Top remote control boat racer Charles Simmons says racing is about meeting new friends and having fun, and a chance to represent Bermuda in United States competitions.

With over 50 racers in Bermuda thriving on local competition, Mr. Simmons has used competition in the US as a chance for a cultural exchange on another racing platform.

"I've been competing since 1997, averaging two races a year. At least every year I've got a trophy. On race days, Bermuda gets representation. I wear a shirt with Bermuda across the front and tell people about the Island.

"Every time I go away I think I've represented us well. Every place I make new friends. It's more about the people, I have a lot of good friends and we have a lot of fun," he said. "I'd like to thank them, my wife Andrea, and my Tennessee racing crew."

Although some residents of Stock's Harbour in St. David's have complained about the noise level of the boat's engines during Sunday activity, Mr. Simmons says racers are aware of the disturbance.

"Major organisations in the USA and Europe have noise restriction levels. Guys here are working on a muffler which does not restrict the two stroke engines with tuned pipes, but does reduce the noise," said Mr. Simmons.

Mr. Simmons, who came second in the Georgia State Championships and finished third in the High Points Georgia and South Carolina Championships last year, says sport competition in the United States has changed in the last five years since the advent of computers and the Internet.

"Competition is stiff. People can e-mail to the manufacturer's doorstep and purchase state of the art technology. Boat designs are being perfected on autocad programs. You have got to race; I feel consistency and perseverance are what keep me going."

Typical racing speed for the boats is 80 miles per hour, but boats can go even faster. "In a straight line their top speed is 126 mph. An average race involves six laps on nitromethane fuel imported to Bermuda," said Mr. Simmons.

Simmons remembered a friend's clipping of a 1985 Mid-Ocean News article about remote control boat racing. "Racing has had a foot in the Island for the last 15 or 20 years. My uncle Wesley Wilson and throttle man Derek Simons competed in the American Power Boat Association in 1988 and were the first Bermudians to win a US number one National Title in the stock outboard class in the sport.

"They raced a 24-foot Catamaran Skater, which was my inspiration to continue in a similar vein on a more affordable scale with remote control power boat racing," he said.

His latest success was at the Jackson Tennessee Shoot Out Regional Race on June 21 and 22. In a completion of 100 boats, Mr. Simmons came first, second, and third in three out of five classes in the race.

When asked where he hoped to go with remote control power boat racing, Mr. Simmons said, "My ambition is to one day compete in the US Nationals and to try and get close to a US One National Championship title."