Damon Simons and Aaron Cannonier escaped serious injury in a dramatic mishap that marred yesterday’s powerboat racing season opener at Ferry Reach.

The C Class Bat Boat pilot Simons and co-pilot Cannonier lost control during the early stages of the day’s opening race and rolled over before coming to a halt in the water.

The boat suffered extensive damage to its starboard wing while its occupants emerged with minor cuts.

Both men were assessed on the scene by St John Ambulance personnel and given the OK.

However, the same could not be said for Simons’ boat, which was unable to continue racing because of the extensive damage.

Simons, who has more than 25 years of racing experience under his belt, took responsibility for the mishap.

“I’m going to say it was driver error because I knew I was pushing the boat a little more in the corner than I normally do,” he said.

“I was trying a little different set up, which is definitely working, so it made me push even harder knowing the set up was on point.

“It happened just as we came through the Pylons while we are making the turn. I was making the turn on the gas and pretty much setting up for this straight line run across the start-finish line and that’s when I noticed the back of the boat started to slide around.

“I straightened [the boat] up a bit but the right wing laid over into the water and caught and once the wing catches that’s like a rudder and so she just rolled the boat right over.”

It was certainly not the start to the season Simons and Cannonier had hoped for.

“This definitely was not the start that was planned but in racing it’s to be expected because anything can happen,” Simons said.

“You can go out there thinking you are going to have the best day and then in a matter of seconds, as you saw today, things can quickly change.”

Simons, a multiple national champion and class winner in the annual Around the Island Race, is now in a race to get his boat repaired and ready to resume racing by the next race day scheduled for July 23.

“[The damage] looks worse than it is, it’s nothing major,” Simons said.

“Mechanically the boat is fine and there isn’t any damage anywhere else but the split wing.

“We will be back out next race day if the fibreglass man can have it repaired by then and this definitely is not going to stop us from racing around the island.”

Yesterday’s racing involved three classes that competed in two 30-minute races.

Shaki Easton and Erin Butterfield claimed A Class honours in the opening race with Andrew Cottingham and former Bermuda Power Boat Association commodore Henry Talbot claiming D Class honours.

Easton and Butterfield and Cottingham and Talbot also secured class honours in the second race.