Steve from Boatshed Falmouth dropped in on the Abu Dhabi round of the Formula 1 power boat circus run on the Corniche Breakwater. Single engine, one man boats, skimming across the warm blue water under the gaze of the Emirates Palace Hotel, where rooms, well, suites, will set you back around $5000 per night.
Teams are generally from countries as diverse as Azerbaijan and China but also include private teams, notably, the Mad Croc Woodstock Team.
The race boats are pretty much one design, running 2.5 litre 2 stroke Mercury outboards developing a staggering 425 hp. 0-60 mph is knocked off in around 4 seconds with top speeds touching 140 mph. Racing is fast and furious, often with boats air bourn and occasionally in full contact with each other.
Team Qatar emerged as the victors of this round with Team Abu Dhabi as runner’s up. Qatar and Abu Dhabi sit on 20% of the world’s natural gas and 10% of the world’s oil respectively. Clearly, very useful assets to have in any motor sport team.