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Power boating is seeing a surge in popularity in Guernsey this season with new participants taking up the sport from outside the local boating community.
The Stanley Gibbons Investment Powerboat Series is one of the most vibrant race series in the British Isles. The 2016 season includes 10 fixtures over the summer with over 20 boats participating.
At the end of July, Guernsey will host the National events, with boats from the UK coming over to participate, while in 2017, the island has secured the World Championships for 3A and 3B and the first ever V24 World Championship.
Kirsty Savident, 24, Investment Administrator, Stanley Gibbons Investment, took up powerboat racing this season. She said: “I’d seen some of the powerboating events in Guernsey last year and was really keen to have a go. My boyfriend, Jamie Rive, and I bought a second hand boat at the start of the year, and decided to enter the series.
“Neither of us had done much boating before but this seemed like the perfect opportunity to start. The powerboat community in Guernsey is very welcoming and we’ve had a lot of support.”
Kirsty’s boat, Grey Sea is a Phantom 21. Club Class 2 boats like this have up to 200 hp and can reach speeds of up to 70mph. Kirsty is being backed by her employers, Stanley Gibbons Investment, sponsors of the Guernsey 2016 Stanley Gibbons Investment Powerboat Race Series.
She said: "We didn't get off to a very good start as the first time we raced, the gear box on our boat broke. We managed to get a new gear box but had an issue fitting it due a problem with the ‘a’ seal inside the engine.
“We spent all night before our next race taking the power head off (engine) to extract the seal that was preventing us from getting the gear box in. We got it sorted and went out into the harbour the next day, however, unfortunately the engine wasn’t pumping water properly so we had to go back in and couldn’t race.
“We managed to fix the problem and make Sunday's race, finishing with a 2nd place in our class. Overall, in the first two months of the series we probably managed to get out for two and a half days.”
Despite the setbacks, Kirsty is determined to make the most of the rest of the season, including taking part in the National events 23 and 24 July.
She said: “Powerboating is such good fun we can’t wait to get back out there and get racing again. You feel a bit sore the next day from being bounced around, especially if the sea is rough, but overall it’s such an exhilarating experience it’s well worth the problems we’ve had.”
Powerboat racing has been recognised as a sport since 1903 when the Automobile Club of Great Britain and Ireland organised a race for ‘auto-boats.’ The sport has been becoming increasingly popular in Guernsey since the Guernsey Powerboating Association resurrected championship events in 2004.
This is the first year the Stanley Gibbons Investment Powerboat Series has included Z150 boats, which have 150hp engines.
Keith Heddle, Managing Director, Stanley Gibbons Investments, said: “Powerboating is one of Guernsey’s fastest and most exciting sports and we are delighted to help get behind the sport and help open it up to a wider audience.”
