A powerboat that sank during last month’s Rubis Around the Island Race has been recovered from the ocean floor.

Bermuda Power Boat Association commodore Janae Nesbitt confirmed that attempts to salvage the B class boat driven by Damon Morris and co-pilot Anthanay Steede had been successful.

“The boat was retrieved a few days after the Around the Island Race,” she told The Royal Gazette.

In a separate incident, driver Ryan Resendes and co-pilot Makinday Johansen intentionally ran their B class boat aground to avoid sinking after it was damaged and began taking on water on the South Shore.

The boat was promptly removed from Tucker’s Point Beach while Johansen was taken to hospital for treatment after complaining of a sore rib. He was released the same day.

The Royal Bermuda Regiment Coastguard and BPBA launched separate investigations into the two incidents.

“The investigation into those two incidents is still ongoing,” a coastguard spokesman said.

The BPBA’s preliminary investigation has revealed that the boat belonging to Resendes and Johansen suffered damage, which resulted in a hole in the bottom.

“Beaching the boat saved the boat and allowed for the co-pilot to get the immediate attention needed,” Nesbitt said.

“Johansen is doing good. There were no broken bones, just badly bruised, and he was released from hospital.”

Nesbitt confirmed that the circumstances surrounding the sinking of Morris’s boat remained unknown.

This year’s 53-nautical mile circumnavigation of the island was plagued by misfortune as six other teams saw their title hopes go up in smoke after being forced to retire from the race through mechanical breakdowns.

The team of Andrew Cottingham and Henry Talbot claimed D class honours and led the entire fleet across the finish line at Ferry Reach in a time of 40min 25sec, competing for the first time in their new 24-foot Twister catamaran.