CTC 2010: Real Offshore!

[Black Tornado]

Yesterday ended a week of true powerboats offshore classic at Cowes, with the famous Cowes-Torquay-Cowes.
See the fantastic pics in these links. Enjoy!

http://boatmad.com/forum/showthread.php?t=16816

http://boatmad.com/forum/showthread.php?t=16811

[Bobcat]

Thanks for posting those Marco !

[Ratickle]

Thanks Marco, cool stuff.......


What the heck temperature is the water there now?????

Looks cold to me......

[shifter]

How did Uno Do?

pat W

[Flying Dutchman]

Thanks for the link-

[T2x]

Wow...That's a real throw back to the good old days.......

My hat is off to all who entered....and Fabio is the still craftiest racer I have ever known.

[lohring]

Uno Embassy did very well and was as high as 3rd at the half way point after getting new engines installed right before the race. Mike Bontoft did the restoration and replaced the engines in three days just before the race. Mike's boat, the 35' Cigarette Dry Martini won the historic division. The race was very rough and less than half of the 40+ boats entered finished. Mike broke at least one rib 1/2 hour into the race, so Dry Martini did not reach it's full potential. Even so, we were 5th at the half way point. It was a real survival test. Below are some pictures of Dry Martini when we were going for it. More pictures should be at http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/timtap...0829Powerboat# and eventually at http://www.cowes2010.co.uk/index.htm

Lohring Miller

[Bobcat]

Dry Martini Wins on COOL FACTOR alone ! Love that boat !

[lohring]

A picture of Uno Embassy and Dry Martini together.

Lohring Miller

[shifter]

Great to see the boats ran well. Tell Mike congratulations. I am happy to see my boxes worked.

pat W

[Black Tornado]

Who could say that this photo was taken in 2010 instead of 1974?
Although the two contemporary boats in reality they never met.



Uploaded with ImageShack.us

[Bobcat]

Great Photo.

[FLYING FISH]

Thanks Marco, cool stuff.......


What the heck temperature is the water there now?????

Looks cold to me......

At this time of year the sea temperature reaches it`s max of just under 60 degrees fahrenheit (15 degrees celsius).
The race was held in force 5 to 6 winds gusting to force 7 in rain squalls,with breaking seas and foam.Typical summer weather for UK.
Flying Fish is to be seen in light blue jacket doing the business,as per pics on Boatmad thread.
It wasn`t the roughest race ever,that was in 1971 where a full gale brewed up during the race,and boats were surfing down waves and submarining into the next wave,more like Aussy racing.
I remember a quote from Errol Lanier `we don`t bring our boats over to smash them up,but we will race if we have to`,which was similar thinking to Bill Wishnick in the 1971 race where he turned back in the middle of Lyme Bay,saying he didn`t need to wreck his boat for the World Championship.
Rule Britannia!

[Top Banana]

Hats off to all involved, from the race producers to the contestants and especially the mechanics and riggers, who put so many hard hours into making these boats race ready.

We just had the big weekend at LOTO. That is where the "offshore" boats run over a measured mile to see who can go the fastest. I wondered if anyone would put up something about Cowes.....thank you for letting us know open ocean racing still exists. Maybe someday we can get it back on this side of the pond also.

Hopefully the upcoming Sept 18th Don Aronow Memorial Around Long Island race will jump start the desire again.

[ciao]

Mike Bontoft is a total star.

The 2 x race boats he brought over here are awesome.

Bontoft's Cowes Torquay Cowes race on Sunday was a war against the sea and more.

Never a nicer chap you will meet, not a finer mechanic and a tribute to the spirit of Offshore Powerboat Racing.

Well done Mike and your team!

You can go home and tell those Yanks just what they missed.

[ciao]

Shot from our helicopter on Sunday.

[lohring]

John

Thanks from all of us. I've been involved with Mike for nearly 10 years on various projects and he is truly an exceptional person.

I've only known our Driver, Eric Krume, a few years. However he is also exceptional. He worked with Mike on the engines and mechanical assembly of both Dry Martini and Uno Embassy. He helped Andy Macateer shoehorn his new engines in place after Andy was about to give up. He dealt with getting the replacement Uno Embassy engines through British customs then helped Mike install them in less than three days. Finally he took command of Dry Martini for a time after Mike was hurt. Washington independent loggers are a tough and determined group. Eric is one of the best.

Lohring Miller

[Mike Bontoft]

Thanks for the kind words John. Cowes Torquay was the culmination of 6 months of preparation on the two boats and I must agree wholeheartedly with Lohring, None of this would have been possible without Eric's tireless and unwavering support. There were times during the restorations when it seems like everything was stacking up against me, Eric was always there ready to jump in and get the projects back on track. Eric, I feel privileged to have you as a friend
Mark Cordial is also a very useful person to have around when the going gets tough, He helped tremendously in getting the Embassy boat to the start line after a major engine problem. Thanks for all the help Marc, I wish you had been around during the restorations.
Now I think I am going to try and get some sleep in a chair, Lying on your back with duff ribs is hell.
Cheers

[Mike Bontoft]

Hi Pat
The transmissions you built for for the Embassy boat worked flawlessly. We did increase the cooler size a few days before the race just as a cautionary measure. I wish the other parts of the drive train had held up to the same degree. Great work.
Mike

[shifter]

Great job Mike!!! You definitely had your hands full with the two boats. Let me know if you need the other part of the project.