Diary
Team Raymarine Welcomes in th New Year with Party and Prizes.
26 Jan 2006
When many people slow down after the Christmas and New Year, Team Raymarine have been partying hard throughout January! Shelley and I have been thoroughly enjoying celebrating last season’s successes at a series of parties and events, culminating in the glittering Honda Formula 4-Stroke Awards Dinner at the Savoy on January 13th, and we thought we would share some of the excitement with you…
Both Shelley and I attended the opening days of the London Boat Show at ExCel where we were on hand to launch the RYA’s new Offshore Racing Handbook and to help on the H4FS stand. Shelley had a particularly early first day at the Show as she was live on the radio from 6am, for her first reporting job for BBC Radio Solent. Shell went live from the Daily Mail stand and interviewed guests including James Gower, Marketing Manager of the London Boat Show. Both of us loved seeing so many of you at the show – we look forward to seeing you again when the season begins in June!
The pinnacle of the Boat Show for us was unquestionably the YJA Yachtsman of the Year Award Ceremony on the 6th January. We were staggered to be shortlisted for this prestigious award, especially when this put us in the exalted company of Dame Ellen Macarthur and Ben Ainslie OBE! Amazing! The spectacular dinner was held at Old Billingsgate and we were very appreciative to be invited by Raymarine. As was widely expected, Dame Ellen was the eventual winner, but Team Raymarine were honoured and grateful to be in the final three…maybe next year!
After the excitement of the Show, Shell and I geared up for the Honda Formula 4-Stroke 2005 awards which were held last Friday at London’s Savoy Hotel. The awards dinner celebrated the championship’s 2005 season, and was the first meeting of competitors, sponsors and organisers since the final 2005 rounds in Guernsey on September 10/11.
I don’t think either Shelley or I have come down to earth from such an incredible evening. We felt so fortunate to have so many family, friends, sponsors and supporters there with us – it was a very happy night! Karen Waterfall had, as ever, organised the evening perfectly, and we all enjoyed the champagne reception, three course dinner and dancing, in addition to the all important prize giving! First, second and third placed teams in both the 150hp and the 225hp series were presented for the first time with prestigious ‘Sportwave’ watches, courtesy of the series’ timing sponsor, Ebel. The watches are absolutely magnificent, and both Shelley and I will treasure them as a very special memory of our amazing 2005 season.
In addition, our very own version of Ant and Dec, hosts Martin Sanders and Steve Curtis, rewarded the Rookies of the Year (Heights of Abraham), the 4 Nations trophy winners (US AGAIN - HOORAY!!!) and the team with the best prepared boat (Cider Daze). They also announced the winner of the closest shave of 2005…awarded without question to Claygate 225 for their death-defying moment in Liverpool. And as if Shelley and I hadn’t won enough awards that evening, we were then presented with prizes – for our achievements by Rory Power of UKOBA! What a night!
Both of us have talked at great length about what made Friday such a memorable evening. First and foremost, it was all being together again. It really struck everyone there what a close and very happy bunch we are in Honda Formula 4-Stroke. For Shelley and I, our standing ovation when we went to collect our championship prize was a moment we will never forget. Both of us were in serious danger of doing a Gwyneth and got a real lump in our throats! All in all, it was an incredible night.
Have a look at the photo gallery in images of the great photographs that just show what a fantastic time Shelley and I have been having.
And work now starts on the new season. Shelley and I have had a number of exciting invitations and offers in recent weeks as we enter 2006. First of all, we are delighted to announce that Crew Clothing is our Official Clothing Sponsor for the new season. We are delighted to be wearing their clothes and look forward to working with them throughout the year. We will be sporting our new team clothing when we open the Sports Boat and RIB Show in Southampton at the beginning of May – we hope we will see some of you there. And for regular updates on what we are up to, there are now more places to follow us! All our reports and news will now be found on www.teamraymarine.com. Yes – our website is up and running, and is seriously smart! Thank you so much to all those at Wight365 who have made this possible. Furthermore, Libby will be writing a regular column throughout the year for Motor Boat and Yachting, and this will be found on www.mby.com. Team Raymarine have gone fully 21st Century! So there is plenty to look forward to and we can’t wait to see you along the way. We are really looking forward to the 2006 season…but, my goodness, it has a hard act to follow!
Happy New Year and Lots of Love from Shell and Lib x
