Fast on water magazine issue 15 by Roy Cooper

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Editors note

Published by Fast On Water Publications 2018

Welcome to the latest edition of the Fast On Water magazine; a very varied edition with articles from the past and the present. I do hope you enjoy this issue and remember, we always welcome ideas for future issues

All articles and photographs are copyright All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission.

Contents

Editor Roy Cooper

Contributors Roy Cooper David Jones Brad Geyer Phil Sharratt

Cover photo of Earl Bentz, Bristol 1979. Photo Credit needed

The Sydney Bridge to Bridge Powerboat Race

An Insight into a Driverâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Mind

Early Memories of Chasewater pt 2

1936 Daily Mirror Trophy

The Arcadian Racing Team

The Sydney Bridge to Bridge Powerboat Race Race Report by Brad Geyer Competitor in the 2017 event On Sunday the 19th of November, the New South Wales Ski Racing Association and The Upper Hawkesbury Powerboat Club (UHPBC) worked in consultation with each other to put together the most prestigious event in their respective fields in Australia.

Wiseman’s Ferry, Sydney The UHPBC Sydney Bridge To Bridge Powerboat Race, which was first run in 1933 between two men that were keen pioneers of Powerboat Racing in Sydney, C. Hall won it in his Cadillac Engined Skiff which was named Glenelg in a race time of 3 hours 25 Minutes and captured the imagination of those in Sydney that had a passion for both The Hawkesbury River and Motorboat Racing. The Sydney Bridge To Bridge Powerboat Race is normally run around 9am on Sunday Morning. At that time in the morning the water conditions are very favourable; often like Glass. The 2017 field included a number of Class One offshore catamarans and monohull raceboats of both Inboard and outboard configurations.

The day started with The Sydney Bridge To Bridge Waterski Race, which has been held annually since 1961. The Bridge To Bridge Race is held between Brooklyn in the mouth of Sydney’s Hawkesbury River and winds 112km to the Finish Line in Windsor. Merc Force won The Superclass Category in a Record Time Of 37.04 minutes for the 70 Mile Course, followed by Superman, who’s time was 37.12 minutes.

This year the field ran after lunch, not getting started until 1pm. Unlike an early Start the conditions were atrocious and many competitors found themselves frequently airborne in the chop.

After all categories in the Ski Racing Event were ran, which included Engine Capacity, Age Groups and Women’s Superclass, the course was made clear of teams that had been unfortunate enough to have broken down, in some instances, in quite isolated locations.

In my 70 mph Category I initially thought I was in for a great chance of placing well, though I found the conditions concerning, so I slowed down at times between Brooklyn and Wisemans Ferry. There was one instance nearing Spencer where I became Airborne at 60 mph holding on tight to my steering wheel and out of my seat for some 4 seconds. Upon my landing I knew I needed to preserve my raceboat and myself as that was in a quite isolated spot.

It has been my ambition since I was a Teenager to take part in the Sydney Bridge To Bridge event. Growing up waterskiing at Wisemans Ferry I gained an appreciation of one of Australia’s finest motorsport events in 2

to the forces involved with the heavy conditions. In those conditions with such a lightweight boat the results are understandable. In the 300 hp outboard class, the hulls were more suitable for the conditions we had on that Sunday. As a result, race times reflect that. The Sydney Bridge To Bridge Powerboat Race and Ski Race are two of Australia’s endearing motorsports events and it gave me such a rewarding feeling that I had achieved a goal in sport that I had held for some 25 years.

Brad racing in this year’s event Reaching Wisemans Ferry, which is basically half way in the race, I found smoother water but I knew both the treacherous conditions and my race was over, as my competitors had greater fortitude than myself on the day. From Wisemans Ferry, where I crossed the path of The Central Coast Ferry moored at the side of the river I developed greater race speed, and kept my foot planted playing my steering trim buttons as the lighter conditions availed themselves.

Even though there were a number of breakdowns for the competitors in the terrible conditions, I am sure all who took part in the 2017 Sydney Bridge To Bridge Powerboat Race would not have changed the course conditions for it added to the character of the 2017 event. In closing I would like to add, no matter your circumstances in life, follow your ambitions and make them a reality, even if it takes 25 years to bring your ambition to fruition.

