VICTORY TEAM TAKE 2^ND & 3^RD IN TRAVEMUNDE

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The German seaside resort of Travemunde yesterday (16^th July) hosted heat two of the Class One UIM World Offshore Championship race series when the pole position kicked off at 15:15 hrs.

Travemunde again proved lucky for the Dubai stars of Offshore with Victory Team landing a 2^nd and 3^rd on the podium. First past the chequered flag with the fastest time of 1 minute and 56 seconds was Spirit of Norway with Bjorn Gjelsten and Steve Curtis in the cockpit. 

Powering off with the pole position today, Travemunde saw Spirit of Norway lay claim to the top pole position podium place, with Victory Team’s Saeed H. Al-Tayer and Mohammed Al Marri in Victory 1 taking second, leaving third place on the podium to Ali Nasser and Ali Al Qama in Victory 7.

Perfect sunshine in the morning gave way to rain as dark clouds rolled in; but contrary to predictions, the sea state proved flat and had boats thundering along with top speeds in excess of 190 kms per hour. “We really had fun out there today. The sea proved great for racing although the visibility at times could have been better.” said Steve Curtis, throttleman for Spirit of Norway.

The day was not with out calamity however. Although not quite on a par with last months high speed crashes in Trieste , there was a collision on the Baltic sea that saw Victory 1 forced to come in after their first run. “We were parked in the milling area when we felt a big impact from the back of the boat.” said Al-Tayer, throttleman for Victory 1. “ I stepped out and literally tried to push the Binautica boat off our boat. When it happened we were just sitting there waiting for the lead boat to come and take us out to the muster area at buoy 6. Maybe there was some confusion in the area and the driver may have been distracted.” Luckily, damage to the boat proved minimal. A quick patch up by the boys back at the wet pits soon saw the big blue boat back on the water and into the running to clinch second place on the podium.

Victory 7 saw less drama then their teammates but also had them coming in after their first run for a quick propeller change. “We chose a short prop but we changed to a bigger size to better suit the conditions.” said Ali Al Qama, throttleman for Victory 7. “We also had a problem with the engine as it was not performing as it should have been. We will check it before tomorrow’s race, though we imagine that it will be a minor problem.”

Jotun were again the victims of bad luck when they suffered from technical difficulties and saw them trail in with an 11^th place finish. Today’s run may put the red boat at a disadvantage, as they will lose valuable seconds by starting in the second line up.

Also ill fated were Reverie. Back in action and ready to show offshore what they are made of after their spectacular crash in Trieste, the big boat was again out of action when a broken engine during testing saw their pole position chances ruined. Although unable to compete in yesterdays pole, crews will have the boat ready with a new engine for today’s race but will see them at the back like Jotun when the start is signaled.

Today’s race will see the 12 boats start in two line-ups according to the results of today’s pole position run. The 104 nautical mile course may well see record speeds if conditions of flat calm hold out.

“We are very happy to be back in Travemunde where I imagine that we will have better and better races in the future.” said Ali Al Qama, Victory 7. “We are hoping for a good result for tomorrows (today’s) race. Last year we were fortunate to take the trophy and we hope to have the same result this year.” And with the drop of the green flag today, Victory Team will see if they still hold favor on the cold waters of the Baltic Sea.