The conditions were the most challenging the fleet of twenty boats has faced so far this season. Traditionally, it has been the West Bay event that provides the rough conditions – but this year, for that event, unusually, the conditions were like a mill pond.

As will always be the case, some boats and crews are better suited to racing in rough water, and that produced big smiles on the faces of Jeremy Gibson and Malachy Browne in Smokey and the Bandit 2. The Kingsbridge based racers, defending F1 Champions, have had a difficult season to date with their new boat and engine, lying in fourth place going into the weekend. However, with the Teignmouth conditions choppy, the weekend produced a clean sweep with three straight wins. Browne now accepts that they will not be challengers for top spot this season, but Teignmouth will be the highlight of their season. He summarised their performance.

First turn buoy lap one in the lead – job done – for every race.

This saw them draw level with Chris Brown Racing in third place in the Championship.

The team to beat in F1 this season has been North Devon based Chris Brown/Peter Snell in Chris Brown Racing, who have returned to racing after a two-year sabbatical. Their season did not start well when they failed to start in Torquay, but they have won every race since, apart from in Caernarfon, Wales where they finished second. However, Teignmouth was a weekend to forget for them – a third place finish in Race 2 was their only result – they did not race again. Their miserable weekend saw them drop to third place in the Championship.

If there was a “Consistency Award,” then the experienced pairing of Craig Temple-Murray/Paul Scott in ABM Precast Solutions would undoubtedly win. They went into the Teignmouth weekend with a very narrow Championship lead over Brown. Another team who introduced a new boat and engine for the 2022 season, Temple-Murray favours rough conditions, and Teignmouth delivered. They finished second overall at Teignmouth, maintaining their Championship lead.

Another crew who reveled in the rough conditions were Richard Mason and Darren Douthwaite in Aquablast. A fourth place and two third places took them up to second place in the Championship.

In F2, 2022 defending OCRDA and National Champions, Andy Childs/Mark Hayward – Fatboy Twin – did not race on Saturday as Childs was unavailable. However, Hayward took over as navigator from Bradley Dopson in the F1 boat 66 Racing alongside Malc Dopson.

Unfortunately, on Saturday the boat was holed and had to retire. It was a better end to the weekend for Hayward – with “The Captain,” Childs, back, this formidable pairing finished second in Race 3 and won the final race on Sunday, finishing third overall, and maintaining their lead in the F2 Championship.

Hayward commented

I have a few bruises, but I am incredibly happy.

There was a change of crew in Thurston – James Goldsmith stepping in as navigator for Ben Brown. Wins in Races 2 and 3 were followed up by a second place in the final race. That lifted them to third place in the F2 Championship.

There was a massive surprise in F3. The Championship leaders, Steve Cox/Harrie Shortman – Lions – another new boat for 2022, had won every race so far this season. However, the conditions did not suit them at all, and they finished third overall – a win in Race 2 was followed by a second place and then retirement in the final race. Although a poor weekend by their standards, they retain their Championship lead.

It was a magnificent achievement for F3 overall winners, Simon Tyler/Alix Hopkins-Hayward (Mark Hayward’s son) in Hash Tag. A third place in Race 2 was followed by two race wins. Tyler is new to powerboat racing, this being his first season. It has proved to be a great pairing – Tyler’s enthusiasm for a new sport and Hopkins-Hayward experience of racing boats. To complete their great weekend, they moved into second place in the Championship.

It was also a tremendous weekend in F3 for Neil Williams/Connie Jones – One Step Beyond – finishing second overall with a fourth place and two thirds. Williams is now in his third season of racing and is making steady progress. It had certainly been a weekend of attrition, and although Williams and Jones accept that they are not the fastest crew, they are proving the point, that, to finish first, first you must finish.

OCRDA President, Bob McCarthy, who was also out racing in his boat, If Only, racing in F1 with Robbie Mould, was pleased with a couple of good race performances, and had this to say after the final race on Sunday.

This was a welcoming return to Teignmouth where everyone seemed incredibly pleased that we were back, thanks to Paul Robertson for suggesting that we should revisit.

The OCRDA Aqua Adrenaline Tour now moves on to Kings Lynn, Dunoon in Scotland, and Cardiff Bay in Wales for the final race weekend in early October.

