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Powerboat racing could be returning to Bristol
It used to be called the ‘Widow Maker’ – Bristol’s Floating Harbour course was so dangerous with its high dock walls, tight turns and strong winds that there were seven fatalities when powerboat races was held there between 1972 and 1991.
The races, however, could now return, Bristol mayor Marvin Rees revealed in his inaugural mayoral lecture on Thursday evening.
is needed now More than ever
“In sport, Bristol has punched below its weight,” Rees told a sell-out audience at the Wills Memorial Building as part of a Festival of Ideas event.
“I am determined to increase activity, participation, access and elite sport in the city. And I can share tonight, we are in discussions to bring powerboat racing back to the docks.”
Crowds of up to 250,000 people used to watch the races, with all the small boats having to leave the docks for the two of three days of racing which included the Embassy Grand Prix on the Sunday evening – the equivalent of Formula One in motorsport.
The one-and-three-quarter mile course had 14 rescue boats, eight ambulances and 14 doctors on call, with races broadcast on television.
In 1990, French driver Francois Salabert died when his boat hit the dock wall at 80mph.
His was to be the last death as the following two years no sponsorship for the event could be found, causing it to disappear from Bristol until the surprising announcement from Rees.
Main photo of powerboating in Bristol from 1984 by Paul O’Connor-Boyd. Click here for more amazing photos.
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