Second-hand cat purrs when it matters most
Colin Thompson

Steven Eversley and co-pilot Brandon Franks made a grand entrance to the S Class during the fourth round of the powerboat racing season at Ferry Reach at the weekend.

The pair led a small but formidable fleet across the line in what was also their first time competing in a 30-foot second-hand catamaran that Eversley purchased.

“That was our first race in S Class and I wasn’t expecting that,” Eversley said. “This is our first time driving a big 30ft cat period and we just went out for a test because the day before, the boat wasn’t really running properly.

“Friday was the first time we took the boat out and it didn’t run too good. Alarms were going off, so we took it out again Saturday and at the end of the day, it started to run a little better. We went out first thing in the morning before the race [Sunday] and the boat was running fine and the results showed.”

Eversley and Franks coped best in the choppy conditions. “Those conditions suited my boat,” Eversley added. “I had the biggest boat and it was kind of rough conditions. We just used that to our advantage. We nosed down a couple of times and my boat got a little damage to it.”

Aaron Sims and co-pilot Steven Bridges finished second, followed by Henry Talbot and Andrew Cunningham, who rounded off the podium in third.

“It should be a nice season because all the races in S Class are really good,” Eversley added. “The competition is stiff and I think it’s going to be some good racing from now on.”

Elsewhere, David Selley secured bragging rights in the A Class, Craig Nesbitt Jr and Sadune Raynor were victorious in each of the two races contested in B Class, while Shawn Butterfield was the sole entry in D Class.

All points accumulated from the five-lap races will count towards the season championship.

“Obviously we are very excited to have four S Class boats show up,” Robert Cardwell, the Bermuda Power Boat Association commodore, said. “With that, it brought out a large number of spectators, as it is always a high degree of excitement watching those boats.

“Our smaller classes did well under the conditions because it was a little sloppy on the North Shore.

“We had 13 boats in total to start and ended with 11 that finished the race.”

Racing resumes on the Great Sound on July 14 with the third and fourth races of the Spanish Point Boat Club series.

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