Friday 11th Sep 2009 saw Team Pulsar-Racing attempt the Irish National and UIM World Powerboat Circumnavigation of Ireland & Islands (excl Rockall) record. The 704 nautical mile circuit was completed in 19hours, 9mins and 50 seconds beating the existing record by 4 minutes. (The existing RYA ratified record did not include all the Islands of Ireland designated under the UIM record course, and so was 22 miles shorter)

Team Pulsar Racing crew Justin Mc Inerney, Derek Stanley and Greg Marsden co-skippered their high profile endurance RIB ‘Milwaukee Seawolf’ which had been launched at RIBEX earlier in the year.

The purpose built Quinquari-Humber with proven Raymarine, Shockwave, Suzuki and Succorfish technology that has brought the team previous success in RB08 and other events delivered yet again demonstrating its resilience in some ferocious conditions building on the team’s reputation as offshore endurance specialists.

Even though the team broke the record by only 4 minutes they did not have it all their own way. Some extremely difficult conditions were experienced throughout the attempt almost costing them the record. ‘Milwaukee Seawolf’ crossed the start line off Mizen Head, Cork at 03:00 with Dennis Dillon, the official ISA and UIM Record keeper conducting the underway honours. Due to an unexpectedly poor sea state compounded by darkness the attempt was already in jeopardy very early on with challenging conditions continuing all the way across Galway bay. However, undaunted and clearly uninterested in defeat, a reputation that Team Pulsar is now well known for, they continued to battle on.
Crossing Donegal Bay conditions began to improve and time was made up through to the refuel stop at Cushendall Slip in Antrim. A technical difficulty at Cushendall caused a 30 minute delay but conditions continued to be favourable down the east coast with ‘Milwaukee Seawolf’ achieving speeds in excess of 50knts even with an additional 1000L of fuel on the deck. As the Team rounded Carnsore Point in Wexford conditions worsened with significant chop developing and a confused sea slowing progress. The run to Waterford was steadily eroding confidence in achieving the target time of 19 hours and 13minutes or less and tension levels in the RIB were steadily rising. Seas from Waterford to Cork gave no quarter and were physically draining for the crew due to the severe impact ‘Milwaukee Seawolf’ was experiencing. Passing Ballycotton and with Cork in site it was calculated an average of 40knots would need to be maintained if the Team were to achieve anywhere near the nineteen hour target and at this point with only one hour of daylight remaining the target seemed all but impossible. Stopping briefly at the Cork buoy to switch fuel tanks Greg took the helm from Justin for the final sprint to the Fastnet Rock and Mizen Head. The conditions and light continued to deteriorate and now in total darkness speeds were reduced and crew fatigue was also beginning to take its toll due to the physical stresses been encountered. The Humber however seemed to get its second wind and the sweet music of the Suzuki’s remained reassuring to the last.

The Team rounded the Fastnet Rock and headed for the Mizen with minutes to spare. The lights of the Mizen in sight the only thing was to go for broke. Navigating purely on instruments and pushing 40 knots to the accompaniment of groans and the odd scream ‘Milwaukee Seawolf’ smashed through an unforgiving sea to cross the line in 19hours 9 minutes and 50 seconds breaking the unofficial record by four minutes. The Team arrived back in Crookhaven to rapturous applause, a Hot whiskey and a welcome meal in the local Pub. Family and friends who had spent the entire day monitoring every second of the days progress on the satellite tracking system onboard from Succorfish were there to welcome the Crew home. Comments about cutting it close were heard all around but the Team concluded that a lot could be accomplished in 4 minutes.

Team Pulsar Racing will compete in The 2010 Round Ireland Offshore Powerboat Race taking place from the 5h to the 12th of June.

Records Achieved:
UIM Class 1 Up to 30Ft, Irish National & UIM World Record - ISA & UIM Ratified
UIM Overall Irish National & UIM World Record – ISA & UIM Ratified

Contact:
Justin Mc Inerney Team Pulsar Racing +353 87 2534849

Email: justin@pulsar.ie

Team Pulsar Racing has raised over €16500 for its nominated charities during the Round Britain Campaign in 2008.

It has been a great pleasure for us as a Team to have had the opportunity to support the chosen charities and on behalf of all those that contributed to our fund we would like to say a warm and very big thank you indeed.

