A summer family outing attending powerboat racing at Ferry Reach exceeded Lawson Williams Jr’s expectations by far.

His initial intent was to lend support from the shoreline to his daughter, Sayla, from the shoreline as she made her debut in the Bermuda Power Boat Association’s junior class.

But the occasion became even more of a family affair when Williams received a last minute invite from a friend to co-pilot his boat in what would be his very own debut in the sport.

“Shane Madeiros sent me a message asking if I was going to be there in St George’s with my daughter that day and that he was looking for a co-pilot if I could jump in,” Williams Jr said. “So of course I jumped in and ran with that.

“My daughter had always planned on racing while I was a last-minute thing and we were both making our debut that day.”

With the event already proving to be special, father and daughter made the day even more thrilling by marking their debuts with podium finishes.

Dalton E Tucker Primary School student Sayla posted three third-place finishes competing among the juniors in the one-design GT15 monohulls.

“It was fun and exciting,” Sayla said.

“I was a little nervous at first but I just took it slow and then slowly put my foot further down on the gas pedal.”

Williams and pilot Madeiros tasted victory in A class competition.

“Being my first time I just had to make sure I was on the same page with Shane and just figure out exactly what he needed from me,” Williams said.

“High speeds in a boat are not new to me. But doing it with multiple other boats around was a completely different experience; just having to look out constantly for other boats, spectators and racers, and then making sure my pilot knew where everything was.”

Watching each other compete proved to be a special treat for Williams and his daughter.

“Watching her progress in every race was all really cool,” he said. “She did not want to get out of the boat after.”

Sayla added: “It was cool because of how fast he was going and both of us racing the same day.”

Having been bitten by the racing bug, the nine-year-old plans to carry on competing.

“I want to continue my development as a racer,” she said. “I fell in love with the sport when I was younger. I remember going out in my uncle Drew’s [S class powerboat racer Andrew Cottingham] race boat and I thought I’d just try it out one day and see how it was.”

As for his own future in the sport, Williams said: “I have no plans of continuing. It was sort of a one and done thing. But if anybody ever calls me and they need a co-pilot, then I’ll jump in.”