Photo: Honda MarineRound 4 of the Rayglass New Zealand Offshore Powerboats was strongly contested in Napier today. Conditions were tough, in fact boat breaking, with a 30knot onshore breeze and a 3 meter swell. The consensus of the drivers before the race was that it would be a battle of survival, they were not wrong.
Team 3 made a fantastic start and gained an early lead on Fairview which by the halfway stage became a lap. The correct combination of propeller gearing and outright bravery proved to be the recipe for the team’s first win.
Fairview pushed very hard throughout the race finishing second but nearly sinking on the way back to the marina due to a damaged drive.
Fairview and A1 Homes both hit debris during the race damaging skegs as the recent tsunami surge had washed logs and other floating debris into the bay and some found their way onto the race course, despite a thorough check before the race began.
The current series leader Doosan came third after a difficult race in which the windscreen fogged up and they had to slow in order to wipe it clean.
By lap two the race became more challenging with the buoy at mark E (top of the course) drifting towards the beach in the large swells. Several teams missed the buoy and some had to turn back to round the mark. Steve from Team 3 explained that they thought the mark was adrift and they turned according to the GPS coordinates.
Warren Lewis from Fairview said “one team turned early and we had to go a bit further to turn”
Team 3’s early turn sparked a protest which was dismissed.
The Superboat Lites had a close race with Red Steel winning, from NZ Blokes and Rayglass. The father and daughter team of Grant and Kelly Smith from Rayglass are still running their spare boat after a crash in the Gisborne round.
The 60 mile racers had the most difficult time in the large waves, Mike Gerbic, of Espresso Engineers said “we lost a trim hose and spent most of the race submarining through the swells” Many of the smaller boats struggled with with the size of the swells and it wasn't unusual to see boats disappear from view as they flew off the waves and dropped into the trough in front. Some of the boats used the troughs as highways down the back straight only to emerge as the wave rose under them or once they reached the turning mark.
The Scarab Thunderbird had a great 60 mile race coping well with the conditions, Thunderbird won with Greg Brink (Konica Minolta) second and Mike Gerbic (Espresso Engineers) third.
The Formula Hondas teams had a slower race than usual as they catapulted off the back of huge waves and crashed with a resounding thud into the trough ahead. The Honda Marine team took first place this week from Rayglass and Total Oil. The team from Auckland District Collections bounced back from injury in round 3 and put on a great display today. Brent Oldfield from Mothers Marine said “that was the first race I have enjoyed”, after having spent more time in the workshop during the week fine tuning their engine.
Surprisingly only two boats did not complete the course, understandable with the pounding both boats and crews were dealing with in the challenging conditions.
CLASS RESULTS
Placing Boat Boat Number Name Home Town
SUPERBOAT
1st Team 3 20 Steve Nugent
Craig Archer Gold Coast
Whangaparaoa
2nd Fairview Windows 91 Steve Whitford
Warren Lewis Albany
Auckland
3rd Doosan 320 Sam Fillmore
Cary Gleeson Auckland
Auckland
4th A1 Homes 81 Scott Lewis
Murray Tuffin Auckland
Auckland
SUPERBOAT LITE
1st Red Steel 32 Tony Carson
Brook Faulkner Napier
Napier
2nd NZ Blokes 333 Bob Smith
Andrew Koolen Auckland
Auckland
3rd Rayglass S-5 Kelly Smith
Grant Smith Wellington
Wellington
SUPER 60
1st Konica Minolta 84 Greg Brinck
Steve Harrison Auckland
Auckland
2nd Espresso Engineers 6 Mike Gerbic
Dave Vazey Auckland
Auckland
CLASSIC CLASS
1st Thunderbird 1 111 Haaker Le Sueur
Chad McCarthy
Trevor Griffiths
Katrina Madsen Taupo
Napier
Auckland
Auckland
SPORTS 60 RESTRICTED
1st MarineWorkz Racing 69 Jono Hanley
Glenn Richards Auckland
Wellington
SPORTS 60
1st Spannerworks Otaki 88 Tim Fellows
Mark Coburn Wellington
Wellington
2nd No Name 71 Graham Pike
Brett Archer Auckland
Whangaparaoa
AB MARINE FORMULA HONDA
1st Honda Marine 18 Mike Knight
Yael Pook Auckland
Auckland
2nd Rayglass 10 Mike Smith
Matt Hopkins Wellington
Wellington
3rd Total Oil 19 James Taylor
Shannon Thickpenny Auckland
Auckland
4th Mothers Marine 14 Brent Oldfield
Martin Faulkner Auckland
Auckland
5th CRD Automotive 5 Colin Dunn
Corey Dunn Auckland
Auckland
6th Auckland District Collections 2 9 Darren Urquhart
Darren Woods Auckland
Auckland
DNF California Boats 3 Glen Reid
Andrew Jarvis Auckland
Auckland
DNF Back to Bay6 8 Glen Powell
Colin Powell Hamilton
Hamilton
OVERALL RESULTS
Placing Boat Boat Number Name Home Town
100 MILE
1st Team 3 20 Steve Nugent
Craig Archer Gold Coast
Whangaparaoa
2nd Fairview Windows 91 Steve Whitford
Warren Lewis Albany
Auckland
3rd Doosan 320 Sam Fillmore
Cary Gleeson Auckland
Auckland
4th A1 Homes 81 Scott Lewis
Murray Tuffin Auckland
Auckland
5th Red Steel 32 Tony Carson
Brook Faulkner Napier
Napier
6th NZ Blokes 333 Bob Smith
Andrew Koolen Auckland
Auckland
7th Rayglass S-5 Kelly Smith
Grant Smith Wellington
Wellington
60 MILE
1st Thunderbird 1 111 Haaker Le Sueur
Chad McCarthy
Trevor Griffiths
Katrina Madsen Taupo
Napier
Auckland
Auckland
2nd Konica Minolta 84 Greg Brinck
Steve Harrison Auckland
Auckland
3rd Espresso Engineers 6 Mike Gerbic
Dave Vazey Auckland
Auckland
4th Honda Marine 18 Mike Knight
Yael Pook Auckland
Auckland
5th Rayglass 10 Mike Smith
Matt Hopkins Wellington
Wellington
6th Total Oil 19 James Taylor
Shannon Thickpenny Auckland
Auckland
7th Mothers Marine z14 Brent Oldfield
Martin Faulkner Auckland
Auckland
8th CRD Automotive 5 Colin Dunn
Corey Dunn Auckland
Auckland
9th Auckland District Collections 2 9 Darren Urquhart
Darren Woods Auckland
Auckland
10th Spannerworks Otaki 88 Tim Fellows
Mark Coburn Wellington
Wellington
11th MarineWorkz Racing 69 Jono Hanley
Glenn Richards Auckland
Wellington
12th No Name 71 Graham Pike
Brett Archer Auckland
Whangaparaoa
DNF California Boats 3 Glen Reid
Andrew Jarvis Auckland
Auckland
DNF Back to Bay6 8 Glen Powell
Colin Powell Hamilton
Hamilton
* = day entries
