Team JB-R

A stark reminder of what we face out there, we had a lesser incident of a similar nature after loosing the bow tank capacity on Saturday, luckily for me just Helmet damage but Robbie lost his in it’s entirety, just for the speculation, anyone who knows Robbie will know that wouldn’t have been a cheap helmet either!

Glad he’s safe with just cuts and bruises.

Takes real mind clarity and steady nerves to keep enough mindset to remember to keep the power on and the boat moving to avoid sinking from the water volume whilst the pumps take care of it.

Hats off to Robbie!

Full dive F1Powerboat 26.7.2026 West Bay Keeping up a good pace at the f1 OCRDA race on Sunday 26th July whe...

Huge thank you to Kelvin for these fantastic pictures, properly trimmed out trying to make the most of the flat part of the course.

Great weekend, Thank you to everyone who gives up there time to come and support our sport.

Ok… so it wasn’t that flat 🤣

First half of the race was great, conditions where very flat, we held good speed consistently, then we started to hit the rough, usually not really an issue for us and with some changes made to the weight distribution after R3 the boat was flying incredibly level, then it wasn’t… after an inspection last night it seems the bow tank fill point has fatigued and split on the tank itself, which meant I was greeted by a sudden gush of a substantial amount of water, A nice surprise for my legs and gentleman’s area!

We took a battering after that occurred, plenty of bruises today, broken finger… plenty of muscle damage! so a repair with some re-enforcements to stop that happening again and onto Cowes!

I am disappointed it was a weak spot I’d clearly missed, we’ve been spot on with our prep this season and finished every race without any real breakages or failings, this was our first.

We have two races left in this boat, it was only a stop gap until the new boat was ready and whilst the 2027 hull has now changed… it’s still a case of we have a new boat coming.. this time brand new and a new design so it is with a heavy heart that the VSX will be for sale after the final round of the UKOPRA championship.

I’d like to think we have proved the hull this season on its durability as a race boat, lack of competition has meant I couldn’t prove it’s consistency in pace but there’s still one more round and I’m hopeful the other boat will finish the final round and give me the opportunity to prove it will lead the competition.

The boat will come fully rigged with a selection of propellers, set up advice and ongoing support from myself and Ive no doubt Adam as well.

Whilst the numbers in 3b are low… we need people to just commit and turn up, it’s the only way it will grow, I have another 3b boat and if this boat stays in the UK I will try my hardest to put that boat out with another crew to aid the growth of the class.

It looks like we are moving upto 3C, we have been offered a very favourable deal and developing and proving new designs for racing is a huge attraction for me personally, so it’s a little too hard to say no!

Guide price is 14k, thats with Four propellers, Chart plotter, Flares, anchor, nav lights etc etc… you’ll just need to buy your life Jackets, personal strobe, helmets and intercom headsets, I’m happy to leave everything else with the boat to aid getting you kitted up.

Boat spec is:

VSX 22
Bobs Jack plate
2013 Evinrude 115 HO, around 50 hours, fully re-enforced for offshore use including saddle mounts, swivel tube, mounts, bushes etc
Smart guages
Evinrude diagnostics software and cable
Nose cone gearbox
Raymarine hybrid touch chart plotter
Twin ram side mount steering
Turtle-pac 80 litre bladder tank
Reserve 20 litre bladder tank
Single axle bunked trailer

If it’s of interest then please do come and see me, happy to give you a run out in the boat (I will be driving, unless you want to provisionally pay me!)

I’m absolutely not lying when I say it’s a tough sell… but needs must and I can’t keep on keeping boats!

R4 ready… will this be the first flat race as currently predicted?!

World Powerboat Events Ltd

Saturday 25th July

Further to the advance notice already circulated for R4 of the 2026 championship, MDL Marinas Mercury Offshore Grand Prix, we can now share with you the approved course.

Classes 1, 1L, 2 - 12:30 - START RUN + LAP A + LAP B
Class 3 - 12:40 - START RUN + LAP A

See you all in a week! 🏁🏁🏁

🏁 UKOPRA Offshore Championship 2026 ©️

Organised by World Powerboat Events Ltd 🌎
Hosted by MDL Marinas Mercury Yacht Harbour

Round 4 - 'Mercury Offshore Grand Prix' - July 25th.
Hamble |

Race Entry no. 1️⃣

Class 3B (B-26) Team JB-R

1.▪️ John Bunyan 🇬🇧
2.▪️ Luke Cloudsdale 🇬🇧

To register and enter the race, follow the link and login to your UKOPRA portal 👇
https://www.ukopra.org/login

Entry Deadline : Saturday, 18th 23:59 pm

Photo: Bunker Photography


World Powerboat Events Ltd
UKOPRA
Mercury Yacht Harbour and Holiday Park