The 2017 Rubis Around the Island Power Boat Race will go down in history as the year of rookie.

All three of the class winners had a rookie in the cockpit, including the A class entry, driven by pilot Shaki Easton and rookie co-pilot/owner Errin Butterfield, which was the first boat to complete the 54-mile racecourse in 1hr 6min.

“I’m very excited and shocked,” an emotional Butterfield said. “It was my first time going around the island and I owe this to a whole lot of people.

“I also thank my wife Martha who reluctantly agreed for me to go around the island and supported me, Shaki who kept me motivated and also all of my sponsors who without their assistance we wouldn’t be here today.”

Easton and Butterfield led the overall fleet before being passed by the D class entry driven by twin brothers David and Mark Selley in the late stages of the race.

However, the Selley brothers were dealt a cruel blow when they suffered a mechanical breakdown and had to withdraw, allowing Easton and Butterfield to retake the overall lead.

But victory came at a cost for Easton and Butterfield as their 19ft Phantom suffered a crack in its hull after striking a wave on a treacherous South Shore.

“We hit a wave hard around Castle Roads and the gel coating on top cracked,” Butterfield said. “We jumped up and the boat landed on an angle.

“The North Shore was a little bumpy and we were able to ride at a pretty good speed. But then when we hit Pompano Beach Shaki told me to hold because was going to get rough.

“He was trying to take different lines and we were popping out of the water and so I’m a little sore.”

Also savouring victory at the first attempt in the D Class was rookie pilot Andrew Cottingham, who just happens to be the chief mechanic and a sponsor of Butterfield’s boat.

“This was my first time going around the island and Henry [co-pilot Henry Talbot] guided me where I had to go,” Cottingham said.

“North Shore, all through town and back of Dockyard was beautiful. But as soon as we hit Pompano Beach it was on and we knew then it was a race of endurance.

“We started seeing boats broken down as we were going down South Shore so we slowed down because our boat is a flat-water boat and we knew it wasn’t capable of catching the boats ahead of us.

“We just went along at a steady pace until we got back into the right conditions we can run in and it worked out for us. We’re so happy to make it back safely.”

Incidentally, Cottingham and Talbot’s elapsed time was identical to Easton and Butterfield’s.

“When we heard Shaki and Errin came back first it made the celebration even better,” Cottingham added. “The guys have put a lot of time and work into testing to get these boats where they need to be. My first year out I’ve had a blast.”

Another rookie achieving success was Josh Allen who was the co-pilot on Ryan Resendes’s B Class entry.

The pair’s feat was nothing shy of remarkable given the hurdles pilot/owner Resendes had to overcome in the final days leading up the race.

“I just got this boat on Wednesday, spray painted it on Thursday and then spent all day Friday and Saturday putting it together,” Resendes said.

“Today is my first day actually driving this boat. I tried two propellers and the second one was the best and we went out.

“I had no clue how to drive the boat and went out and drove it and won my class. I’m totally shocked and wasn’t expecting this at all.”

Resendes’s come-from-behind victory also came at a cost as his boat suffered considerable hull and mechanical damage.

“I have about $5,000 in damage to my boat right now,” he said. “There was a lot of damage done and obviously it’s not worth it.

“It was rough and I will never do it again in conditions like this.”

Eight of the 18 entries that started the race, featuring three classes, managed to go the distance.