Straight lining the river was required. I was making up time on my opposition to some degree. Passing The Eight Ball nearing Laughtondale. I also stopped for about five minutes on the side of the river at Laughtondale. As I was racing past The Eight Ball, David Sonter gave me a signal that he didn’t have communications on board. So I rang race control to tell them of the breakdown. There were a number of inboards that retired from the race, I believe mainly due

All the best in High Performance Boating. Brad Geyer Sydney, Australia

In a Driver’s Mind At the Start, During and After a Race An Insight by David Jones, Hydro Racer The engine is warm now and the prop felt good in practice, so we will see what happens now. Knock, knock (the boys do this at the back of the boat so I’m ready for them to start me). Throttle open, foot on stack pedal; here we go. Play the stacks, okay, so need to turn here; run in now and keep an eye on the clock. Late, that’s good; I’m not going to get penalised for an early start.

passed at top. Good they messed up – thank you I’m coming past and all set for lap four. Rough at bottom turn, slower now as more traffic; just passed another boat – that’s them done with – need to watch out for others as never sure what they are doing but here we go – that’s good, passed them as well. Back up the top, no one here, it’s clear for top turn exit; top turn for lap five. Need a clean lap. Let’s get up the front quickly. Bottom turn looks good, need to slide, prop good, plenty of lift and a good exit. Three more at the top, need to go wide, keep up speed; stacks, just need to get up there to the front. Lap six clear again, easy I can get round, lots of traffic up back straight getting into top turn, need to be wide on top turn, pipes need to be right, over the front more so better acceleration. Lost too much time, bugger! Third place. Need to be better next time. Let’s see what the boys have to say and how we can improve for next time out. Maybe we will put a rake prop on.

There’s traffic at the bottom buoy; need to get past quickly; turn, keep out of the way. Need to go wide – flatter water; lean left over the fin, full throttle and play the stacks again, good; who’s in the way now? Just two boats at the top turn. They will mess each other up. I can get inside both on exit, that’s good. Play the stacks, clear of them now, looking down the course to the bottom. Boat at the bottom; need to get up the front (of the boat) as its getting to high out of the water. ready for lap two; here we go, looking ahead, clear at the bottom buoy, blip the throttle, play with the stacks, lean left, push back into boat – need more grip. That’s better, top looks good, just one boat to get passed; okay passed him clear now turn, exit and play with the stacks.

Mechanics are a vital part of any success and the driver needs to be able to race, listen to what the mechanics are saying, listen to what the boat is telling him as well as keeping fit

Lap three, another boat at the bottom buoy; need to get up front. Too much lift – back is skipping; bottom turn someone is going tight in so will go wide at the exit. All I need to do is go in wide and come out tight. That’s done with, play with the stacks again. That’s better, good drive, just two boats now to get 4

themselves. Fitness is a key part of being a good, and becoming a better, driver. It’s hard work driving something that fights against you all the way round. You just have to fight back but not being fit means you won’t be able to do this. If a driver is at peak fitness, more oxygen reaches the brain, meaning clearer and better thinking and decision making. The thought process is very important when driving a boat, both for the driver’s success and also so that the driver is aware at all times of what he is doing and what others around him are doing, or are likely to do. It’s about being able to judge not only the driver’s own moves and planning the next move, its anticipating the moves of all the other drivers on the water.

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Outboards and Stuff - part two Philip Sharratt’s Reminiscences of Chasewater Some other Blu-fin pilots that I can remember – Les Dunacre and his wife Joyce. Les drove an 11R powered by a 25hp Mercury outboard. Similarly Jack Lees, but Jack had a slight modification made to the decking because he was a tall bloke and needed some extra space in which to fit his legs under the deck. Another was Jack Kemp who moved from two-up to a single-seater Blu-fin with either a 25hp or 35hp Mercury. There was also Alf Pearce, who was a builder and his son Colin who was a driving instructor and who initially crewed for him. Alf was one of the last still racing in B-class (25hp engines) and he also later moved to a single-seater which Colin drove until one fateful race when the saddle broke on the engine (a regular problem on these engines when raced) and they gave up racing and presumably boating as well.

