Association held a meeting to prepare for Sunday's 31st Round the Island race.

The controversy surrounded various safety regulations, which have been introduced for pleasure craft by the Department of Marine and Ports. There was also the issue of a couple of Evinrude engines which are reported to be over-sized.

"There was a bit of heated discussions at times, yes,'' said commodore Craig Burt yesterday.

Things threatened to get out of hand at the meeting at Admiralty House, which was attended by about drivers, co-drivers, mechanics and others -- an estimated 100 in total -- involved in the sport's biggest race of the year.

Burt disclosed that some of the suggestions put forward by the committee in the interest of safety were not always well received by some drivers during the near two-hour meeting.

He, too, got caught up in the heated exchange, though he did say that some of those involved came to see him the following day to clear the air.

"We'll do anything in the interest of safety,'' Burt said. "The bottom line is the interest of the club and the sport of powerboat racing comes first, before anyone's ego.

"We are trying to run the race as safely as possible. Powerboat racing is a very dangerous sport. It's easy for people to sit in the background and complain.'' The new safety regulations call for equipment such as flares and VHF radios to be carried on each boat as well as 200 feet of rope for the boats 20 feet or longer.

Some drivers argued that the extra equipment would invariably result in heavier boats, though, according to Burt, everyone agreed on the need to carry radios.

Last year's overall champion, Andy Stoneham, was generally in support of the new safety regulations, but disagreed with the need for longer rope and the idea of painting a white cross on helmets to identify the rookie drivers.

"All the safety stuff seems in line to me, except for the 200 feet of rope because we're not running in 200 feet of water,'' he said.

"Some of the things are in the interest of safety and, like the rules of the road, you have to abide by them. Everybody rebels against law and order.'' Stoneham also disagreed with the painting of a cross on the helmet of rookies -- those with less than five races to their credit.

"Helmets are not supposed to be painted, which is my understanding from the helmet manufacturers,'' he said.

Burt said using vinyl tape is an alternative.

One of the arguments against the carrying of flares was the possibility of them going off accidentally. Also, there is no experience required to compete in the race, or licence for that matter, which is of concern to some of the senior drivers.

"Race boats are classified as pleasure boats and we have to conform to safety regulations,'' Burt explained. "We have carried VHF radios for the last three or four years.'' Scott Johnson, one of the senior members in the club, will be the official scrutineer on race day, responsible for checking the boats before they are allowed to participate.

"There have been some objections to the way he's going to scrutinise the engines,'' said Burt, who will be one of the competitors himself.

"There are some things we are trying to do in the interest of safety.

There were some good recommendations by people and that's what we're open to.

"We don't want to hear constant criticism instead of solutions. The executives can't do it by themselves.'' On the issue of some Evinrude engines being over-sized, Burt said that a protest could be lodged after the race, along with a $50 protest fee.

"If someone wants to protest they have the right to do it if they feel that strong about it,'' the commodore explained.

"But they have to put up $50 and have to pay for a mechanic to take the engine down.'' One or two Evinrude engines in class D were accused of exceeding the allowed cubic capacity in over-sized pistons.

Stoneham sold the boat he won in last year with Timmy Boyles to Burt and will be racing this year in a new 21-foot Douglas skater.

"It's basically the same boat except for a different colour,'' he said.

Boyles is set to move up to the `S' class as throttle man for Troy Burgess in his 25-foot custom cat Wide Open .

The association's executives had a meeting last night to discuss some of the concerns and today will confirm the entry list for the race.

"All the big guns are confirmed,'' said Burt.