Images supplied by Nigel Cole

Twenty-seven teams competed in the opening round of the OCRDA Aqua Adrenaline Tour series which will take the racer’s all over the UK, including rounds at Caernarfon, Cardiff in Wales, and Dunoon in Scotland.

At the weekend there were twelve novice racer’s competing in their first power boat race and one of the new team’s that were making their debut at Torquay was Magic Time Racing, with Max Walker teaming up with Ben Jelf as navigator in a Banshee hull.

However, testing on Friday afternoon revealed that the engine mounts on Walker’s boat had perished, and despite their best effort’s, there was no way that repairs could be implemented in time to allow them to compete.

Jelf said

I was looking forward to getting to grips with a new discipline even though I’m racing without the steering wheel in my hands.

Race One saw last year’s F1 Champion’s, Jeremy Gibson/Malachy Browne (Smokey and The Bandit 2) take a commanding win in a new boat for 2022 a Phanton19/Yamaha V4. They were followed home by the father and son pairing of Malc and Bradley Dopson in their Banshee (66 Racing) and Bob McCarthy/Robbie Mould in their Banshee (If Only).

In F2, it was the experienced pairing of Andy Childs/Mark Hayward (Fat Boy Twin) who took the win. Childs/Hayward are the defending F2, and National Champion’s and they were followed home by a new team of Rob and Colin Hingston (J D Racing), third place went to Ben Brown and Andrew Jenvey (Thurston).

In F3, four of the six teams were new, and it was a commanding win for Steve Cox and Harrie Shortman (The Lions) with a brand-new Phantom 16/Yamaha 90 for 2022. The mostly Carbon Kevlar composite boat was sporting a unique paint job, and the crew have certainly set the F3 bar high for their second year together and are hoping for a bullet proof season.

For second and third, it was a battle of the “newbies.” London based Darren Smith/Jemma Horwood (Pussy Riot) took the spoils from Simon Tyler and Alix Hopkins-Hayward (Hash Tag) in third. For Smith, Horwood, and Tyler, it was their first experience of powerboat racing. Previously they had undertaken an intensive three-day training course organised by Bob McCarthy, and now had successfully put all that into practice.

After the remaining three races of the weekend had been completed, it was consistency that paid off in the end for the experienced crew of Craig Temple-Murray and Paul Scott (55 Racing). Temple-Murray had decided to abandon the stepped hull Matahari 4 that he had used for a few seasons and switch to a new Phanton19/Mercury 175, a combination that worked out fine.

Temple-Murray said

I was really getting to grips with the boat all weekend and found that I was able to take a much tighter line around the markers. Although we have not won a race here, a couple of second places on Sunday added to a third and a fourth we picked up yesterday means we have taken an early lead in the F1 Class, but we all know there is a long season ahead of us.

Finishing in second overall in class were McCarthy and Mould, followed by the experienced Richard Mason/Darren Douthwaite in a new boat Aqua Blast. Mason was incredibly pleased to be awarded the Concours Award on Sunday, the only award that has eluded him in his racing career.

The team to watch though in F1 at future rounds will be Chris Brown and Peter Snell (Chris Brown Marine). Although they did not start Race 1, they went on to win the other three races over the weekend leaving them fourth overall in class. If they keep that form up, they could be the team to beat this season.

It was a very disappointing return to Torquay though for the defending F1 Champions, Jeremy Gibson/Malachy Browne. A non-finish in Race 2 and lowly placings in Races 3 and 4 left them in seventh overall. Browne complained that he got very wet, as normally they are out in front leading the race and not being in the thick of the action.

Southampton based team of Ben Brown/Andrew Jenvey (Thurston) had a great Sunday – winning both races in F2. With a second and third from Saturday, they left Torquay in the lead of F2. Defending Champions Andy Childs/Mark Hayward could not repeat Race 1 success with two second places on Sunday and a third on Saturday ensured that they finished second overall.

After the fourth race Hayward said

We are slightly disappointed as we feel that we should have gained a place after the boat that finished ahead us had a missing an engine cover as they crossed the line.

Childs and Hayward have an enviable record from 2021 when they won twenty-three out of the twenty-four races, the only one they did not win was cancelled.

Third place in F2 went to another new team – Rob and Colin Hingston (J D Racing). They achieved a win in the second race on Saturday to add to a second place in Race 1. The conditions on Sunday did not suit them as well, yielding a fourth and fifth.