One of the people who enjoyed inboard boats was Ted Manton and his son Ricky. Ted was a motor dealer in Birmingham and named all his boats “County” presumably after the dealership. Ted had a couple of Albatross boats and later bought a Levi inboard/outboard unit to race. In the early 1960s, we had a small contingent of new members from the Burton Speedboat Club. They had used a stretch of water on the River Trent, but a weir had been taken out and they had lost the depth of water that they needed, so they decamped to Chasewater. I remember Ken Unwin with his wife and son, and Ken used to build boats for his own use, and very smart they were too. There was also Alan “Mitch” Mitchell and his sister Sadie who came for a season or two and also there was Wilf Parker with his wife and two daughters. Each boat that Wilf owned was called Bonny Blue C.

More proponents of the Blu-fin 13R that always come to mind are Pete Parry, and 'Jock' Geddes, both extremely nice people. Pete, with his girl-friend Anne, had a 13R powered by a 50hp Mercury engine which was named Hari Kari, with an impressive samurai sword emblazoned down each side of the hull on which the name was written. Pete had graduated to a Blu-fin from a Meadcraft, which had been named Scorpio. Jock (or H.B.Geddes as he was obliged to sign racing entry-forms) had an early prototype Blu-fin with the name of Lucy Lou (or something similar) and he later bought a Levi singleseater powered by a 100hp Mercury. Also, there was Bill Grann, again with a 13R and a 50hp Mercury. He bought his boat late in the year and then spent many hours and many gallons of fuel practising during the winter months with his crew Paul Reilly, who worked for Fletcher Marine. Bill's boat was named Palladin, after the cowboy series on TV starring Jack Palance. Palladin was known in the series to have a business-card on which was written “Have gun, will travel” but on Bill's boat the card was written as “Given gun, will travel”!!

There was one notable member who built very successful racing boats – Ron Wolbold, who I believe lived until the mid 1990s. Ron was the designer of Blu-fin Boats – he built the 11R (11'6'' long), the 12R (12'6'' long) and the 13R (13'6'' long), which was the most popular. The 11R was designed to be raced with 22hp engine, the 12R with 35hp engine and the 13R with a 50hp engine. These were all two-up boats with an L-shaped deck with the driver sitting towards the rear of the boat on the right-hand-side with the crew member alternating from his seat alongside the driver and his crewing position kneeling on cushioned squabs further forward in order to keep the boat stable and race-worthy. Ron later made single-seater boats (once crews had become obsolete) with great success, and later still had a venture with Hemmings and Morris making sixteen-foot boats.

with the Sharratts!! Bob later built an 11'6” inboard boat (because he was told it could not be done) and enjoyed racing it. He later had to move away from the district and he sold the boat to Dougie Stott, an ex-RAF pilot.

There was also Fred Price who started racing quite late in life and he originally had an aluminium boat called Tondeleyo (again, from a film). This was a boat not designed for racing and he later bought Archie Rolls' Blufin and he called the boat “It” but it was later re-christened “Flippin' Fing” as Fred capsized it whilst racing on a number of occasions. I once crewed for Fred in Tondeleyo: well, I wasn't so much a crew as I would crew in a Blu-fin or similar. In Tondeleyo I was purely ballast, as I lay across the rear seat as a weight to the engine to prevent cavitating. I was thoroughly wet and thoroughly fed up, so I never repeated the experience. Fred also sponsored a trophy for competition amongst Club members, when a previous sponsor had dropped out.

Someone that the Sharratt's came to know quite well was Ray Hill, his wife Doreen and their children Trevor and Karen. Ray had a glass and glazing company in Wolverhampton. I believe that Ray had a family boat to start with, but then bought a Hemmings & Morris racing boat similar to a 13R which he named Vi-vá-shus and he used his 40hp Mercury engine. Having had modest success, he later bought a Bristol Clubman boat of 13' in length and changed his 40hp for a 50hp. He raced in 1965(?) with his crew, Patrick Guest in the 100-mile Duchess of York race and would have won it except that the pin that adjusted the engine tilt from the transom had slipped (as he later found out) and he couldn't achieve the final burst of speed needed to beat the eventual winner, John Hill, from the Cotswold club, in his Bristol Boat called Sheeza-B, powered by the relatively-new-to-the-range 35hp Mercury. This was before John had graduated into F1 racing boats and international races.

