Peter Bonham Christie and Tilly Long of Team Isis compete for the European Thundercat Powerboat Title.
After great success competing in the UK, Team Isis decided to take on the best teams of Europe in the 2009 Thundercat European Championships held in Oregrund, Sweden. The Swedish are renound powerboat racers and take the sport to another level, so competition was always going to be tough.
“This our first season in the Thundercat Class and we weren’t sure how we would rank compared to the rest of Europe, however we decided we would never know unless we tried. Furthermore I am a great believer that one raises ones level to those they are competing against.” Explains Peter Bonham Christie.
After deciding to go, Team Isis had a short time in which to prepare. Although the team is well practised in circuit racing the European Championships also involves a 70 mile ‘Long Haul’ Race, which neither the team nor the boat were set up for. Thankfully Propeller Solutions got right behind the team and worked intensely to produce a new prop for the Long Haul. This propeller needed regular testing in similar conditions to those expected in Sweden so it could be altered and fine tuned. Poole harbour provided the perfect condition for this. That was until the Harbour Master appeared on the first test! From then on testing was kept between 5-7am!
Engine tuner Jeff Purves of Ocean Racing also stepped in to support the team spending hours ensuring the engine was achieving maximum power and was in tune with the propellers. “It’s great to have such a strong team behind us who are not only great at what they do, but communicate with each other to get the best overall result. Without the professionalism of Ocean Racing & Propeller Solutions we would not have got the results we did.” Continued Peter.
Oregrund provided near perfect conditions for day ones circuit racing. With the 21 teams split randomly into two groups with competitors from across Europe and even two teams from Russia. The race was set and Team Isis got a great start leading the pack to the first mark. The Norwegian team closed the lead on the straight to split a second between the first two boats. Due to a crash further back in the field, the race was red flagged. Pressure was on for Team Isis in the restart; Team Isis led again to the first mark but lost their lead to the Norwegian team who had the upper hand on the straights. Team Isis finished a commendable second. They achieved the same position in the next heat.
After a day’s racing Team Isis had gained position four on the starting grid for the final. They held this position around nine gruelling laps to finish avery respectable 4th overall.
The Long Haul did not start so well with a throttle cable breaking on the start line. This was quickly repaired with a temporary fix allowing the team to start, albeit 3 or 4 minutes behind the pack. The repair worked well allowing the team to catch up and overtake some of the back markers. With 20 mile straights the work put in by Ocean Racing & Propeller Solutions really started to show until without warning the engine died. The fuel tank had been punctured when the throttle was repaired, forcing the team to retire.
“Having to retire after working so hard to catch up was disappointing, but we have taken valuable lessons from this. By being out here competing at such a high level, against teams from around the globe you cannot help but pick up tips and different ways of doing things. No matter what our results, we’re always going to go home better than we came!” Tilly.
Team Isis where then persuaded to stay for the famous Roslagloppet Endurance Race, a 100 mile race from Stockholm to Oregrund. This race is not for the faint-hearted, with over 100 boats racing through the infamous Archipelago with its thousands of island and millions of rocks! Team Isis took the challenge in their stride finishing 8th.
The next race for Team Isis is in Sandbanks, Poole on the 12th & 13th September.
Image: David Standfield