News - 05/05/22

Drew Langdon and Miles Jennings in Silverline held off their
Italian rival, Maurizio Schepici in Tommy One to narrowly win the 2022 Round
the Island – Powered by Shamrock Quay – Race, the opening round of this year’s
UKOPRA World Offshore Championship, which saw 25 teams start and finish in the
Solent last weekend.

2022 Round the Island winner, Silverline

Tommy One off Hurst

The two big boats fought a close race all the way around the
50-plus mile route, finishing only four seconds apart.  Silverline and Tommy One both completed the
course in under thirty-five minutes – a staggering average speed of 89 knots or
102 mph.

Class 3 with the biggest fleet of boats was dominated by D28
Renegade (Andrew Foster and Charles Morris) who also finished the race in under
an hour. 

The boats started off East Lepe buoy and raced anticlockwise
around the Island to finish off Gurnard. A large fleet of spectator boats
braved the drizzle to watch the start, and many had only just returned to their
berths by the time the first boats were finishing.

Island Action
There was local interest in Class 3C as East Cowes Team ADL
of Adam Leal and George Hobart competed in their very first Offshore Powerboat
Race and crossed the line in twelfth overall with a very respectable 55 mph
average speed after 1 hour, 3 minutes and 47 seconds. Adam and George managed
to cross the line virtually on fumes as they run out of petrol crossing the
finish line off Gurnard.

Team ADL Scaffold from the Isle of Wight take the chequered flag

Second-placed Italian boat Tommy One Italian was driven for
the first time by Isle of Wight property developer Richard Bendy.

The next round of UKOPRA action will be held in six weeks,
racing around Poole Bay, and then later on the August Bank Holiday weekend at
the annual Cowes Classic.

Cowes Classic – 27-28 August 2022
The bank holiday Cowes-Torquay-Cowes and Cowes-Poole-Cowes races
are a great way to experience powerboat racing in Cowes.
Viewing from the land
is easy with the boats mustering in Cowes Yacht Haven on Saturday (view from
the pier) and the race starts on Sunday can be watched from Cowes Green and
Princes Esplanade.
For waterborne spectators, an LNTM will be issued for safety – please subscribe to the LNTM feed or check Cowes Harbour Commission social media.

Information and photographs courtesy of UKOPRA