Another avid racer was Wilf Gregory who owned a boat called Fancy Pants - a Yarecraft with a 100hp Mercury and Wilf raced in Europe quite a lot. More information about him can be found on the web-site fastonwater.co.uk Another racer of Blu-fins were the proponents of the Bermuda outboard which were made in Aldridge by BRD (whose driver's name escapes me!! Ken??). They raced as advertising and experimentation for Bermuda. There was another guy whose name I can't recall whose father (he was a scrap-metal dealer) bought a Yarecraft with an 80hp Mercury. They first used it for general boating but the son was bitten by the racing bug and he raced for about a season and his manner of racing was frowned upon by many club racers. He eventually had his comeuppance when he capsized the boat in a race, and we never saw him again. Apparently, he could not swim!!

Other names I remember from Chasewater were Eric Holroyd who was Commodore of Chasewater for a while. Cecil Woodall was another Commodore during the late '60s – he had an inboard boat, a Healey. Yet another Commodore was Derek Wassall who was a solicitor, with his two sons Philip and Andy. Philip also went on to race. There was Stan Pearce, his wife and two daughters and Stan acquired from John Merryfield an experimental fifteen-foot racing boat powered by an 80hp Mercury. This boat was very flighty and although I was never to race in it, I rode in it many times and knew what a handful it was. Two brothers from the early '60s were John and Bert Freeman – both inboard boaters and racers and both with self-designed Freeman boats powered by Ford engines originally but when Mark II was unveiled, these had Mercedes engines and were much quicker. Bert's boat was called Cheetah and John's was named Miss Tiss. They had a

One of the very early SSHSC members was Bob Beresford, his wife June and their son Robin. Bob originally had an inboard boat called Plain Jane which I believe he built at home, in the house, and had to have part of the wall removed to free the boat!!! He used this boat to give pleasure trips to members of the public in order to boost Club funds and to make people interested in boating. It worked 9

colleague, Bert Stokes, who followed suit with the boats and he named his S'Agaro, from an Italian village he was fond of. Two more brothers were Peter and David Balmford who came in the late 1960s, by which time singleseater racing boats were the order of the day. They both raced Fletcher boats with 50hp Mercury outboards and David later became treasurer of Chasewater Powerboat Club as it had by then been re-christened. Two more brothers were Brian and Barry Hildick who owned Whittalls Wines. They both started with Albatross inboard boats and Barry later went on to race a Moonfleet inboard unit. There was also Sid Thompson and his two sons Steve and John. Sid was a garage trader in Walsall and Steve later headed Steve Thompson Cars in Walsall. The Thompsons had a Cee-Craft boat with an 18hp Johnson, just the same as we had when we started, but theirs was just a little bit faster than ours!! They later graduated to a large Owens boat powered by a 75hp Evinrude engine.

This was Sam Hargreaves'-adapted “Har-fin”, from the Blu-fin 13R stable.

I also remember Bill Kendrick who started with a medium-sized racing boat and later had a Levi boat with a 100hp Mercury and later still a racing catamaran. Bill was part of the Kendrick building family in Walsall. He used to arrive towing his Levi outfit with a Porsche Carrera fitted with a tow-bar!! Another name I recall was Jim Peverelle who later built racing boats with quite considerable success. There was Ray Pillow who owned Warner's photographic business in Wolverhampton, and his daughter Vanessa and son Dave. Vanessa went on to race boats with moderate success but she was always singled out as the only girl in that particular race. The only other women I can recall were Fiona Brothers, Pat Lewis (occasionally) and Pat Ainge. To give my own involvement in all this, as I said earlier, I was nine-years-old when Dad and Mom bought their first boat and my brother John was fourteen. I became very interested in racing but I was not allowed to participate as a crew in races until I was fourteen years old and drivers had to be sixteen. I had five years to learn my craft, so to speak, and I was informed by Dad and Mom that quite a few drivers had asked their permission to use my crewing abilities from the time I was about twelve!! I was tall for my age and belied my younger years. By the time I became fourteen years old in July 1963, our family were taking their usual holiday on a hired Norfolk Broads cruiser and John had persuaded Dad and Mom that he and I should race our Merrycraft when we reached Oulton Broad, which was one of our main stops. Lowestoft and Oulton Broad Powerboat

“Scorpio” - a Meadcraft powered by a 45hp Mercury and its owner Pete Parry, looking towards the water.

One man I will always remember was Sam Hargreaves with his wife, daughter and son Robert. Sam started as a general boater but he was tempted by racing and after a few different boats he arranged with Ron Wolbold for him to modify the now mostly-outdated Blu-fin 13R hull which he built and raced as “Har-fin”. Sam was Club secretary for quite a few years before unfortunately contracting MS in mid-life which finished his boating and his independence.

