Sport Extra – Interviewing … Mike Shelton
By Graham Merry
The Basingstoke Extra: 13 August 2003
 Hook Powerboat racer Mike Shelton will be in action this weekend off
the coast of Bournemouth and Poole along with driver Jackie Hunt as the pair
look to extend their lead in the National Championships.
It has been an excellent season for the duo and they currently lead the
championship by 476 points.
The first race this season was at Inverkip in Glasgow and was raced in
driving rain and winds gusting up to force 7. Despite this, on one of the
flatter legs the team reached speeds just over 80mph.
However, as Mike explains, it was not all plain sailing. “When it was flat
we were going really fast but being on the Clyde the sea changes every 10
minutes and on a couple of occasions both myself and Jackie found ourselves
on the deck, having been thrown out of our console positions”.
Other competitors also had their moments as an engine fell off one, another
caught fire and one hit the rocks.
The race proved a double celebration for the Hook duo, as they won their
class and also took away the coveted Stockdale Trophy for being the fastest
boat.
The next race of the Championship saw Mike come into his own as navigator on
a very tricky Ramsgate course, which saw many disqualified for taking the
wrong direction. Once again, they won their class and finished second
overall.
Their latest race was Exmouth, where out of 25 boats they finished first
overall and at one point touched speeds of 86mph. It was a closely fought
contest with the nearest rival, Stuart Anthony, who pushed his boat too hard
and turned it right over.
Mike said: “That is the danger of driving too fast when the sea is flat. We
are in a strong position in the championship but there is still along way to
go”.
The pair have been helped this season by linking up with new sponsors Wilson
Bowden City Homes and the boat is named after their new development in Ocean
Village, Southampton – Admiral’s Quay.
Mike said: “We must thank our sponsors and it has been great linking up with
them. We were around for the launch of the Admiral’s Quay development and we
even took the mayor of Southampton out for a spin in the boat and she really
enjoyed it”.
Mike, who turned 40 last week, got into the sport by accident after going to
the Windermere Records Week for powerboats.
He takes up the story: “I went along about 3 years ago and as I weighed
around 11 stone, so was not too heavy, I was asked if I would sit in the
back of a boat. Jackie drove that boat and from there I was hooked.
He will be returning to Windermere in October looking to set a new National
F1 speed record, which currently stands 86.2mph.
Mike said: “In the 80 mile Exmouth race we averaged 83mph for the whole
course which is one of the highlights of the season so far and gives us a
lot of confidence in setting a new record”.
The Hook based driver describes the sport as rally driving where the road
moves!
While most of the time everything goes to plan that is not always the case
and he picks out some of the worst experiences that can happen on board a
boat. He said: “If the nose goes under the water at speed it causes you to
head but the console, which is not very nice”. He continued: “also, if the
boat flips, it can end up on its side. This happened to Jackie and myself
and, lucky for us the boat self righted, otherwise we would have had to have
jumped clear, as you don’t want to be on the boat when it flips over
completely”.
On Saturday, the duo are racing at 1pm and on Sunday at 3pm with excellent
views from Bournemouth Pier and the beach.
The pits are at Thistle Hotel on Poole Quay, where spectators are welcome to
go over and view the boats.
After that, the pair is in action in the final round of the National
Championships at Cowes from August 19-25.
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