Enough is Enough: Torrente Calls for Focus on Safety
Fortunately last week I found myself heading home from the final race of the 2016 F1 H2O World Championship with a victory in the Grand Prix of Sharjahβββmy first win racing for the Dubai-based Victory Teamβs newly formed F1 H2O outfit. It was a great way to close out the season even though I finished runner-up in the overall standings to three-time defending champ PhilippeΒ Chiappe.
Written by Shaun Torrente
American Shaun Torrente of Victory Team won the Grand Prix of Sharjah, the final race of the 2016 F1 H2O world championship, and finished second overall to Franceβs Philippe Chiappe (read the story). Photo courtesy Vittorio Ubertone/Idea Marketing (click to enlarge).
Obviously I wanted the championship more than ever, but what matters most to me is something Iβve thought about my entire career, but especially more so this yearβββthat itβs a blessing to be able to walk away from each race and go home to see my girls. Trust me I know the risk I take as a professional racer, which is the main reason I felt the need to voice my opinion in a speedonthewater.com commentary.
While there have been several unfortunate performance boat incidents this yearβββsome fatal, some notβββtheyβve all made me sick to my stomach, enough so that I canβt sit back and bite my tongue.
Hereβs the deal, watching the tragic accident video of Jim Melley and Garth Tagge flipping their boat at a top-speed shootout in Maryland made me sad (read the story). It also made me angry. Itβs time that we as a community say enough is enough, we canβt keep losing good people.
Every time Torrente straps into the raceboat, he understands whatβs at stake. Photo by Arek Rejs/F1 H2O
Here is what Iβm proposing. With the holidays upon us, while youβre gathered with your loved ones have a serious talk with them about your intentions. Be honest with your mother, father, brother, sister, husband, wife, whoever it is about what youβre doing. The questions should be: If, or when, I wreck this boat, am I going to survive it? And what are the chances Iβll survive? I have a feeling when people have those conversations with their loved ones they will make more prudent decisions about what theyβre doing in their boats.
Iβve had this conversation with my wife; Iβve had it with my dad when I was 17 years old. We were in Waterloo, Iowa, and I was racing SST 45, itβs a 75-mph boat, Formula Light they call it. I was on pole for the qualifying heat, a quick 10-lap qualifier, and at one point in the race I was lapping the fourth-place boat. The driverβs name was Andy Morganβββhe was a rookie and he was progressing well. Anyway we were going down the straightway and I was passing him on the outside when all of a sudden his prop blew out and lost its bite and the boat took a hard right directly in front of me.
I never even had time to liftΒ β¦ I drove right through him. I stopped, unstrapped, stood up and looked downβββnot a scratch on me. Andy wasnβt so lucky. I hit him in the capsule and the impact broke every rib in his body, punctured both his lungs and he bled out that night, basically suffocating. My father wanted me to quit, he really wanted me to stop. I told him I canβt stop and that for some reason Iβm still here. And I believed that reason was to race boats.
The next weekend I got in the boat and went about my business. I remember feeling more nervous than Iβd ever been before when I strapped in that first time, but it all went away after a few laps and I was back to doing what I know.
So trust me, I understand that need to compete and try to do something that you havenβt done. Iβve been chasing my goal for 25 years to be a Formula 1 world champion. Iβm so close and Iβve been so close that I canβt stop. Iβm consumed by it but the one thing I will say is when I have the conversation with my wife and she asks if I am going to survive if I wreck, I can say yes. I tell her thereβs a 95 percent chance Iβll be fine, thereβs a 4 percent chance I could be injured and a 1 percent chance I could be killed.
During his rookie F1 H2O season in 2011, Torrente crashed his Team Sweden boat with Photo by Arek Rejs/F1 H2O. You can watch the YouTube video of the accident here.
I think about that when I hug my wife and my daughterβββthereβs a chance I might not ever see them again. The difference is Iβm not running 150-plus mph in a non-capsule βpleasure boatβ in a non-professional event like a shootout or a poker run, and stacking the odds against me. Iβm not saying these boats canβt or shouldnβt be used in an event, but I do think some speed caps and safety standards need to be established or weβre going to keep losing good people.
Do you want to show up at a poker run or a shootout, look around during the driverβs meeting the night before and realize one or two of you wonβt be there the next day? I know I donβt, which is why we need to police ourselves and do what we can to put safety at the forefront of what we do.
The safety systems exist to do these events; to build these boats and make a capsule where an accident like the one that killed Garth and Jim is survivable. I know this because I strap into one all the time. Iβve wrecked at 140 mph many times and Iβve walked awayβββmy competitors have done the same.
We also need to stop worrying about horsepower and making boats lighter, and put the emphasis on safety. We all know that if a boat is safer you can drive it to a level you didnβt think it would get to because when you wreck it, not if but when, you can be fairly certain youβll survive.
And as much as I respect the families involved, I think as many people as possible should watch the video of Garth and Jimβs accident. Itβs brutal and it makes my stomach turn, but it makes you understand what youβre dealing with when you see an 8,000-pound boat fly through the air like a paper airplane. In my opinion if it saves one life then itβs worth it.
Last but not least, we need to wake up and police ourselves when it comes to alcohol at events. We are operating high-performance vehicles and need to have all of our wits about us to do it safely. Donβt just think about yourself and whoever is in your boat but think about everyone else around you.
The manufacturers have done a great job building safe high-speed boats. That being said, the boats need to be operated by a sober driver who is not impaired in any way shape or form. Once again that comes down to us looking at our friends when weβre at these events and telling them enough is enough. The easiest thing to do is designate a driver. If you want to drink and have a good time, do it, but make sure you have a designated driver. Or better yet wait until youβre done boating for the day.
Whether youβre racing or enjoying a day on the water with friends, the end goal is the sameβββto have a good time and return home safely to our loved ones.
Related stories
Torrente Wins in Sharjah, Chiappe Earns Third-Straight F1 H2O World Title
Shootout Stars Taking Hard Look
Torrente Crashes Out Early in Grand Prix of China
Tagge and Melley Die in Potomac River Radar Run Accident
Prince and Dunphy Die in Lake of the Ozarks Accident
Four Dead Following Accident on Georgiaβs Lake Lanier
VooDoo Luck: Surviving an Offshore Race Crash
Boat Flips During Buffalo Poker Run
Sequence of the Week: McCannβs Close Call on Lake of the Ozarks
Originally published at speedonthewater.com.
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