Racing Club held their race meetings on Thursday evenings and also on Bank Holidays. A couple of years earlier we had witnessed the race when Rooster came to grief. Racing is what John and I wanted to do. Our Mother was reluctant to let both her young sons’ race together but she never dissuaded us. By this time John was driving the prototype Merrycraft and we were very cute in negotiating this basic two-buoy course. The only boat likely to out-corner us was driven by local, Frankie Holmes. Frank had originally raced a Yarecraft Mistral powered by an 80hp and later a 100hp Mercury engine; and they were wooden boats made aptlyenough close by the River Yare. As the boat negotiated the 180-degree turn buoy, the bottom of the hull was clearly visible by all the spectators and so the brand-name “Yarecraft” was written in large unmistakable lettering. We had an amazing race-meeting and won third prize on the day and the only driver that managed to turn inside us was.....Frankie Holmes. Up until then we had enjoyed a mostly spray-free ride, but after he overtook us, we were sodden!!

the Yarecraft had to be gingerly towed to a nearby boatyard for them to be separated!! Later, Frank (I think) started Mistralcraft which were very similar to Yarecraft but this time he had “Help” emblazoned along the bottom. Other names from the Lowestoft club that I remember were Toby Sutton from Toby Marine who usually raced Johnson outboards, and quite successfully: Tom Percival who achieved much international success before he was killed whilst racing: and the Sabberton brothers who made beautifully-varnished inboard boats powered by 3-litre Jaguar engines. One of them sank at Chasewater during the Manufacturers' Trials event and I believe that it was an enormous task to retrieve the boat from the water as it was so heavy. Later on, I raced with Les Good in his Blu-fin and then with Archie Rolls when he bought the boat from Les. One tale I do remember was a new boat called a Qual-craft had come from the Lancashire club. This boat was made for the 50hp engines, with driver and crew in tandem as motorcycle riders would be. At the turn buoy, the crew would come alongside the driver onto a cushioned squab and the boat would turn very precisely. On one meeting, I was laid up with an almighty carbunkel on my left knee which was very painful and I could not even straighten my leg and so I could not race and as I sat in Dad's car waiting for the race to start, one of the Qualcraft drivers had announced on the PA system that he needed a crew – I was distraught that I couldn't oblige.

John Merryfield's Merrycraft with an old 70hp Mercury.

One year Frank was due to drive in the Paris Six Hours race in the autumn and he had a boat built especially strong to withstand the notorious rigours of the race. He decided to give his new boat some race-practice on Oulton Broad and as he was about to turn around a buoy, his steering cable snapped and the boat flew onwards and embedded itself through the central wheelhouse of a hired cruiser that was moored on the Broad as it's hirers watched the race. Both the cruiser and

My brother John, with his crew and family-friend Chris Thelfall, in the Merrycraft as they finish a race. The boat was called Sunset Strip, named

after the TV show “77 Sunset Strip” 11

Daily Mirror Trophy Race, Oulton Broad, June 1936

George Treglown in Tobasco XIV. 1937 15

75 minute DVD Documentary of the Bristol 25 Anniversary event Narrated by Louise Goodman With historic clips and onboard footage of Steve Kerton back on the water between those dock walls for the first time in 25 years £10.00 + £2.00 p&p fastonwater@live.co.uk

LMBRC 60th Anniversary Commemorative Medal and Programme Limited Edition of 200 £15.00 + £2.50 p&p fastonwater@live.co.uk

Still Available Copies of the Bristol 25 Commemorative Programme £6 each Inc p&p fastonwater@live.co.uk 17

THE ARCADIAN RACING TEAM

Jim Hauenstein’s Arcadian Racing Team probably had its genesis with his father’s interest in outboard racing. When Jim and his brothers were old enough (age 16) they also started racing boats, which became a life-long obsession. Stevenson and Sanders. Some of these also competed successfully for Arcadian in the international UIM Formula 1 World Championship series.

