Pilot Blog – Pierre Colpin

The #57 Centaurian Yachts pilot talks about his first year with the Belgian-based Aquasport P1 Evolution class team

When I look back on my first season in Powerboat P1, I can only be satisfied. When I started the season in San Benedetto del Tronto in Italy, I only had 30 minutes of training and testing with the Outerlimits SV40 that the #57 Centaurian Yachts team had swapped to for the 2008 season.

Fortunately, I immediately had a very good feeling with the boat, and team boss and throttleman Nico Huybens and Frank Hemelaer gave me a lot of confidence, which was incredibly nice of them. So, when we scored third place in the very first PowerPole session of the year, we were more than happy.

Unfortunately, in the first few races of the season, we had a lot of bad luck – not just with technical problems, but also the collision we had with the #66 Cranefields Wine team in the second round in Marseille. As a ‘small and modest’ privateer team, the impact from that gave us a real ‘thwack’.

When we were finally rid of the all the misery – with many thanks to Nico Van Akeleyen of Mercury Belgium – the boat really started to go well. We finally achieved a third-place finish in Virgo in Spain. We were incredibly happy to stand on the podium in front of so many spectators – it was unimaginable how many there were. That was exactly what our team needed, and that’s what we all compete in this sport for.

In the last event of the season in Portimao in Portugal, our boat was too short for the heavy conditions and rough seas on the Saturday, but we were once again able to score points with a sixth-place finish, meaning we ended the season eighth in the points standings.

It was a shame – with the boat now going so well – that they cancelled the Sprint race on the Sunday and the two races in Bahrain, because we could have done so much better. We were only 10 points away from sixth place in the standings, so – if we didn’t have all the problems this year – we certainly could have done much better, and been higher in the rankings.

It’s strange, but, even now, I’m not really feeling like it is the end of the season. I’ve learned a lot this year – it has been very instructive – and therefore I’m already looking to participate next year with the experience I’ve gained this year.

It has been such an enjoyable experience, I’m definitely looking to come back in 2009. To compete better with the other teams, we’d benefit from having a longer boat like the Outerlimits SV43 or the Fountain. As ever, though, everything depends on money and sponsorship and I’m in contact with a couple of possible investors to join our team. But it is so hard in a period of economic uncertainty.

I have to thank our team manager, Catherine, for ensuring everything was in order, and Nico and Frank for their belief in me. Also my sister Vivy and my wife Natalie for their support. And last, but not least, to Mike Fiore from Outerlimits for their support after the collision in Marseille. I just hope to see you all next year.