The Charities that benefited from your donations are:

The Grace Nolan Foundation in Cork.
The Above & Beyond Charity in Bristol.
The Breast Cancer Unit at the South Infirmary Hospital, Cork.
The Army Benevolent Fund in the UK.
Theodora’s Children’s Trust in the UK.

The Team has met with each of the charities involved and made a presentation to each of them. Meeting all those involved and seeing the great work that they do, and how much every contribution is valued has made it all worthwhile.
We thank all our Suppliers, Sponsors, Friends, & Families for their kind donations.
Congratulations to you all.

For further information on our charities please visit the charity section on our website.

Team Pulsar officially launched their new Humber Quinquari RIB at RIBEX this weekend.

"The boat has been designed from scratch by John Price at Quinquari Marine and Team Pulsar. It has been equipped with the latest equipment from people like Shockwave, Raymarine, Humber & Suzuki, with a few expert tweaks from the Team at Quinquari” said Justin Mc Inerney.

The exhibition at RIBEX certainly generated a lot of interest with almost everybody impressed by the console design from Quinquari & Shockwave. The ICE console (Integrated Control Environment) is a new concept in shock mitigation and represents a first for European RIB design.

Fully suspended, the console is designed to allow for maximum performance in even the most extreme conditions. It introduces the latest in boat building technology which allows a modular approach to the layout.

The console is equipped with the latest electronics suite from Raymarine including a pair of their C140w widescreen displays, their new digital Raydome and AIS 500 Transceiver, VHF, and GPS. This, along with all of the usual marine electronics is console mounted and allows for a plug and play approach. The console was fabricated on the ground before installation and simply placed on deck for mounting once completed. Quinquari avoided any under deck cabling, taking all transom connected cables to the console in a flexible ducting system that facilitates easy servicing and removal.

Seawolf is heading to Ireland after RIBEX for sea trials prior to the attempt at the world record for circumnavigation around Ireland.

Team Pulsar has worked closely with Humber Quinquari over the last few months and has taken delivery of their new boat Seawolf. Delivered on time and complete, the Team will take the boat to Portsmouth for next weeks RIBEX exhibition for the official launch.

We would like to extend a sincere thanks to the Team at Quinquari marine, including the dogs, as well as the technical support and assistance from Raymarine, Suzuki, Shockwave and Neptune Communications.

See you at RIBEX.

Greg Marsden, Team Pulsar’s technical director and veteran of the RB08 Race has agreed a suite of electronics for the new boat commissioned from Quinquari Humber. The Team has worked closely with the Raymarine technical Team to put together a state of art suite of electronics, including some new products being launched this year.

“We have had in-depth discussions with the technical guys at Raymarine who have listened patiently to our requirements and they have come up trumps” said Greg. “They have recommended we use their new C140w widescreen displays combined with their new digital Raydome and AIS 500” This offers the team the latest in what the market has to offer combined with the rugged durability of the Raymarine products. Greg has chosen twin C140w screens, the digital Raydome, AIS 500 Transceiver, and Twin 281E VHF radios.

Team Pulsar evaluated what was available on the market from the various suppliers and found that Raymarine offered the most comprehensive range combined with simple easy to use instruments that are built to withstand just about any sea conditions.

“We need extreme levels of reliability and nobody compares to Raymarine” said Greg. We would use nothing else.

The recent London Boat Show saw the official announcement that Team Pulsar and Suzuki would work together again on their new boat commissioned for the 2009/2010 season.

It was during the mammoth Round Britain Offshore Powerboat Race 2008 that Team Pulsar first experienced the now legendary Suzuki DF300 outboard. Team Pulsar had chosen to go with Suzuki on both their boats “Wolf” and “Vampire” with a 3rd Team privateers “Mud, Swell & Beers” and the Somertons also choosing to use the Suzuki’s.

Completing over 1400 miles, all 3 engines performed utterly brilliantly without a single failure of any type.

“Think about that” said Gordon Sutherland of Aquatec Marine Engineering who worked with Suzuki to provided service and backup for all 3 engines during RB08. “These engines did a cumulative total of about 4200 miles at full throttle and we did not have to lift a finger, it’s fantastic and clearly illustrates the reliability of the Suzuki engines” he said.

Greg Marsden, Team Pulsar technical director and co-skipper did not even have to give it a second thought when it came to deciding for the 2009/2010 season.

“Reliability, Reliability, Reliability” he said. Suzuki proved to be so good during the RB08 event. Endurance racing is all about long distance reliability. “OK, speed is obviously important” said Greg, “but we need to combine that with the reliability and only Suzuki can offer that”.

