Classic Gee still making waves

For only the third time in 40 years, the Round Britain Offshore Powerboat Race is taking place, and one of the main contenders is a boat which took part in the inaugural race.

First staged in 1969, then repeated in 1984, the latest version of the event is a

1,600-mile, eight-leg tour, starting in Portsmouth last Saturday and concluding on Monday.

The 2008 race, featuring more than 50 boats, has been fraught with difficulties. In the first leg alone, 10 boats failed to complete the test and one sank without trace. Then the leg from Plymouth to Milford Haven had to be abandoned due to nine-metre waves off the coast of Wales. This year, in a throwback to the past, the boat holding a two-hour lead in the intriguing historic category has as much history as the race itself.

To be eligible for historic racing, boats must be more than 20 years old and capable of only 50 knots. Gee, at 40 years old, is the most senior member of its class, and also has the unique distinction of having competed in the 1969 race.

The boat was originally commissioned by Edward Greenhall, a retired racing driver. Gee actually led that first Round Britain race, only to retire with fuel problems.

In 2001, Chris Clayton became the owner and custodian of the boat and he, along with brothers Mark and Paul, carried out an extensive refurbishment to get it race-ready - at a total cost of around £150,000.

At the start of this year's race, Gee was battling for supremacy with Blue Marlin before the German boat sank. Clayton, 47, from Surrey, said: "You had to feel for them, especially as the boat designer was on board when it went down.

"But we were really going for it. It was good fun to see the Union Jack up against the German flag, and then down goes the Bismarck!"

Gee's crew have also come to the rescue of one of their rivals. Before the Inverness to Edinburgh leg, they sacrificed a night's sleep to help the aeroplane pilots aboard 747 get their boat ready. The two boats were then enjoying a tussle when rope became entangled in 747's propellers and Gee's crew came to the rescue again, diving in to cut the rope free before towing the boat to safety.

Should Gee get past Edinburgh there will be another nod to the past, as Clayton explained: "Although Gee competed 40 years ago, it never got further than Dundee.

"There was a lighthouse that could not see any boats apart from ours, because it was out in front. As we go past that lighthouse, we're going to sound our foghorn. We're going to finish this time - and we're going to win."