The pilot and co-pilot of a boat that collided with rocks near Castle Islands during Sunday’s Round the Island Power Boat Race are lucky to have escaped with their lives.

A brief video clip surfaced on social media yesterday and reveals the final seconds before the C Class Batboat driven by veteran pilot Derek Simons and co-pilot Desmond DeShields collided head-on with the rocks and then became wedged between them several feet above sea level.

The boat suffered extensive damage during the mishap and had to be towed back to shore, while Mr Simons was treated for minor head and neck injuries at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital and later discharged. Mr Simons and Mr DeShields could not be reached for comment yesterday. However, sources close to Mr Simons said the veteran pilot remained in “good spirits and is resting comfortably” in the aftermath of his harrowing ordeal, which could have had far more serious consequences.

“They were very lucky and I can’t for the life of me understand what went wrong,” Inspector Robert Cardwell, of the Bermuda Police Service marine unit, told The Royal Gazette.

There is speculation that the windscreen on Mr Simons’s boat might have been blurred by the salt spray, thus reducing the pilot’s visibility as he approached the hazardous rocks. But this could not be confirmed yesterday amid an investigation into the incident launched by the Bermuda Power Boat Association.

“This was a sanctioned powerboat race and I have been in contact with the executive of the Bermuda Power Boat Association and they are looking into the crash,” Mr Cardwell said. “The Bermuda Police Service is not conducting any investigation.”

Sunday’s incident evoked memories of the 2002 race when Stuart Smith, of New Zealand, was killed after his C Class boat flipped on the South Shore.

Mr Simons, meanwhile, was only one of two pilots admitted to hospital during Sunday’s event.

Veteran pilot Craig Nesbitt suffered a seizure before the start of the race and was rushed via ambulance to hospital, where he was treated and discharged several hours later.

Only six of the 13 boats that started this year’s event reached the finish line, with the D Class powerboat driven by Steven Eversley and co-pilot Brandon Franks taking class and overall line honours in 43min 22sec.

It was the second straight year that the pair have won their class and the first time leading the overall fleet across the finish line.

• The Royal Gazette apologises for any offence taken as a result of the language used in the video by startled onlookers.