Jim won the Outboard National Championships in 1963, 64 and 72. He also set outboard speed records in excess of 120 mph. During a time when he was minimally involved in racing, he established a very successful trucking company, Arcadian Motor Carriers. As he became comfortable with the trucking business, he re-entered outboard racing at the top level, Formula 1 racing. Initially the Arcadian Team featured Ken Stevenson as its driver. As it became obvious Arcadian could compete at the top level, Jim added Johnnie Sanders to the team. In 1982 a world-wide Formula 1 race was held in Nassau, Bahamas, attracting teams from Europe and the USA. The Arcadian Team participated and finished first and second in a field of 33 Formula 1 entries. As a result, the team was drawn to international Formula 1 racing and over the years Jim brought on Jon Jones, Morton Bjerknaes, Phil Duggan, Mark Wilson, Steve Kerton and others as Arcadian drivers. Jim even drove in endurance races such as Rouen, Paris, Parker, etc himself. Jim particularly enjoyed the 24-hour race at Rouen where he could demonstrate his strength and stamina behind the wheel.

Heading for the launch ramp, St. Louis, Missouri. David Burgess-boat builder, Bill Chatfield-Crew Chief, John Hill, Chris Bush in cockpit, Jon Jones, Don Johnston, Morten Bjerknes.

Arcadian’s list of championships is impressive, including winning a few UIM Formula 1 World Championships with Chris Bush and Don Johnston, the prestigious Harmsworth Trophy, the Parker Enduro and the USA F-1 series championship with Jon Jones and Chris Bush along with numerous National Championships in F-1, Champ Boat, Mod-VP and others.

In the USA, Jim had several top drivers in his stable, including Chris Bush, Don Johnston, Bob Hering, Jim Hering, Buck Thornton, David Dewald, Mark Trotter, Rusty Campbell and brother, Fred Hauenstein in addition to 18

Jimâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Arcadian Team competed in the USFORA (F-1) series, first racing Johnson V-8 outboards and eventually designing and racing the Arcadian Wizard â&#x20AC;&#x201C; a single outboard made up of two 2-liter Mercury power heads driving a single gear case and propeller. The Wizard won the first heat it raced and broke the boat it was on. Then the UIM quickly banned the unique engine design.

Jim and Fred. Vienna. 1981 or 1982. Jim's first European race. He finished 5th.

Through all the years of sponsoring drivers, Jim never actually lost his competitive spirit and desire to race the boats himself. It was while driving in a USA Formula 1 race that Jim ran his last earthly lap. With thanks to Fred Hauenstein for the text and Kathy Hauenstein for the photos.

Don Johnston, Chris Bush, Singapore.

Arcadian and Jim were also interested in Inboard Hydroplane racing and won many races in Limited Inboard classes from 2.5 litre up to 6.5 litre hydros. This led to a foray into Unlimited Hydroplane (H-1) racing where the Arcadian Team designed and built a hydro along the lines of his successful limited hydros, powered by a unique powertrain consisting of eight (8) Mercury 2.4 litre V-6 outboard power heads putting out 300+ horse power each and driving a single prop shaft. The boat was fast but had some technical problems and the effort ended before it showed its full potential. 19

We now have two new additions to our Board of Trustees. James Boggis joins us and brings enthusiasm and a wealth of knowledge of restoring both boats and outboards. The other new Trustee is Nigel Hall. Nigel has been involved in the sport for many years and through his hard work and determination has kept many a cat on the water, which otherwise would have joined the many other boats that have bit the dust over the past few years, due to continuous rule changes.

So, just a few days into 2018 and already it has an exciting feel about it. Formula One returns to Victoria Docks, London, on June 15-17. The last time F1 powerboats raced at this venue was 33 years ago. This can only be a positive for circuit racing in the UK. A fantastic location in one of the major capital cities, allowing many to see circuit powerboat racing for the first time. It is hoped that during the weekend of the event we will have the official unveiling of the fully restored Arie de Boom, John Hill boat.

We welcome them both to the Fast On Water family. The Henley Traditional Boat Festival takes place again this year, on the 20 -22 July. It is hoped that Fast On Water will have a presence at this year’s event and we are in the process of talking to the organizers.

John Hill’s F1 Boat restoration in progress The editor has acquired a second Bristol monohull, which hopefully, after restoration, will appear back on the water, taking part in some Classic Rallies.

We wish all those participating in this year’s circuit races and events, a safe, enjoyable and successful year.

Buck and Bill

Membership forms can be accessed via the Homepage of the website â&#x20AC;&#x201C; www.fastonwater.co.uk on the Fast On Water Facebook page or by emailing fastonwater@live.co.uk