Powerboat driver Alf Bontoft lost his life after Blitz overturned just off Egypt Point during the Cowes-Torquay-Cowes race on 29th August 1976.
Thousands of spectators had gathered around Cowes and along the Solent to watch one of Britain’s best-known offshore powerboat races when the afternoon turned to tragedy.
The Embassy-sponsored Cowes-Torquay-Cowes race had seen powerful boats leave Cowes at speed before heading out towards Torquay and back. Shortly after the start, Blitz ran into trouble in rough water just off Egypt Point, suddenly veering before overturning and throwing Bontoft into the sea.
Rescue launches reached the scene within minutes. Bontoft was pulled unconscious from the water and brought ashore, where an ambulance was waiting. He was later transferred to Haslar Royal Naval Hospital in Gosport, but died from severe head injuries.
The 2 other crew members survived. Co-driver Mike Woolford suffered a broken arm, while navigator Vic Jenkinson escaped with comparatively minor injuries. Both were taken to County Hospital in Ryde, treated and later discharged.
With nobody at the controls, Blitz continued across the water after the crash, collided with a spectator boat and eventually ran onto the beach, badly damaged.
Those watching from the shore described the powerboat lifting clear of the water before rolling over within seconds. A Royal Navy helicopter was also sent to the scene, although rescue crews had already reached the overturned craft.
Bontoft had only recently taken over Blitz, a boat already familiar to offshore racing followers after winning the Cowes-Torquay-Cowes race 6 years earlier under its previous name, Miss Enfield II.
Investigators began gathering statements from witnesses, competitors and race officials as efforts were made to establish exactly what had happened off Egypt Point. Attention also focused on the number of pleasure craft following the race, with organisers later confirming that tighter controls would be introduced to keep spectator boats further away from the course in future.
