Scream-it.com finds the winning streak in the Isle of Mann! RACE HEAT 1 Isle of Mann Saturday 13th September Perfect racing conditions for us...we get out early and go for a walk across the promenade in front of Douglas Bay. Still licking our wounds from our Liverpool penalty and subsequent disqualification for causing a Red Flag in 'that fateful race' when I threw Nikki out of the boat in front of Albert Dock. Now a new race was in front of us and issues put into history. Scream-it.com started on the inside line alongside Negotiator. We stormed toward the first turn bouy in front of the crowds, foot flat to the floor, and got their 1st! This is becoming an almost expected event but following testing we knew we were going to be fast. We left the rest of the fleet in our wake and basically carried on for another 11 laps before taking the chquered flag in our first 1st in front of the whole 22 racing fleet. Then guess what? We entered Douglas harbour and the continuous alarm sounded the end of our engine mounts...how about that for luck? So 20 points and a replacement engine organised with Honda for the next day. SUNDAY FINAL 1 - Rough as rats and carnage all round! In the morning we tested our replacement engine and speed was well down. A quick fix should prove to raise the speed. But as the visibility in Douglas Bay dropped fast and the seas mounted a 1.5m and growing swell I have to confess we were not best prepared. But out we went and started to find ourselves falling further and further behind. Huge bucketing drop outs gave me very bad spinal compression as I hadn't taken foam under my seat and as the race progressed I suffered massive pain in my back and neck. Not sure what the result was but in we came after seeing Buildbase overturn, Premier Cru nearly go over in the start run and Claygate expell his crew. I reckon we were hitting 3m swells at stages and with a boat that seemed under powered we just suffered! SUNDAY FINAL 2 - RG enjoys the comfort of the local hospital! Crews decided that despite the conditions it was voted to go again into the swelling bay and race again. I have to confess I crawled out of the boat after the first race and dreaded going out to race again but points were important as Real Player broke his engine and was out. The penalties had dropped us massively from 2nd to 8th in the Championship so here was our chance to regain position and get back into the top 5. That we did. In the process we broke the boat, nearly broke my back and the taste of hospital food was inevitable as I lost feeling down one side and took a trip to Noble Hospital in an ambulance bound up so tightly i couldn't move which is a consumation devoutly to be wished :-( I would like to thank the staff at Noble Hospital for their care. The feeling came back through the night, advised that the stroke they told me I may have had was not happening which was a huge relief to me. And guess what? We ended up 5th in the Championship. After only our second season racing at this level I have to say we are thrilled as we now know we are serious contenders for the Championship title in 2009! Cheers Rich and Nikki Onboard Video of Plymouth collision:
