 3 abreast and took buoy 5 in a perfect horizontal line. We then saw A9 slow down he was also suffering a set back. The Lawtons now held the inside line and the boat seemed to be gaining more speed. Slowly but surely they were getting away from us. We would have to be content with a third place. A9 by now was back on track and managed to take a fourth place.

The placing for the weekend for the top 3 boats are as follow;
1ST A11 The Rock = 742 Pts. 2ND A13 Voodoo = 650 Pts. 3RD Bernico Racing = 600Pts.

Writen brilliantly by Gingo J

PLYMOUTH RACE REPORT

2007-05-18T19:13:15Z

PLYMOUTH ROUND 2, 4 HEATS, 5TH AND 6TH MAY 07

Plymouth has always been a good venue for OCR, the sea conditions always lend to good racing. This year the 9 boats took to a slight to moderate choppy sea. The circuit although slightly shorter, made better viewing for the public.
The 2 heats on Saturday were very entertaining and thrilling for spectators and racers’ alike. Different could be said about the Harbour Master who was quite concerned at the antics of some if not most of the boats, who were taking wide turns on buoy 6 and giving him cause for concern at the boats slalom through the Corinthian visitors buoy’s, as the rocks were only a few meters away. The Officer of the Day (OOD) was asked to move the buoy seaward for heat 2 if racing was to continue.

The start runs were as close to perfection as one could expect. All the boats lined up at headed off to the first turn buoy at the drop of the union flag. I cant say how they lined up as at the time I was aware of A9 and A30 who were over taking us on either side, and I was holding on tight as the dreaded first turn was approaching, no chance to look back. Stuart Williams and Steve Yabsley took the clear water and were off into the horizon, only to be seen again at the end of the heat in the centre of the course celebrating their first win, Bernico Bob McCarthy and Nigel Couch in A9 took the second place and were not easy to get past, Mark and myself in A11 spent the whole of heat 1 caught in the wrath of the Bernicos wake, not a nice experience. It is too hard to overtake the Bernico unless you have the legs on it in a faster boat.

Heat 2 was again A30’s to win, Stuart and Steve are flying this season after Steve having found a blockage in the fuel system which gave them problems at round 1 in Torquay, Steve found the problem too soon I reckon. This heat however we arrived at the turn buoy ahead of Bernico Bob so it was a problem less to contend with. Being stuck in the wake of a phantom, is no comparison to the wake of the Bernico, the ride is smoother. I don’t want to think what it will be like when Jeremy Gibson gets to grips with his new Bernico, double the wrath??

On the Sunday the sea was lumpier, Mark decided to go for a different prop and it paid off. From the start we took the lead, however it was not long lived as A30 shot past us, we managed to see a glimpse of turquoise and heard an engine, so I guess it was A30. Mark and I took second place and Bob and Nigel took third in heat 3.
Heat 4 was the most entertaining for the lead boats. Mark and I took the lead and were in sight of the chequered flag and on the home run when A30 appeared on our starboard side at buoy 4, only 2 more buoys to go and we would be home and dry, or so we thought. We got home behind A30 again and not as dry as we would have liked, A30 crossed our path and sent a wall of water into our boat. 2 seconds separated the 2 boats; I think it is the closest finish in the 3 seasons I have been racing for.

On recovering the boat and getting back to the pits, the spectators only commented on the other boats, how they battled for the minor places and made the race interesting, they clashed with each other collided and scraped buoys and put on a show, contrary to the procession that the lead boats put on. A19 Jeremy Gibson was flung out of his boat on buoy 6 in front of and as close to the public as possible, A13 The Lawton brother’s hit a buoy and were very lucky as on one of the turns the boat was on it’s starboard side and the driver Graham had his torso under water, he managed to put his foot down and take control of his boat and was soon on the race line again competing to take his 4th position. A10 went over between buoy 4 and 5, thankfully Phil and Nicky were unharmed, but I was right when I christened the Concorde, The yellow Submarine, in place of its registered name The Black Pearl. Steve and Alison in A2 and Richard and Jake in A29 seemed to come out unscathed of this battle, but if the case is not so I will let you know on the next report. Credit to James and Mark who crewed Avago Racing A25, a boat that is for hire for first time racers. James drove superbly and did himself proud he finished in a respectable 6th position. I am also told that this must be the first weekend that A25 has actually started and finished a race without any problems.

A30 overall 1st, A11 overall 2nd and A9 overall 3rd, for the rest of the placings and RYA/OCR positions see the point’s table.

By Gringo J (A11)

Torquay 2007

2007-05-01T18:19:18Z

Jeremy and Ben (A19)

Torquay at the start of the season.

Well done boyz for staying in and recovering well !

Sorry Folks!

2007-04-11T08:32:50Z

It has come to our attention that whilst many of you were able to successfully log on to this new website after receiving your passwords from Heidi, a number of you were unable to access the site altogether! We apologise for the delay in some servers on the web being able to identify this site's new ISP address - this is a technical process that is controlled by our hosting services, and as such we have no control over when they choose to update their servers, so PLEASE DO NOT SHOUT AT HEIDI, IT IS NOT HER FAULT! Our servers evidently went live before some of yours did, that is all!

I would just like to point out that Heidi has done a fantastic job getting this site to the standard it is at now, and will continue to do so on your behalf (unless you upset her, so DON'T!). The reason we have gone through the process of changing providers is very simple and is one you should all appreciate: The other one was too expensive. So, whilst we apologise for any inconvenience caused throughout the changeover process, we would like to invite you all to give due thought to the fact that we made this decision in order to save OCRDA some much needed funds, to save the volunteers working to keep you 'in the loop' some time that they cannot always afford to give you, but mostly, to allow us to introduce the brand new interactive features you will find on this smashing new website!...You can thank Heidi in person at torquay this weekend...she'll be waiting at the bar!

Thanks for your understanding, we look forward to seeing you at torquay!

Your Web Team x

OCR AT BEST OF DORSET SHOW!

2007-03-05T16:46:15Z

On 25th March 2007, we will be attending the Best of Dorset Leisure & Tourism show by kind invitation from the Weymouth Tourist Board & Councillors there, Who are keen to get OCR back to Weymouth for a race in 2008! PLEASE COME AND HELP US PROMOTE OUR SPORT!

For more information, see the EVENT INFORMATION Page!

Thanks!