Nothing like standing around in a bitter wind near a stretch of water to blow away any Patrick's Day queasiness!
Hilsea Lido glittered in the sun and the swans kept a respectful distance as the Teams gathered to race their beasts.
No doubting the best turned out boat : Nauti Buoy's craft topped the bill. It was so perfect it didn't go in the water at all (at all )
Antoinette managed the Buoys beautifully as usual (all that safety boat experience comes in handy!!!!)
Paul's mean looking red boat ('Dune') worried the competition until it actually took to the water and chugged along more like a canal boat (well Hilsea Lido is an Inland Waterway of sorts!!!)
Martin and Anto's sleek raceboat shared our frequency so there was a bit of turntaking but it kissed the buoys beautifully on the way round ;that is until...
Carly Baby showed us how to win a powerboat race. It seems to involve attitude, persistence, a well-patched up craft (now we know why!!!!!), consistently aggressive driving (OK ramming then !) and of course blatant cheating
Tony was main commentator á la Top Gear!
The Pompey kids looking on asked us when we were awarded our ASBOs.
OOD Robin snapped at everything in sight (hence the top photos on his site -see above. Wow to all of 'em Birdman!)
The 'Bucket Class' ran after the main event. This involved Andy Hightower, an extremely dangerous/highly volatile fuel source, a large bucket and a single entrant. Fire Engines stood by as this bijou craft delighted the onlookers with its flaming speed and engine roar.
The only thing missing was a warm bevvy or so....but then some of us were quite allergic to refreshments since the night before!!!
Craft were landed, emptied of Lido water and everyone steamed back to the Pub to watch a memorable victory up there in Twickers!
Excellent afternoon! They're already muttering about increasing the size of their battery packs in anticipation of the re-run!!!!!
Nice one all !!! (We'll add foties later!)
missus 
