By Floyd Christie
The speedboat racers from the Pomeroon and Bartica grasped the attention of spectators and most of the trophies and cash prizes when the 10th annual regatta and stage show was held at the Lake Mainstay Resort on Sunday.

Boat racing fans came from afar and lined the shores to witness the Bartica-Pomeroon  rivalry, in what was one of the most eventful and well attended regatta’s at the resort since the events inception, according to one of the Resorts Directors, Wilfred Jagnarine.

With over $2 million in prizes up for grabs in over 15 races the country’s top boat racers pushed their machines to the limit in the 15, 40, 90 and 225 HP categories.

But none were as successful as Pomeroonian Neil Gonsalves and Bartician Randy Bell.

The Gonsalves family and the Bellle’s are infamous for their dominance on the speed boat circuit and when Neil Gonsalves and Randy Bell met in the 225 HP races, neither managed to top the other as the two ended the day with equal honours.

At the close of the racing events , which were highlighted by the climaxing water battles fueled by the heated rivalry, Bell and Gonsalves were tied on 11 points when the points were tallied to determine the day’s ‘A’ Class champion racer.

The Bell family also came in for honours when Clarence Bell with his 90 HP engine emerged on top of the ‘B’ Class competitors and was awarded Champion racer of that category after accumulating 8 points.

The battle for supremacy on the regatta waters began with the big guns clashing in a 225 HP race, which injected anticipation for the upcoming races into the spectators.

The 225 HP drivers didn’t hold anything back as they piloted there lightning fast boats around the triangular circuit in an effort to attain the maximum three points, which was awarded to the winner of each category.

The regatta’s points scoring system also rewarded the second and third place finishers with two and one point respectively.

Randy Bell was the one to deliver the first blow to the 225 HP competitors, when he piloted his boat ‘Wave Runner’ to take the chequered flag.

Wave Runner would commonly get the first jump on the rest of the field and was always ahead of the competition banking the first turn. This advantage worked well for Bell in the first two races as Wave Runner darted into first place once again in the second of the four 225 HP races.

This would however be Bell’s last win of the day as Gonsalves in his boat ‘Czyzie Boy 2’ came back hard in the final two races of his category after experiencing some engine problems in the second race that forced him to abandon the race.

However, the early exit seemed to be beneficial Gonsalves as he was the man to catch in races three and four.

Czyzie Boy 2 looked considerably faster than in the previous races and blew by Bell and the other 225 HP competitor, Dave Scott, who also looked more competitive in his final two races, piloting his boat ‘Jaguar’.

Bell customarily got off to a speedy start, leaving his opponents in his trail of mist and spraying water, but Czyzie Boy 2 and Jaguar was not to be outdone that easily as Gonsalves won race three and Bell found himself running the waves behind Scott and Gonsalves in race four.

When the racers met in the open category, which brought the curtains down on the racing events and saw the three 225 HP competitors, along with Clarence Bell’s 90 HP ‘No Limit’, Gonsalves again took the chequered flag unchallenged.

Although placing No Limits was limited to second place in the first and missed the final of the four 90 HP races, Clarence Bell was the dominant figure in that category. Topping the 40 HP category was Dave Young in his boat ‘3:16’, while Lennox Baharally in ‘Crazy Frog’ was victorious in the Male 15 HP race.

The ladies also got into  action in their 15 HP powered boats and took the lake for a single race, which was won by Shellon Cornelius in ‘Cool Runnings’.

Swimmers took to the water for a 100 metre race. This was won by Jason King, who carted off $30,000 first prize in the process.

Speaking to Stabroek Sport following the day’s events, Jagnarine related that he was very pleased with the “turnout” and the timeliness with which the events ran-off and concluded, according to plan.

Jagnarine added that he expects the regatta to be even bigger and more exciting the next time around.