With a new engine now tuned by Ocean Racing, there was a lot at stake for Peter Bonham Christie and Team Isis.
Fingers were crossed for Team Isis on their debut race last weekend, not only was it Co-Pilot Tilly Long’s first ever race but, the team had recently taken on the skills of Jeff Purves at Ocean Racing to tune the engine.
Saturday brought strong winds and a nasty short chop making conditions hard on boat and crew.
After a long days racing the Team had notched up some very good finishes and 2nd place in the Final. “It was tough, really tough today. We have trained for rough weather but you always push yourself harder when you’re head to head with other boats, that’s when people make mistakes and things go wrong” commented Peter, Managing Director of Isis Office Hydration the teams primary sponsor.
Day Two started off in Penmaurmawr A and E with suspected fractured ribs from the previous days battering. Thankfully, bar some serious bruising, no bones broken! With the wind drop and a flatter sea this was going to be a make or break day. After starting from 5th on the grid Team Isis finished a respectable 3rd. They took 3rd on the grid to 1st in the next race and followed on with another 1st. In the fourth race the pilot, Peter, still slightly new to this boat, misjudged things and clipped a mark, resulting in disqualification. Now starting last on the grid, it was vital they regained a grid advantage to be in with a chance of a podium place in the final.
When asked how they managed to turn an unfortunate disqualification into a 3rd in the final grid position, Peter explained “Our engine was running perfectly, Jeff from Ocean Racing has done a great job and our prop from Propeller Solutions in Sturminster Marshall was giving us tons of grip so I felt confident to let the other teams fight for the first mark, whilst we carried our speed around the outside.
Finishing a confident 2nd in the final on the second day was enough to confirm to any doubters that
Team Isis have what it takes. “All eyes will be watching this ‘newbie’ team at our next meet. They have done fantastically well and I think there’s more to come” commented Fiona Pascoe of Thundercat Racing.
Team Isis compete next in Christchurch, Dorset on the 4th & 5th July.