Good Boy Vodka’s Cowes Dreams Dashed As Silverline’s Come True – Speed on the Water
Originally from the United Kingdom—but having spent significant time living in the United States—55-year-old Rob Lockyer long-dreamed of winning Cowes-Torquay-Cowes, the U.K.’s most ferocious offshore endurance race. And having won five races this season with driver Scott Younger in his 52-foot, Good Boy Vodka-backed Outerlimits V-bottom powered by Mercury Racing 1100 engines, Lockyer seemed poised to do just that.
Good-natured rivals, Miles Jennings (right) posed for a photo opportunity with Scott Younger, Rob Lockyer and Alex Pratt of the Good Boy Vodka team. Photo courtesy Sarah Donohue.
But that dream ended today—at least for this year—with not one but two broken gearboxes during the 182-mile contest produced by the British Powerboat Racing Club.
“We’re a little bummed but it’s not the end of the world,” said Lockyer. “We still had a hell of a battle with Silverline and we earned the ‘first to Cowes’ trophy.
“It was rough,” he continued. “After we broke the first gearbox and we were running along at 15 mph, we had six- to eight-footers. It was big.”
The second gearbox broke 15 minutes later and left Goodboy Vodka dead in the water while still running second on one engine.
Alex Pratt, the founder of Good Boy Vodka, shared the cockpit today alongside Lockyer. Until recently, Pratt shared the cockpit of the XINSURANCE/Good Boy Vodka Class 1 MTI raceboat with Miles Jennings, who was victorious today in Silverline—a 43-foot Outerlimits with 900-hp engines—with cockpit-mate Drew Langdon.
With seven Cowes victories, Jennings claimed the winningest record from the late Fabio Buzzi, a six-time winner.
Jennings continued his habit of winning the Cowes-Torquay-Cowes offshore endurance today in the Silverline Outerlimits V-bottom. Photo courtesy Miles Jennings.
“The infamous Cowes-Torquay-Cowes race is known for being the world’s toughest powerboat contest,” said Jennings. “We beat 12 other Class 1 boats, including one with my friend and Class 1 racing partner, Alex Pratt, who was driving the Good Boy Vodka 52 Outerlimits
During their two Class 1 seasons together, Jennings shared his Cowes-Torquay-Cowes experiences with Pratt during their time in their 48-foot catamaran. That was enough to spark Pratt’s imagination and inspire the young entrepreneur to experience it for himself.
“We had a great time, a little bumpy out there, but it was awesome,” said Pratt. “And we didn’t break anything that can’t be fixed. We had fun.
“But I am most happy for Miles Jennings,” he added. “He just broke the record for the most victories in Cowes-Torquay-Cowes.”
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