12 July 2009

Raymarine ambassador Shelley Jory makes history in P1 powerboat racing

Shelley Jory and her co-pilot Audrienne Cianter have thanked Raymarine for its part in helping them win the Turkish Grand Prix in the Powerboat P1 World Championships – by keeping them under the speed limit. 

Jory said that fitting a Raymarine ST70 as a repeater in her P1 powerboat before the Turkish Grand Prix helped the fast and furious all-female team keep under the Super Sport 85 mph speed limit and not incur penalties that would push them from the podium.

“The speed limit is rigorously observed by the judges for our safety.  Going over 85 miles per hour in an open canopy boat is madness, but the engines can do it.  It’s not easy to be as fast as possible when racing, yet stay under the speed limit.  For every ten seconds we are over, we incur a one minute penalty” explains Jory.

The pair had been penalised in their first Grand Prix Super Sport event in Malta, and the five minute detraction pushed them to fourth overall.

Jory and Cianter knew that having immediate access to highly accurate real time speed was vital.  It was particularly important in Istanbul as the Bosphorus waterway, where the racing took place, has eight knot tides, which would either slow the boat down or risk taking them over the speed limit.

As Raymarine product ambassador, Shelley knew she could put her faith in the accuracy available from Raymarine’s ST70 instrument.  This would immediately calculate speed over the water and the effects of the tide giving the team vital information at all times. 

Jory’s chief mechanic contacted Raymarine’s engineering support team in Portsmouth prior to the race in Turkey to ensure the unit was properly calibrated for pinpoint accuracy.  Jory says, “The support we got was amazing.  My mechanic Trevor was on the phone from Turkey to Portsmouth, getting advice and assurance.  Audrienne and I then developed our race strategy.  She would watch the ST70 like a hawk and throttle to keep us to within a hair’s breadth of the top speed.  All I had to do was steer, stay on course and avoid other boats!”

The pair did, however, get one speed penalty.  “We took our eye off the ST70 to trim the boat and the next second we were over the speed limit.  It cost us one minute, but that was all” admitted Jory.

Having become part of the first all-female team to compete in P1, and now with her first win under her belt, Jory has her sights firmly set on repeating this success in Italy on July 3.

For more detail about Raymarine products visit www.raymarine.com

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