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Sail-World.com : The resurrection of ‘Team 3’
The resurrection of ‘Team 3’
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The Offshore Superboat Championships staged off Redcliffe in 2008 will long live in the memory of ‘Team 3’ owner Adam Gilbert and the boat’s crew that day, Steve Nugent (driver) and Leigh Trevaskis (throttles).
Seas were boisterous, but not dangerous, however the ‘Team 3’ catamaran, travelling at 90mph (145km/hr) ‘tripped’ when coming off a wave, spun out when one sponson dipped and sent the boat around more than 45 degrees.
The front was totally ripped off and the end result for Team 3 was a boat completely written off.
Fortunately, the crew escaped injury.
Sealed bulkheads within the boat prevented it from sinking and much of its rigging was salvageable.
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'Its engines are now happily pushing a mate’s pleasure boat around on the Gold Coast,' Adam said.
It’s taken Adam, now president of the Offshore Superboat Championships, some searching and some patience, but ‘Team 3’ is on the way back courtesy of a former Victory team boat, a boat which won a Class 2 World championship just a few years back.
Steve Nugent will again take the wheel with Kiwi Travis Thompson joining him aboard as throttleman.
At present, the new boat, designed by the legendary Michael Peters, is undergoing cockpit strengthening to meet the stringent safety standards demanded by the Offshore Superboat Championships.
Two new MerCruiser engines, naturally-aspirated, fuel injected V8s of 525hp each, are standing by ready for installation and will be linked to SCS drop box surface drives.
This will be the third boat to carry the name ‘Team 3’.
In February, 2009, ‘Team 3 2 took to the water and in 2010 contested the New Zealand Offshore Powerboat series, completing all races and covering more than 800 (1287 km) miles of racing, finishing second outright for the championship.
Adam eventually sold that boat and it was during his NZ visit that he opened negotiations to acquire the former Victory rig now being prepared as ‘Team 3.’
It will carry the same bright blue colour scheme as its predecessor.
The crew was unable to have the boat prepared in time for the opening round at Newcastle )April 30/May 1), but is confident of making it to the start line for round two off Mackay, North Queensland, over the weekend of June 25 and 26.
'To say the boys and I are looking forward to Mackay would be an understatement,' Adam declared.
'We’ve got a proven hull and reliable engines and we’re looking forward to giving the Supercat Lite Class a real shake.'
by Bob Wonders
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http://www.powerboat-world.com/index.cfm?nid=83171
4:34 AM Thu 5 May 2011 GMT
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