The most impressive performance of the weekend was that of Cox and Shortman (Lions) who took a clean sweep of wins in F3. They were certainly roaring, although their mascot was looking a little bedraggled after two hours of racing around Torbay.

Second place in F3 was taken by Smith/Horwood (Pussy Riot) from Tyler/Hopkins-Hayward (Hash Tag).  Tyler’s navigator from the Training Weekend, had decided the sport was not for him, so Hopkins-Hayward stepped in at the last moment. The first time they had met was a couple of hours before Race One and Tyler credited their success to the experience that Hopkins-Hayward brought to the team.

In F Sport, it was another new team John and Josef Watson (Orb) who left Torquay leading the class. James Waterfield/Nicky Spencer (American Express) along with Ian Brusby/Mike Rothlaan (Rough Cut Racing) did not compete on Sunday, after a race win each on Saturday.

The Tour now heads off to Caernarfon, Wales in a months’ time.

The OCRDA 2022 Calendar

June 3 -5                  Round 2          Caernarfon (Round 1 Nations Cup)

July 8 – 10                 Round 3         WestBay (Round 2 Nations Cup)

July 22 – 24               Round 4         TBC

August 5 – 7             Round 5         Kings Lynn

September 9 – 11    Round 6         Dunoon (Round 3 Nations Cup)

October 7 – 9           Round 7        Cardiff Bay

Photos supplied by Nigel M Cole and John Charters

Jelf Racing’s founder Ted Jelf began racing a similar style of offshore racing back in 1967 in Bootleggers (233) and this weekend fifty-five years later his grandson will ‘follow in his footsteps’. Jelf, who as a junior racer competed in the UKFFORC Racing Series is looking forward to the challenge as he returns to Offshore Circuit Racing.

The Aqua Adrenaline Tour splits the teams into four classes that reflect the boats engine size, length, and speed and this determines whether they are in class F1, F2, F3 or F4. Jelf is set to navigate for the Magic Time Racing Team alongside their driver Max Walker who will be competing in the F1 class.

Racing a total of four heats throughout the weekend, their 19ft Banshee 595 powered by a 175 hp Mercury V6 has recently undergone a complete overhaul for the season. It now has a new engine, and the hull has been adapted to a tandem configuration with the navigator sitting behind the driver instead of the normal side by side setup.

Jelf’s role will be to navigate Walker around the course turns, as well as ensuring that his driver knows where their fellow competitors are on the course especially negotiating the turn marks.

Walker, who boasts numerous years of offshore racing experience recently met Jelf at Stewartby, England whilst his daughter Elsie Walker was competing in the GT15 Class over the Easter holiday. In conversation he offered Jelf the chance to race OCR with him, which Jelf duly accepted.

Walker said

Ben Jelf has already showed immense dedication in preparation for the weekend’s event, in learning the rules, regulations and the course to equip him with the knowledge for classroom training and an assessment before the weekend’s racing.

The style of racing will be vastly different for him as he is used to being in control of the boat and this time he will be navigating and whilst his input and decision making with be invaluable it’s a completely different concept for him. We will use our time on Friday to not only test propellers but also to fine tune our communication skills. I’m excited to have him on board and hopefully we can build a formidable partnership on the water.

Ben is always up for a challenge, so when he was offered the chance to compete in a class similar to that of Ted Jelf, seen above, he jumped at the chance.

Jelf said.

It’s a completely different class to those that I’ve raced in before and I’m grateful to Max Walker for giving me this opportunity. I can’t wait to see what we can achieve together. When I am racing in my catamaran, the water conditions are constantly changing, and I must be so alert as to where my competitors are especially when we are approaching a turn mark. Hopefully with both our levels of knowledge and expertise we can produce a winning formula.

Round 1 of the National Championships starts on Saturday April 30 from Beacon Quay in Torquay and concludes on Sunday May 1.

2022 Aqua Adrenaline Tour dates

Round 1               April 30 – May 1                Torquay, England.

Round 2               June 3 -5                            Caernarfon, Wales.

Round 3               July 8 – 10                          WestBay, England.

Round 4               August 5 – 7                     Kings Lynn, England.

Round 5               September 9 – 11            Dunoon, Scotland.

Round 6               October 7 – 9                    Cardiff Bay, Wales.

Images supplied by Jelf Racing Team & Magic Racing Team.