The Team at Pulsar have obviously put on a little extra weight over the Christmas as they have decided that Wolf is not the boat for the Round Ireland Record attempt in 2009.

The Team have decided to revert to type and have again returned to the proven pedigree of a Humber Quinquari Hull and build. John Price and the Team at Quinquari have obviously gotten used to dealing with the Irish boys and have reluctantly committed to doing the build. “It’s not like we need the business you know” Price said, Mc Inerney will drive me mad again, and my mobile phone bill will skyrocket.

“This just shows what sort of relationship we have with Quinquari and Humber” Mc Inerney replied. “We trust them enough to get the job done brilliantly and to be fair to John and his Team he is willing to take on board some suggestions from his customers before he explodes”.

The Team has decided to remain with the tried and tested formula of a Quinquari Humber hull, this time using there 10m Offshore combined with Suzuki Engines and Raymarine Electronics.

Shock mitigation will again form an important part of the whole project and Team Pulsar have chosen Shockwave as there partner for the build. “Its simple really” said Mc Inerney, “We will be competing over very long distances and in the case of the record around Ireland, long time frames, and so we need the best the market has to offer in shock mitigating seating”.

The Team has evaluated various shock mitigation options available on the market and have opted for the new Shockwave ICE console as the best possible solution for this type of extreme use.

This is a fully shock mitigated console construction with 3 seats offering fully seated protection and state of the art design. “We have used Shockwave products before during the Round Britain Offshore Powerboat race in 2008, and we consider them to be the market leaders when it comes to functionality, durability, and design. Currently, there is nothing else in the market that comes close” Mc Inerney stated.

Skydex and Shock Mitigation are launching the new Skydex Impact Mitigating Boat Decking, IMBD, at RIBEX 2008. The combined technical knowledge of Skydex Technologies USA and the marine expertise of Shock Mitigation Solutions UK have created IMBD.

John Haynes, Operations Director of Shock Mitigation said, ‘A major objective has been to develop a range of deck cushioning to reduce impact and vibration on RIBs and High Speed Craft. We are very pleased to have worked closely with Skydex to achieve this.’

The unique concept of Skydex is to cushion impact by using geometry instead of air. Skydex reduces vibration and impact by ‘tuning’ the type, shape and thickness of the material depending on the application.

On the deck of a RIB there are approximately 60 hemispheres or urethane springs under each human foot. Skydex IMBD is a very stable surface to stand on so crews will not be aware of it at rest or in flat sea conditions. As the sea state changes the Skydex springing is constantly reducing vibration. The Cross Hatch top surface has excellent grip even when wet.

From working closely with military and professional users in the United States Skydex know that their 30mm IMBD works really well on the deck of high performance RIBs. This sector of the high speed craft industry is very demanding and likes a simple solution wherever possible. IMBD can be fitted on a new-build or as a retro-fit solution.

Skydex IMBD is on the deck of Wolf, an 8.5m Metre Humber Quinquari RIB entered in The Round Britain race. Justin Mc Inerney of Team Pulsar said, ‘This is just what we need on the deck. We expect a broad mix of conditions around Britain and I know what I want to be standing on’.

Hugo Montgomery Swan, owner of RIB International, and Paul Lemmer are taking a 4 metre Avon RIB around Scotland this year. They have fitted IMBD to this small RIB as they know they will be standing for much of their trip and want to reduce the effects of impacts from the deck.

For further information about Skydex boat decking visit the Shock Mitigation display alongside of Hugo’s Avon RIB in the hospitality marquee at RIBEX from 9th -11th May 2008.

The Crew of Wolf spent a very pleasant few days in Wales this weekend.

It is not the easiest thing to say but we have to take our hats off to our Welsh Boat Builders. We now have a great boat that We are confident will be the subject of very many tall tales over the years to come.

Technically the boat is a triumph, and no matter what we asked Quinquari to do, John Price and his Team were willing participants. It is very rare indeed to come across a company who are involved of course to make some money, but who were really in it for the fun.

The flexibility, consideration, good will and good humour experienced during the build is not to be found any where else. We visited many excellent Boat Builders, all of whom possessed great Technical ability but whom were found wanting in their willingness to be flexible and quite frankly their ability to dream.

