Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

Heights of Abraham completed a clean sweep at the Galway Grand Prix of the Sea on Monday after another imperious display of offshore powerboat racing secured back-to-back titles for the Matlock-based team.
A combination of aggressive handling and punishing throttle power from Rupert Pugh as well as accurate positioning from Dan Whapples earned the 300 Class frontrunners a sixth successive race win of the season.
Leading from the front for the entire weekend, Messrs Pugh and Whapples displayed outstanding poise around the corners, which subsequently gave their rivals little chance of stealing the gold.
Heights of Abraham command a 25-point lead in the series after two rounds and Pugh is delighted with the team’s rich vein of form. He said: “It’s been an unbelievable start to the season. To win six-out-of-six races is fantastic and an excellent reward for a great team effort.”
Maurice Lacroix claimed the runners-up spot ahead of Evans Heritage Developments by virtue of its superior race-by-race results percentage. Michael and Stephen Baggs from Maurice Lacroix continue to be the best of the rest in the 300 Class but signs during the Galway event suggest that Rough Cut Racing and Shark are not too far behind this weekend’s top three whilst the Fuel Girls improve after every new lap.
Racing in front of crowds in excess of 90,000 as part of the eight-day Galway Powerboat Festival, Pugh was quick to pay tribute to the fantastic support for the nautical extravaganza. He said: “It’s been a fantastic advert for powerboating. All of the pilots have been really impressed by the huge spectator interest and we hope to be back at this wonderful centre of maritime excellence again next year.”
The 150 Class unfolded in a similar fashion with Premier Cru powering its way to consecutive Grand Prix of the Sea triumphs. Having brutally beaten its rivals into submission over the weekend, pilots John Wilson and Neil Scarborough suffered their first hiccup of the season when Eclipse pair Rose Lores and Sara Cureton upset the formbook by stealing first place in Monday’s penultimate race.
Undoubtedly Monday’s solitary loss was the most exciting race of the three-day bank holiday feast of marine motorsport and the enthralling sight of Premier Cru hunting down the ladies from their slipstream for the entire duration of race three will give the other contenders plenty to mull over until July’s next event in Pwllheli, Wales.
Neil Scarborough of Premier Cru hailed Lores’ drive as probably the ‘best of her life’ and lavished praise on Cureton’s coolness under pressure. He said: “The ladies were outstanding. It was a really frustrating race but they didn’t make one mistake.
“We’ve had a fantastic Grand Prix. It’s testament to the team’s ambition that we were fairly disappointed to finish second in race three but that’s the standard we are setting for ourselves.”
The pace of Eclipse the performance of debutants Flying Sparks and Octane were unquestionable highlights of the successful maritime festival that saw Powerboat P1 establish an tremendous footing in Ireland at the conclusion of its first-ever visit to the Emerald Isle.   

Monday 150 Class Results:
1.    Eclipse
2. Premier Cru
3.    Team Fox
4.    Flying Sparks
5. Octane
6. GSS Mermaid
Monday 300 Class Race Results
1.   Heights of Abraham
2.    Maurice Lacroix
3. Evans Heritage Developments
4.  Rough Cut Racing
5.    Fuel Girls
Team Shark (DNS)

Galway Grand Prix of the Sea Overall Results
150 Class
1.    Premier Cru
2.    Eclipse
3.  Team Fox
4.    Flying Sparks
5.  GSS Mermaid
6.  Octane

300 Class
1.       Heights of Abraham
2.      Maurice Lacroix
3.  Evans Heritage Developments
4.  Rough Cut Racing
5.      Fuel Girls
6.  Team Shark