l e g i N & Michael’s Ocean Race Boat
Janet Wilson
Lucasville Legends is published by Lucasville Media an imprint of JL dub Media, Inc. 9255 Towne Centre Drive, Suite 500, San Diego, CA 92121 No part of this publication may be reproduced in whole or in part, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission of the publisher. For information regarding permission, write to JL dub Media, Inc. 9255 Towne Centre Drive, Suite 500, San Diego, CA 92121 www.Lucasville.com Lucasville is a registered trademark of JL dub Media, Inc. Printed in the United States of America Editorial Credits Jean-Marie Van Lancker, President UIM Pleasure Navigation Sarah M. Crookston, Reading Specialist Photo Credits Degiorgio, Melvin. 6-7(pilots), 12b, 13a, 23b, 30b Guillerno, Marcello. 21c GoPro. 10, 15, 17bc, 18-19a, 21b, 27b, 28b Henderson, Sarah. 12a, 22a, 32-33 Moorkens, Peter. 8-9, 16b, 26ab, 27c, Back cover Runza, Roberto. Cover pilots, 14, 16cd, 17a, 22b, 23a Overlaet, Karel. Cover boat, 2-3, 11a, 16a, 21a, 31ab Sammut, Claude. 5, 13b, 29b Scerri, Dennis. 6-7(background), 30a Sieveke, Sven. 18b, 19b, 20ab, 24-25abc, 26c, 27a, 28-29a
Copyright © 2011 by JL dub Media, Inc. All rights reserved.
Publisher’s Cataloging-in-Publication data Wilson, Janet L. Nigel and Michael’s ocean race boat / Janet Wilson. p. cm. ISBN 978-0-9834110-3-1 Series : Lucasville Legends. 1. Motorboat racing --Fiction. 2. Motorboat racing--Juvenile fiction. I. Series. II. Title. PZ7.W6843 Ni 2011 [Fic]
2011906759
The publisher does not endorse products whose logos may appear in images in this book.
l e g i N & Michael’s Ocean Race Boat Janet Wilson
Hi! My name is Nigel Hook. I am the throttle man of the #77 Lucas Oil boat. The team has just built a new race boat. It is called SilverHook. 6
Hi! My name is Michael Silfverberg. I am the driver of the #77 Lucas Oil boat. This is a story about the first Grand Prix with our new SilverHook race boat. 7
Ocean Two Engines Type: Sterling Model: Class 1 Horsepower: 725 each Fuel: Petrol - 2 tanks Capacity: 260 gallons
Rudder used to turn the boat
Two Propellers used to push the boat forward
8
Air Scoops used to force air into the engine compartment to cool the engines
Two Trim Tabs adjustable flaps used to balance the boat when racing
Race Boat Safety Cockpit Restraint: 5-point harness Oxygen: 2 SCUBA tanks Canopy: reinforced roll bars Windshield: 1-inch thick Hull aerodynamic design and built very light for top speed Model: SilverHook GP48 Material: carbon fiber Length: 50 feet Top Speed: 120mph
Boat racing is the only motor sport that requires two people to race the vehicle. The racers are called pilots. One pilot is the driver and the other pilot is the throttle man. There are no brakes on our boat, so working together is an important part of boat racing. 9
Every year we practice escaping from a capsized boat.
They flip me over and water goes up my nose!
These air bubbles make it hard to see. Where am I?
Okay, I found the air supply. Thumbs up!
I count to five and then unbuckle the harness.
I’m glad that is over! Now it is time to think about our race.
10
The race course is built using huge buoys that float in the ocean.
White buoys are used for the start/finish line. Yellow is used for right turns and red is used for left turns. We must keep yellow buoys to our starboard side and red buoys to our port side.
One lap is almost five miles. This course has one left turn.
This Grand Prix is two races. The first race is the Sprint Race and the next day is the Endurance Race.
11
Race Day 1 Sprint
Today is the Sprint Race and the ocean is rough. The crew checks the engine compartment and tightens the nuts and bolts.
The boat weighs over 12,000 pounds. A crane is used to put the boat into the water. These are the wet pits. 12
Our crew puts a red tape up for each lap. Today’s race is the start plus 10 laps.
Each time we finish a lap, we pull off a tape. This allows us to see quickly how many laps are left in the race.
