Injury in Waihola powerboat event

An investigation has started into an incident in which a female member of a boat crew received serious injuries during an annual powerboat marathon on Lake Waihola at the weekend.

Race convener Ian Spencer, from the Milton Boat Club, said the crash had shaken everybody involved in the event, especially as serious injury crashes during the marathon series were such a rare occurrence.

Mr Spencer said the Invercargill woman was crewing the C Class boat of Invercargill man Gary Sexton, when it was involved in a "serious broach" and sank during the first lap in the eight-lap second heat of the race.

In a broach, a boat suddenly veers and pitches forwards and sideways, often rolling dangerously and capsizing.

Mr Sexton, who received broken ribs in the crash, was an experienced driver and a previous champion in his class.

The woman, who remained in Dunedin Hospital yesterday, was a friend of Mr Sexton.

"Unfortunately, this was the woman's first time out with him."

It was estimated the boat, named Pure Insanity, was travelling at about 125kmh when the crash happened.

Conditions on the lake were good, and why the boat broached would be unclear until both it and the motor, which were retrieved after they sank, had been assessed.

Mr Spencer, who is also the president of the New Zealand Boat Marathon commission, said a paramedic who was crewing on a following boat, helped stabilise the pair within 30 seconds.

By the time they were transferred to another boat and brought to shore, an ambulance was waiting.

A report had already been prepared for Maritime New Zealand, which would also do its own report on the incident, he said.

The annual race on Lake Waihola is the fourth in a five-race series. This year was the 35th year the race had been held on the lake.