Touring Car racers cross codes for a taste of marine power
Alex Smith joins Matt Neal and Dan Cammish as they head to
Southampton for the RYA’s Powerboat Level 2 course
When a British Touring Car racer decides to turn his hand to powerboating, the initial comparisons seem unfavourable. After all, when your office is a pared back 160mph Honda Type R with more than 350hp and 400 Nm of torque, a 25-foot boat weighing a metric tonne with a 250hp outboard on the transom might appear a touch modest.
But as Matt Neal and Dan Cammish arrive on the pontoons at Swanwick Marina near Southampton, their enthusiasm for our training boat is clear.
The vessel in question is a Highfield 760 Patrol RIB: a broad-beamed aluminium craft with large-diameter tubes, a couple of rows of jockey seats and Honda’s flagship BF250 outboard gracing the back end. It’s a brand new model, freshly rigged only a few days ago and already, these motorsport competitors are very particular in their approach - asking pertinent questions about weight and drag; about how the power is transferred to the water; and about the nature of the driver interface.
Though such questions are not necessarily part of the Powerboat Level 2 syllabus, Russell Lake, Director at Urban Truant Sailing, is happy to answer them, before introducing us to the rest of the on board kit, including the VHF radio, the chart plotter, the emergency flares and the lifejackets. We’ve already spent 45 minutes running through charts and tides in the classroom, so with the kill cord connected, lifejackets adjusted and the big 250 sparked into life, it’s time to head out.
Embracing the elements
The first question is a simple one. How do we pull away from our berth? The interplay between wind and tide exerts powerful forces on a boat and, in view of the fact that we’re pinned to the pontoon by the elements, we use the outboard to power astern, into the middle of the channel, before making our way clear of the marina.
Matt is already at the wheel, getting to grips with the way the boat handles, treading a course that compensates for the bullying of wind and tide and keeping us clear of moored boats and marker buoys. With right hand on the wheel and left on the fly-by-wire throttle, we run through mooring to a buoy, retrieving a man overboard and dropping an anchor – and despite their natural acumen, not all goes to plan.
Matt runs over a buoy or two, Dan falls into the anchor locker and they take it in turns to underestimate how long it takes a boat to come to a standstill.
There are also some theatrical miscommunications between the man at the wheel and the man with the line - but with its inherent stability, its broad walkways and its bulletproof aluminium hull, the Highfield is exactly the boat for the job. Partnered with the big 3.5-litre V6, we spend several hours executing relaxed manoeuvres at idling speeds, without the slightest issue from noise, vibration or fumes.
Day two ramps things up with a nav plan entrusted entirely to Matt and Dan
And as they step on board with notes in hand, they seem full of confidence that a spot of ‘buoy-hopping’ will see us arriving triumphant in Cowes. In the event, their confidence proves fully justified, but what is particularly interesting is their response to a fast open passage. Despite spending their weekends scrapping at close quarters among 32 furious race machines on a BTCC racetrack, it’s plain that 40 knots on the heaving surface of the Solent feels far quicker than it does on Tarmac. Both Matt and Dan are unashamedly animated, howling with amusement as we scale the wake of a passing tanker, before re-gathering their composure and setting themselves back on course for the Isle of Wight.
Piling on the pressure
After lunch in Cowes, a racing Spring tide brings us the ideal opportunity for some high-pressure manoeuvres in a busy working harbour. There are lots of valuable leisure boats around, as well as ranks of idle lunchtime spectators – and slotting a boat into a tight spot in circumstances like that is an unenviable challenge. Imagine hand-braking your car into a parking space at rush hour and you get the idea. But despite their lack of hours on the water, the boys do a top job, hatching a plan to manage the conditions and using their lines to secure the bow before powering the stern home.
However, time is beginning to get away from us, so we’re compelled to leave Cowes behind and take a reciprocal course across a wind-stoked Solent to Urban Truant’s Swanwick HQ. As we get up on the plane and pile on the pace, it’s clear that there’s more to be learned in terms of the racers’ understanding of the trim of a boat and the means by which subtle adjustments to the angle of the outboard’s leg can increase pace, efficiency and comfort. But in the meantime, a choppy beam sea nudging at the port tube of the Highfield RIB, gives those on board a final seamanship lesson – namely, how to pick the right seat on a fast open boat.
Having made our way through some messy chop, with pinpricks of white waterwhipping into the port side of the cockpit from a stiff westerly wind, Dan wipes the seawater from his Prada shades, unjustly lambasts Skipper Matt Neal for getting him damp and steps across to starboard, determined that next time, he’ll check the conditions before selecting the wettest spot on the boat.
What’s next?
Back in the warmth of the Urban Truant office, there is unanimous delight that the course includes no written examination – and greater delight still that all on board have passed. While everyone seems to have feared that their entry into the world of powerboating might involve endless hours of dusty textbook doctrine, it’s plain that a well-run Level 2 Course is all about first-hand, on-water experience – the kind of intensely practical and relevant experience that equips you to go boating for a lifetime. Cue tangible satisfaction, fist pumps all round and an apparently earnest commitment on behalf of both men to exchange hot Tarmac for a flurry of salt spray as soon as the next opportunity presents itself.
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