65 knots and third place: Ian McCulloch takes up offshore racing

From gin to offshore racing

After selling his gin company in 2023, Ian McCulloch was looking for a new challenge. He didn’t choose a classic race car, but an offshore boat – thanks in large part to his neighbour Paul Lintott, according to Motor Boat & Yachting.

McCulloch, who turns 66 and was previously commercial director at ITV, already had a background in fast cars, motorcycles, personal watercraft and sailing. But competitive powerboating was new to him when he and Lintott began looking at the UKOPRA championship.

Classic Don Aronow boat instead of an American performance boat

At first, he was drawn to a modern American performance boat, but a restored Dry Martini listed for sale at auction eventually won out. The boat is a 35-foot Don Aronow design, previously raced by Italian Carlo Bonomi in the 1970s and 1980s and fully restored in 2010, according to the article.

The team ultimately chose a 2006 XS2000 Challenger, with 440 hp Yanmar diesels, a two-speed gearbox and surface-piercing propellers. The boat had previously been used as a chase boat for superyachts and was converted for racing at Landau Marine in Southampton.

On the first runs, speeds reached 65 knots when conditions allowed. The debut race ended with third place in class, despite a dramatic impact that tore off the windscreen after the bow dropped into a wave. In the second race, a 100-mile run around Poole Bay, they again finished third in class, according to Motor Boat & Yachting.