Thursday, 27 May 2010 15:33
In recent years it has become easier to race a classic boat, both on inland circuit racing club waters and in offshore races. This is largely down to the approach of the current Powerboat Manager at the RYA, 
John Puddifoot. His predecessor was very much against classics being allowed to race and did everything he could to make life difficult by insisting that the old racers conformed to modern safety rules, which, of course, they couldn’t.
John Puddifoot. His predecessor was very much against classics being allowed to race and did everything he could to make life difficult by insisting that the old racers conformed to modern safety rules, which, of course, they couldn’t.
Happily there is now a much more pragmatic line taken, with the safety rules for Basic Racing used as the benchmark. This simply involves a fly-off throttle, a kill switch for each member of crew and buoyancy for the boat. The personal requirements for a racing lifejacket, helmet, mini-flares, compress and whistle are the same across the spectrum, but are easily sourced and not expensive. This has opened up the prospect of racing to many otherwise obsolete boats.
Your erstwhile editor and I entered a Class IIIA racer form 1966 into the basic racing rules Brass Monkey race in about 2001 and also the Cancer Charities Race, plus she took part in several inland events along with many other old boats. It was great to have an old boat with low horsepower (she was powered by a Mercury XS650) and mix it competitively on the sea with much younger boats! We ran under the race number of “101”, called the team “Team Obsolete” and we even had a team slogan embroidered on our jackets, “You Mustn’t Rush a Good Race”. The spirit of fun and taking part is what it is all about. Even so, we came within 1 point of winning the series on a shoestring budget, only let down by one navigator who, in the true spirit of the game, was late for signing in at one meeting due to a wedding the night before, precluding our entry! Many of the circuit racing clubs offer invitations to classic boat owners to attend some of their meetings and this gives old hydroplane owners the chance to get their toys out and have a play, in earnest. There are at least a handful of meetings across the year, which provide opportunities for the utility racers, hydroplanes and small runabouts to have a thrash around the buoys.
Details of these and most other classic welcoming meetings can be found on the CMBA website: www.cmba-uk.com. Even if you aren’t going to take part, there is excellent viewing at all of the venues and spectators will be assured of an entertaining and exciting day out.
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