Wolf is a beast. The workmanship and build quality reflecting the ethos at Quinquari Marine of building what the customer wants and doing it with a large dose of Welsh Humour and to be fair a shed load of Beer in St.Davids

To All the Staff, Families, Partners, Dogs, Kids and Crew at Quinquari we say a hearty congratulations and thank you and we look forward to competing in their boat Wolf this summer around the UK.

Thanks All.

Team Pulsar’s Wolf will take part in this years annual Kinsale to Wales RIB Run. “It will be a great opportunity for us to properly sea trial Wolf and ensure that the boat is set up correctly for our Round Britain Race Campaign” said Justin Mc Inerney, Co-Skipper of Wolf.

“The great thing is that the organisers of the RIB run have agreed to allow us to join them for this annual jaunt across the Irish Sea and to enjoy the support and company of so many other boats. It is an ideal opportunity and should be great fun as well”

Details of the 5th Annual Rib Run from Kinsale to Milford Haven have been announced at a Press Reception held in the Trident Hotel, Kinsale on the 29th of February

On April 24th next, up to 80 crew and 20 Ribs (Rigid Inflatable Boats) will attempt to cross from Kinsale to Neyland marina near Milford Haven in a sponsored endurance passage of 300nm to raise funds for the Royal National lifeboat Institution’s, "Train one, Save many" campaign.

Over the last 4 years the Rib Run has raised over €220.000 for the Lifeboats and the South Coast trawler Tragedy appeal, with last year bringing in a massive €95.000.

Chairman Ashley Smyth, from Bandon, said "He hoped that the public who have given so generously to us and the Lifeboats over the last 4 years will be as generous as ever in supporting the Crews that enter this years arduous event." He went on to say that all crews pay their own expenses ensuring that every cent raised goes to the charity.

"Last year, when the Rib Run went to Aberystwyth, some crews were at sea for 15 hours in rough conditions arriving after midnight."

He went on to thank the Supporters without whom the Rib run could not take place, in particular Excalibur Ribs of Carrigaline for their continued technical help before and during the event, The Trident Hotel, Castlepark Marina, Bob Bateman, Bandon Office Supplies and the Helicopter Pilots & Owners who give their aircraft freely.

Anne Sweeney, area organiser for the RNLI, thanked the group for once again choosing the Lifeboats as their chosen charity and went on to say "Most lifeboat men and women no longer come from the traditional fishing backgrounds of old, but are now drawn from a wide cross section of professions and trades. It is therefore extremely important that the RNLI train the volunteer crews to the highest standards for the safety of themselves and the people being rescued"

At 8am on the 24th April, the Ribs leave Kinsale. It promises to be quite a spectacle for those watching from shore as they are led out of the harbour by the Kinsale Lifeboat.

Further details can be obtained at www.kinsaleribrun.org and sponsorship card from Ashley Smyth 087 2751862, Jon Mathers 086 2588714 or any committee member.

Quinquari Marine in Wales, the company contracted to build “Wolf” for co-skipper Justin Mc Inerney have lived up to their word and will deliver “Wolf” on-time on the 11th of April.

Major celebrations will be had in Wales that weekend as the Team at Quinquari finally get to say good bye to the boat. “Building the boat was not a problem for us” said John Price but “that bloody Irish man was a complete pest”.

Joking aside the Crew of Wolf will gather at the full moon for the initial launch and will spend the weekend sea trialling the boat before returning to Ireland for race preparation.

It is going to be a busy few weeks as we then head off to Wales on the Kinsale to Milford Haven RIB run on the 24th, so we have some time to get the engine loosened up and away we go.


Thanks to all at Quinquari. A Job well done.

Many of us dream about making a living from boats and boating. Imagine it; spending all day creaming about on an azure blue sea, seagulls whirling on a slight breeze, the wind through your hair and, the best bit, getting paid for it!

It all sounds so easy on paper, or in the summer when the water is buzzing with traffic, and when the world and his wife
are wanting to spend time on the water, whether they have a boat of their own or not.The reality is, that scenario happens for about five days each year, which is why so few people make a go of living the dream.

Greg Marsden spotted a niche, though, where he felt he could sustain a living at the same time as feeding his lifelong hunger for boats and the sea. He saw there was a need for specialists in the area of event support, and so he started to make a cunning plan for his retirement income once he was paid off from the forces. For his day job, Greg was a Major in the Royal Engineers. The Engineers have Rigid Raiders, so his army job already involved boats, and it was a logical extension to continue this alliance into his civilian life.

