Last updated at 21:28, Thursday, 04 March 2010

IMAGIN something that can accelerate from 0 to 100kmph in less than four seconds; has a top speed of more than 140mph; can corner in excess of 90mph with drivers contending with g-forces 4g. Now imagine this on water. This is the world of F1 powerboats. Diver Steve Wrightson, from Gleaston, gives us an insight into the most spectacular watersport in the world

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LIKE F1 cars, for every race there is an infrastructure of mechanics, technicians, drivers, timing and support staff for F1 powerboats.

But being on water, there is a specialist type of rescue team – a team of divers called The Osprey Powerboat Rescue Team.

The team began 35 years ago when members of Staffordshire Sub Aqua Club were asked to attend a powerboat meeting at Chasewater Powerboat Club.

Those members were not impressed with the rescue procedure the club had and set about creating what would become the Osprey Powerboat Rescue Team.

At present the team has 24 active members – drawn from all walks of life and all parts of the country. Each member is highly motivated and trained and each contributes in their own unique way to the team.

Steve Wrightson, who lives in Gleaston, is part of this team.

He explains: “I have been recreational diving for about 20 years and four years ago I was asked by a member of Windermere Powerboat Racing Club to help them out when they raced at Barrow Docks.

“This involves sitting on the rescue boat waiting for an incident to happen.

“Unlike car racing, where the marshals or stewards sit on the outside of the track, in powerboats you are in the middle of the track and the boats race around you. Many a time, I am happy to say, nothing happens but other times I have had to rescue drivers who have crashed or rescue boats before they sink. I also cover the World Water Speed Record attempts at Coniston every November, where boats from all over Europe compete to set the fastest speed for their class.

“But last year I was asked to join Osprey Powerboat Rescue Team which covers the F1 powerboat races and I applied for probationary status, which lasts for a year and if found acceptable by the team’s members, I will be voted in as a full member. 2009 is my probationary year.”

The selection process to become an ‘Osprey’ is rigorous and long. Firstly a prospective member has to be a qualified diver and show enthusiasm and willingness to stick around for a season or two and learn at many cold, wet and far-flung powerboat events in the UK.

“This year I have been to a number of UK events with the Osprey team and was fortunate to be picked to go to China for a week in October, to cover two F1 races in Liuzhou. It took almost 24 hours travelling to get to Liuzhou. It’s a city veryseldom visited by Westerners, so to have the F1 teams arrive was certainly a major news item. Everywhere we went, people wanted their picture taken with us – it was certainly something different.

“The races were held over two days on the Liu River in front of tens of thousands of fans and watched live by an estimated TV audience of 26 million in China alone.

“Fortunately there were no major incidents this time but you feel physically beat up after a race as you are sat on the rescue boat, in the middle of the circuit, wearing full rescue kit of wetsuit, miniature air tank and cutting gear, watching the race and waiting for something to happen.”

Race day is very similar to the F1 car races – with the Osprey team being out on the water for the full day in case of any incidents. The race boats have an hour in the morning for free practice and to iron out any running problems. They then have a 45-minute qualifying session to get position of the start line. The starting line is along a jetty with all the boats angled towards the first corner. When the lights go green, the 20 boats accelerate hard towards the first corner but have to hold their line until the first corner – after that its open racing. The fastest boats are lapping the back markers within five or six laps on a mile circuit.

“The races are only 30 minutes long but it seems like an hour,” adds Steve.

“There is a great camaraderie not only in the Osprey team but throughout the whole of the F1 teams who race. The F1 drivers know that if there is an accident, we are putting our lives on the line to help them and they appreciate everything we do.”

Although not a massive sport in this country, F1 powerboats is the fourth most popular televised sport in the world.

The Ospreys are the only team of its type in the world to specialise in high-speed powerboat rescues and they attend every race in the F1 calendar around the world – Russia, Finland, Portugal, China, Qatar and United Arab Emirates.

A container containing two rescue boats and all the team’s equipment is in transit for most of the year, being shipped to each race place. No rescue is ever quite the same as another and the team have to react quickly at every incident.

The biggest concern of all the racing drivers is that they will be trapped in their boat after an accident, risking either drowning or suffering brain damage.

All Osprey members are qualified sub-aqua divers and carry equipment to cut drivers free from their wreckage. They are also trained in first aid, under the supervision of the team doctor. Four minutes under water can mean brain damage, but the team guarantees to be at an accident within 30 seconds.

During an F1 race, Osprey has two rescue boats on the water, located at opposite ends of the race course.

The team operates purpose built, high speed rescue craft and a crew of four on each – a driver, a radioman/wetman and two divers, of which Steve is one. The rescue boats have a drop front design which allows the bows to be lowered and a casualty to be floated in by the divers who will have entered the water upon arrival at the crash scene.

The rescue boats also have a crane at the bows to enable the boat cockpit of a trapped driver to be pulled out of the water to be able to breathe air. The boats carry special lifting bags – deployed by attaching to a sinking boat, and then inflating from compressed air cylinders – to prevent loss of the boat or engines as well as to keep a trapped driver above water.

Once the injured driver is on the rescue boat there is an advanced on-board medical kit which allows the Osprey team to totally support the ventilation and circulation of a severely injured driver – while protecting the neck and spine with collars and long-board.

“I have now been asked to go to Qatar later this month to provide rescue cover for another two races,” says Steve. “It sounds glamorous but in reality it isn’t. You start work at 7am and don’t finish until early evening unpacking the rescue boats, checking all the rescue kit and setting up the course prior to the races. And then on race days, you are out on the course all day. When it’s all over, you have to pack everything away again. Its extremely hard work but something I enjoy. But I couldn’t do any of it without the support of my wife, Clare.

“She has supported me through all of the selection process, for which I am extremely grateful.”

First published at 13:10, Monday, 16 November 2009
Published by http://www.nwemail.co.uk