1. A Quieter November on the Water
After another great race season supporting powerboats, November sees a quieter approach to race support.
It is more relaxed, focusing on Cornish Pilot Gigs.
Bude Gig Club is organizing a 3rd winter series.
It made sense to invite the Highfield Patrol 600 again. It performed well in the first 2 years.
2. Clubs Gather for the Winter League
Clubs from as far away as Derby attended the first of this year’s winter league.
They joined 11 other clubs at Roadford Reservoir. It turned out to be the only dry day of the week!
They started early. This ensured a simple setup as they were on site when the sun rose.
This gave some great images and views across the lake. It promised a good day ahead.
3. Highfield Patrol 600: Three Roles, One Boat
Race after race started from the Patrol. The umpire team took up the rear seats. Meanwhile, the media team took great pictures.
They could happily sit in the bow as the lake was as flat as a tarmac road. To be fair, if you live in Devon, it was flatter with fewer holes!!
The safety team took the middle of the boat.
This meant the Highfield could fill 3 roles afloat once again.
This situation causes minimal disruption to the wildlife and helps keep event costs down.
4. Mastering the Gig Race Start
Gig racing starts are an interesting challenge. Trying to get 12 or so boats to line up in a straight line is a communication master class.
Each boat wants the front spot. It wants to be just moving and not stationary when the Go order is given.
Boats will happily push the line to get where they want to be.
The race umpire has to juggle wind, water movement, gig coxes not listening and crews trying to get an advantage.
5. Extra Eyes, Extra Safety
A safety team with umpire experience provides extra support. They offer a second line of support to the starter.
Nothing beats having extra trained eyes in the boat. They add a voice where needed.
With a base radio in the boat, they always explain the risk of not following the race directions to coxes.
6. Looking Ahead: Flags and Timed Starts
Usually, in powerboat racing, red and yellow flags inform racers of issues.
They indicate actions they need to take. Going forward, I’m expecting a different approach for flag use within gig racing.
It will be more akin to ball sports. Yellow will be a warning and red will signify a DQ!!
Timed starts could be a fun approach to introduce. There is no need for the start shenanigans.
The start responsibility could be moved to the cox’n. Perhaps a blue or black flag is needed for penalties.
The good news is the Highfield Patrol already has flag holders on the rear of the jockey seats.
We’re ready to go if the organisers run with it.
There are three more races in the series. Fingers are crossed that they run so smoothly. They hope for such good weather.
Proud to share that Highfield is a good Friend of RIBs ONLY.
Specs
| Model | Highfield Patrol 600 |
| Overall length | 6.17 m |
| Internal length | 4.49 m |
| Overall width | 2.58 m |
| Internal width | 1.32 m |
| Dead rise | 26° |
| Tube diameter | 54 cm |
| Number of air chambers | 6 |
| Maximum load* | 1,200 kg |
| Maximum engine weight | 30 kg |
| Maximum people | 15 |
| Boat only weight** | 762 kg |
| Fuel tank | 140 l |
| Maximum hp | 150 hp |
| Engine shaft | XL Single |
| Design category | C*** |
**boat, console & standard seating only
*Maximum load includes crew & cargo – it does not include engine weight, fuel or water
***discover what this means