Poole Bay 100: UKOPRA offshore powerboat championship

‘Double Trouble’ (1-88) won the second round of the UKOPRA Offshore Powerboat Championships on Saturday, taking first place in the “Poole Bay 100.”

Powerboats and competitors from the United States and Sweden encountered a tough course as the organizers opted for the Rough Weather Course. This choice was justified when the race was cut short after just four of the five scheduled laps. Early in the race, the Southampton-based team ‘Falcon Multispark’ (1-48), featuring former Formula 2 Grand Prix driver Dean Stoneman, took the lead in their eye-catching yellow Fountain monohull. However, the challenging conditions led to an engine overheating problem after a belt broke. Consequently, two groups of Class 1 teams, consisting of two and three boats, fiercely competed for the remainder of the race, creating an exciting show for the thousands of spectators along the Bournemouth seafront. Gary Aldington and Tom Gardner managed to hold off Rob Lockyer and Tim Linden in the popular ‘Good Boy Vodka’ (1-25) team to secure the Class 1 victory. The local favourite ‘UNO Embassy’ (1-717) finished the demanding course in a commendable third place in a highly competitive class, despite receiving a time penalty for incorrectly passing the Bournemouth Outfall buoy mark the wrong side..

In Class 1L, the uniquely coloured all-orange powerboat ‘Black Ball Racing’ (1L-8), featuring Martin McLaughlin, Rod Hawkins, and Darren Elliott, secured victory in their class which marked the team’s first race in almost three years.

In the fiercely contested Class 3, Marcus Dodd and Sean Girdler navigated the challenging high seas in their silver Catamaran ‘Oblivion,’ (E-2) delivering an impressive performance despite the boat’s preference for calmer waters in taking top honours. Meanwhile, Peter Hall and Terry Parsons continued to showcase determination with their classic Hunton hull ‘Mango Crazy,’ (E-8) finishing another race strongly and securing important points for the five-race series championship. Another Classic race hull took third place and their first podium in 2025 with ‘Blast from the Past’ (E-17) with Steven Tenant and Leslie Horner on-board. New team in a V24 racing hull ‘Team NEAFS’ (E-24) decided to retire early to preserve the boat for the next race in the series.

The fleet is set to move to Gosport and Haslar Marina on Saturday, July 14th, where they will navigate an offshore course around the Isle of Wight via the English Channel anticlockwise.