Steven Meireles and co-pilot Aaron Daniel had an eventful outing on the water during the final round of the 2025 National Championship.

The duo’s day took an unexpected turn when their boat rolled over while negotiating the final corner in the opening race in the Great Sound.

“Brandon DeSilva, Ryan Resendes and myself all wanted first place and we were really battling and unfortunately I pushed my boat to the limit,” driver and boat owner Meireles told The Royal Gazette.

“I went into that corner pretty fast and pretty tight and rolled the boat over. It happened so fast that you have no time to even think about it and don’t even feel yourself rolling. You just hit the water and within seconds are trying to swim back up.”

Fortunately, Meireles and Daniel walked away from the mishap with only minor injuries while their boat was undamaged.

“Aaron got some bruising to his side and I got bruising on my thigh, foot and leg,” Meireles said.

“Nothing was wrong with the boat and I wasn’t even concerned about that. I was worried about getting back on land and getting checked because my leg was killing me.”

Janae Nesbitt, the Bermuda Power Boat Association commodore, is relieved both competitors avoided serious injury.

“I am glad there were no serious injuries from the incident and that both driver and co-pilot are doing good,” she said.

It wasn’t a case of all gloom and doom for the duo as they still managed to clinch the National Championship B-class title despite their ordeal.

“We still got second place in the race and were able to win the overall National Championship (B class) on points,” said Meireles, who is also a past D-class national champion.

Resendes and co-pilot Anthony Bailey were the only team to complete the six-lap race, which was abandoned after Meireles and Daniels’s misfortune, and they were lucky to have avoided a similar fate at the exact location in the second race.

‘’I had a close encounter on that same corner,“ Resendes said. “It’s such a tight corner so I eased off as I was already in front and had a good gap.

“I held it the rest of the race and was the only boat that actually crossed the finish and did the six laps before Steven had his accident.”

Resendes and Bailey had to come from behind on the way to claiming class and overall bragging rights on the day.

“We started the race in second place and took the lead on the second lap and held consistent ground so I didn’t have to push the boat as hard,” Resendes said.

“I would like to thank the Bermuda Power Boat Association for doing an awesome job. It was a good turnout and a fun day.”

Shane Medeiros and Joshua Holder claimed A class honours on the day and were also crowned as overall champions.

The team of Andrew Cottingham and Henry Talbot also achieved an impressive double having claimed D class honours on the day as well as the overall title.

Jody and Tony Carreiro were the only boat competing in C class this year and were not involved in last weekend’s National Championship season finale.

Association commodore Nesbitt has hailed the event, held in conjunction with the Celebrity Charity Race, as a success.

“Overall, the Celebrity Charity Race and National Championship Race Three was a success and it was a beautiful day for racing,” she said.

“I am proud of every one of my members who came out to make the day a success because without them there will be no racing.”