With an eye on this specialist event support, Greg had a 6.8m Ribcraft built which he ran for the first year of operation. However, a film crew with all its gubbins needs quite a bit of room, and the 6.8m wasn’t quite big enough. It saw him through that first season, though, and he gained useful contacts and contracts. This year saw the launch of Vampire, a 7.8m Ribcraft rigged with the latest in electronic navigation and communications equipment, and fully coded.

With clients out on the water, their safety and comfort are paramount. Vampire is fitted with 2x2 jockey seats forward, with forward grab rails. These can be removed to provide a clear working deck area. The main seating is on Ullman carbon-sprung seats with heavy damping; it is the jarring that they are designed to take out with the damping, and it works brilliantly. The springs are merely there to reload the seat. The boat was commissioned in April 2007 and was used as support for the Gumball Rally, Raymarine Round the Island Race, TV, filming and the odd day charter. One of the main sources of income is from corporate days on the water, with a chance to helm under supervision. On these days the client’s group gets a taste for what is on tap, with Greg at the helm first. The video camera that is fitted on the A-frame has night-vision capability up to a range of 15m, or daylight recording with automatic switchover according to light intensity. At the moment they are working on a system to get this camera recording onto a boat-mounted hard drive. Once that is up and running they will be able to offer clients a DVD of their trip!

Where Vampire differs from other commercial RIBs is in her electronics systems. Th e dash is fitted with a Raymarine E80 display unit. There is nothing unusual about that, you are saying. No, there isn’t, but the fact that the systems on this boat are all integrated to point to the one display is: everything from the AIS radar, the DSM sounder, plotter, platinum navigation system, right through to the engine-management monitors. Every piece of electronics has been cleverly integrated to work with the E80 screen. It wasn’t easy, apparently. I only eat spaghetti - I don’t try to knit with it and then get electronic signals to flow along it - so I can only guess at the complexity of the wiring diagram. It must look like a road map of Mexico City!

When running this kind of operation you have to have every situation covered, so WiFi electronic ‘LifeTags’ are issued to each person that steps aboard. For on-board communications, helmet intercoms are fitted for the pilot and co-pilot. In addition to the AIS radar there is a Seame Electronic Radar Refl ector, which amplifi es the refl ected signal to make a proper echo on the screen of other vessels. In a low-profile craft such as a RIB, it is all too easy to be lost from view in a big sea, and so your echo trace can be dismissed as clutter as it pops up occasionally.

On the performance front, the Suzuki 300hp has been set at the standard x-height, and she runs a 20” pitch propeller, which is underpropped a touch quite deliberately. This is to provide a healthy margin for error for when inexperienced clients are at the helm. This safety factor is reinforced by setting the engine-rev limiter to 5800rpm, even though Suzuki are happy for their flagship to run at up to 6300rpm. With this set-up Greg can give the wheel to someone and be sure they won’t break his boat, not from overgunning her anyway.

The set-up works fine and, having monitored the fuel consumption over the course of the season, it doesn’t matter how the boat is driven; she returns an average of 2 litres for every notch on the log, and she has racked up a fair few. Without a doubt, Greg says, their best job this year was acting as cover for the Gumball Rally. The leg from Ramsgate really tested her and the crew, and showed up the value of AIS.

They set off from Ramsgate for Ostend in a Force 6. From Ostend they ran up the coast towards Rotterdam. Because of the weather they were running late, and coming up the river at night, tired and beaten up, they could see on the screen all the fast ferries and other commercial traffic and knew their movements. There is no speed limit on the river, and having the AIS function to identify the other traffi c and what they were doing, together with the rolling road, enabled them to navigate the 12 miles upriver, through the melee, at 40-odd knots with confidence. They eventually tied up on their berth at about midnight. Plans for next year are slightly different. The boat will still be available for event support and normal work, but in addition they are down for competing in the Round Britain event, running in the RB4 class. For that they have some re-rigging to do. The engine will be raised and they will run a four-bladed prop to transfer the power. The forward seating will be removed, and in its place they have a couple of 70-litre fuel bladders to put into a chequer plate box. The fuel lines will be pre-rigged to draw off the entire system; they have worked out this will give them a good 300 miles at 40 knots. Greg is realistic about their chances, but endurance races are not necessarily won by the quickest boat. Generally they are won by the boat which maintains the best overall average. Vampire is not average, neither is Greg, and that is why he has done what the vast majority of people fail to do: mix business with pleasure.

Simon Everett - RIB International