History
Guernsey has a long history of powerboat racing going back to the early 80s. For many years it was the “jewel in the crown” of the Class 1 calendar and with good reason.
The racing-conditions and hospitality of the locals are well-known!
Since 2009 the Guernsey Powerboat Association has experienced a significant revival and growth in the sport, and the local race scene has blossomed!
UIM World Championship Class 3C – Guernsey 2008 – photo by Chris Davies
Please visit the GPA website to see details of our local championship at: www.guernsey-powerboat-association.com
The conditions
Guernsey is blessed with enviable conditions for powerboat racing.
Not only is it an incredibly beautiful place to race, but with the sheer number of rocks, channels, bays and navigational marks available to plan courses around and through, it makes for an incredibly interesting environment in which to race. There are a number of locations available where racing can be run within a 100m from the shore line providing exceptional spectator viewing.
All of the above, combined with 10 metre tides, regular winds of force 3 and 100 metre high cliffs running along the South and East coast means that the variety of sea conditions at the same time in different locations can be incredible.
While one leg of a race may be a calm and sheltered run with minimal swell or wind, another leg could be wind against tide resulting in steep sharp swell and challenging conditions. And this variety of conditions can be replicated both on windy or calm days depending on the course.
Given the variety in focus of 3A and 3B race boats, and the proclivity of certain types of boat to certain conditions i.e. catamarans to flat conditions and monohulls to rough conditions, it is going to make for some fantastic racing!
Safety Fleet
Guernsey has a history of over 30 years of running powerboat events and our safety record is ‘second to none’.
There is a huge level of experience within the club, committee and interest in the sport from ex-racers and previous participants. The result is an existing, committed and experienced safety fleet with regular boats which provided safety cover for a number of years.
Our guard boats vary in size from 40 plus foot cabin cruisers to 5m RIBs and we will also have experienced divers and paramedics in place who regularly provide safety cover on board first response vessels.