This bank holiday weekend (26/27 May) will see Oulton Broad a bustling hive of activity as the 2013 Powerboat GP RYA British Championship comes to town for the Lowestoft Grand Prix.

Peters & May’s Jelf Racing Powerboat Team (Maidstone) will all make the journey for the second round of the British Championship hosted by the Lowestoft and Oulton Broad Motor Boat Club that will see over 40 teams battle it out for the valuable championship points over the bank holiday Sunday and Monday.

Peters & May, the world’s leading global logistics company have once more pledged their support of powerboat racing for the forthcoming season by adding 3 times World F2 Champion Colin Jelf (43, Maidstone) to their already impressive lineup of contracted drivers. 

The 2013 season will see Peters & May strengthen their association with the Jelf Racing Team throughout British and International powerboat competition as they aim to power forward to further glory and add more silverware to their already impressive trophy cabinet.

There were celebrations at Parkstone Yacht Club this weekend (18 November), when 2012 Honda RYA Youth RIB National Champions Charlie Martin (12) and Harrison Faull (13) were officially presented with their prizes, two brand new RIBs for their club.

After winning their regional final this summer, the boys blasted their way to victory at the national final held at the PSP Southampton Boat Show in September.

They skilfully manoeuvred around the tricky and testing Honda RYA Youth RIB Championship course which includes a slalom run, a 360O reverse around a buoy and a stop exercise.

From the 05 - 09 November, UK Powerboat racers from all over the country will head to Coniston Water in Cumbria for the 42nd Annual Coniston Records Week, in the bid to set new National and World speed records.

Coniston Power Boat Records Week is the only event in the powerboat racing calendar to bring together all classes of boat. From tiny hydroplanes, through inshore circuit racers to the largest offshore boats, entry is open to all.

Competitors and officials from all over the country assemble annually for what has been a popular event since its inception in 1970, and is regarded as the grand finale to the racing season. 

The NE1 Zapcat Grand Prix held for the first time in August this year, the first powerboat racing since the Eighties on the River Tyne, is to be shown this weekend on Sky Sports in the weekly Motor sports magazine programme Max Power that goes behind the scenes at major events, focusing on everything from touring car races to single-seater events.

Included are highlights of two days of racing including action from the preliminary heats and the Round 7 & 8 individual class finals along with interviews with race teams and the GP winners Richie Lake and Andy Farmer in RM State of Mind.

The NE1 Zapcat Grand Prix was the only televised GP in the 2012 National Zapcat Championship series and shows just how exciting city centre venues can be and how well the Newcastle Quayside lends itself to great spectator viewing and the large crowds who supported the event.

The RYA Scotland Powerboating Committee ran their first youth powerboat training day on Sunday 21st October 2012 at South Queensferry.

The training day took place at Longcraig Scout Centre who provided four of the boats used for the activity. In total 15 youngsters attended the training day and had a fantastic day learning new skills from the six instructors who were directing the training.

The aim of the youth powerboat training day was to enable youngsters aged between 8 and 16, who normally don’t get a chance to use a powerboat, to experience the thrills of powerboating. 

Last weekend (28-29 September) marked the finale of the 2012 Zapcat British RYA Championships, with three separate British championship titles up for grabs.

After six months of action packed racing, the teams returned once more to Fistral Beach in Newquay for the final round of the championship having competed in Newquay at the start of the year, as well as, Newcastle, Barry Island and Sandbanks, Poole.

Throughout the season the fleet were split into two classes based upon the crews combined weights to provide a level playing field in the one design class.  Crews with a combined weight under 26.5 stone were placed into the ZCR50 Class and those at 26.5 stone and over into the ZCR50x  which resulted in some fantastic, close racing.

Over the weekend (22/23 September) the 2012 Powerboat GP RYA British Championships were decided at Stewartby Watersports Club in Bedford.

Six of the seven British titles were to be decided over the course of the weekend, with only the British Hydroplane Championship having one round left to go in October.

Heading into the weekend there was little separating the top of every championship promising battles of epic proportions. 

On Sunday at the PSP Southampton Boat Show the 2012 winners of the Honda RYA Youth RIB Championship were crowned in front of a packed crowd.

Competing throughout the day in overcast weather conditions, the 29 young powerboating finalists from across the country demonstrated great skill and speed at the throttle of the two Ribcraft 4.8m RIB’s around a difficult course.

However, for the second year running, it was a clean sweep for Parkstone Yacht Club and the Southern Region, as the competition saw twelve year old Charlie Martin and thirteen year old Harrison Faull blast their way to championship glory.

A powerboat racer has died after his craft flipped over during a race in Dorset.

Mike Lovell, from Southampton, suffered multiple injuries when his boat crashed in Weymouth, on Sunday.

Despite being airlifted to Southampton General Hospital, race organisers P1 SuperStock confirmed had Mr Lovell died overnight.

His navigator Dan Whapples, also from Southampton, remains in a serious but stable condition.