Soon the race will begin. Michael and I wonder how our new boat will perform. Will all of the crew’s hard work pay off? 13
Michael and I put on our safety equipment. Our helmets have radios so that we can hear each other over the engine noise. We will talk to our crew during the race.
These are fire-resistant suits. The life jackets will inflate if their cords are pulled. 14
The yellow flag is up! It is time to go to the starting line.
We are anxious to see how SilverHook runs. I know the other boats are very fast, but will our new boat design be even faster?
15
Green flag! I hit the throttles. Wow! The sea conditions are rough. Here we go!
16
The acceleration is fantastic!
My anxiety has disappeared. Now I am excited! We have built a fast boat and now we must focus on winning this race.
We can see that #33 is right behind us. This is going to be a great race!
17
We are at the first buoy. I throttle back (just a little bit) and Michael turns the wheel. We must work together to get around the corners.
I hit the throttles and say, “Nice driving!” The crew tells us that we are five seconds ahead of the next boat.
18
The gauges are hard to read. This rough water has everything inside the cockpit rattling like crazy ... including our eyeballs. Hang on! Full speed to the next buoy!
Nine more laps to go. Can we win this race? 19
Umph! That was a hard landing. I think I heard something break and now the boat is hard to control. What has happened?
Oh no! The starboard trim tab is not working. The other boats are starting to catch up. 20
Rats!
We finished in second place today, but we still have the Endurance Race tomorrow.
21
Race Day 2 Endurance
Our crew chief reviews the lap speeds from yesterday.
Great news! SilverHook had the fastest time in the first lap.
During our team meeting, the crew talks about the work they did to repair the boat. SilverHook is ready to race today, and so are we. 22
Michael and I pose for a photograph. Nice ... but we are thinking about the race.
Race officials told all of the teams that there are 6-foot waves in the ocean today. That sounds like a great challenge for us!
We are confident as we head out to the starting line. We know our crew has carefully prepared the boat. 23
Green flag!
24
We are in the lead!
25
It looks like this Endurance Race will be another close race between #33 and #77.
Whoa! Hang on ...
... this is going to hurt!
Wow! It is very rough. The back hatch is coming loose. It is slamming open and shut. The crew is talking about it on the radio.
26
Michael and I don’t care about that hatch! All we care about right now is how will we be able to stay in front of #33!
The boat is running great, but we are beginning to feel a strange vibration. That could be bad news!
This race is not over yet. All that matters is whose boat will cross the finish line first. 27
Yes! We did it. We take the checkered flag.
28
All of the hard work by the crew was worth it. SilverHook has won her first Grand Prix!
The crew is waving and cheering for us!
29
We do TV interviews. Michael explains the vibrations and how the boat was running.
We sign autographs on the way to the podium. 30
The podium! This is the best place in the world.
Michael and I are very happy! We cannot wait until our next race. 31
32
33
Vocabulary acceleration [ak-sel-uh-REY-shun] - to gain speed aerodynamic [air-oh-dahy-NAM-ik] - designed to reduce drag caused by air flow or water flow anxiety [ang-ZAHY-i-tee] - a tense desire; eager anxious [ANGK-shuhs] - feeling worried and excited at the same time capsize [KAP-sahyz] - to turn bottom up; overturn fire-resistant [FAHY ri-ZIS-tuhnt] - something that is totally or almost totally unburnable Grand Prix [grand PREEZ] - a very important competitive event horsepower [HAWRS-pou-er] - a unit to measure the power of an engine inflate [in-FLEYT] - to expand with air or gas port [pohrt] - the left-hand side of a vessel, facing forward starboard [STAHR-bohrd] - the right-hand side of a vessel, facing forward vehicle [VEE-i-kuhl] - a conveyance that transports people or objects vibration [vahy-BREY-shun] - the feeling created by something shaking
Collect Them All!
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Nigel Hook and Michael Silfverberg, pilots of the #77 LUCAS OIL boat, compete in the Ocean Grand Prix.
Over 100 mph in 6-foot seas!
start Grand Prix engines ocean throttle man rudder port supercharger accelerate GO! propellers sprint crash green flag helmet cockpit endurance
SilverHook
autograph
speed
roll cage
buoy acceleration fuel driver podium fans life jacket 10 laps
starboard