Ricky Raynor has vowed to continue racing powerboats in honour and memory of son Rickai Raynor, who died on Sunday after crashing into a moored vessel during the Bermuda Power Boat Association’s Hamilton Harbour Race series.

“It hurts and I’m mad because I lost my son,” Raynor told The Royal Gazette.

“But I love racing boats so I am going to take that boat as soon as the police release it, fix it up and race it in honour of my son.

“I know that’s what he would want me to do, so I am going to continue racing in his honour.”

The incident happened in the area of the Lower Ferry site in Paget, where Raynor rushed to be by his son’s side after his boat was towed to the dock.

“I was in the western end of the track and somebody called me and said ‘Grapes, you better run to the Lower Ferry Dock, your son is injured’, he said.

“I rushed down there and jumped in the boat. I pulled all the fibreglass off my son and said ‘Pugi, you all right?’. I shook him and said ‘hey Pugi, it’s your daddy!’

“I screamed at him but there was no response. My son was just laying to the right side of the boat.”

Raynor’s son was attended to at the scene by EMTs, but was subsequently pronounced dead by an on-call medical doctor.

“The boat was safe, so I only expected my son to break a leg, break an arm and not die in this boat because it was safe,” Raynor said. “The boat had everything you would want to be safe.

“My son is no longer here and I accept the fact that he’s gone, but what gives me peace is that my son loved racing and had a lot of fun.

“Pugi loved racing and would race anything. My son would race cockroaches if he could get them going in a straight line. That’s just how he was, and he didn’t care if he came first or last.”

The co-pilot of the boat suffered a head wound and was also attended to at the scene by EMTs before he was transferred by ambulance to King Edward VII Memorial Hospital, where at last check he continued to receive treatment.

Raynor often competed with his son in his boat, the pair claiming B class honours in the Rubis Round the Island Race in 2023.

“My son told me when he was 5 or 6 years old that he wanted us to race together,” he said.

“He told me ‘let’s buy a boat and race around the island’. “We went around the island in B class together three years ago and our goal was to win the race together one day.

“He bought that boat from Derek “Chicken” Simons and has been working with this boat for five years. That boat was special to him.”

Owen Darrell, the Minister of Tourism, Transport, Culture and Sport, offered his condolences to the powerboat racer’s family and friends.

“I was deeply saddened to learn of the tragic boating accident that occurred on Sunday. My sincere condolences go to the family and loved ones of the individual who lost their life, and my thoughts are also with the person who was injured. I wish them strength and a full recovery,” he said.

“As Minister of Tourism, Transport, Culture and Sport, I know how important Bermuda's waters are to our culture and way of life, and it touches all aspects of this ministry. I have also personally expressed my condolences to the commodore of the Bermuda Power Boat Association [Jermal Woolridge] and to his members.

“I also wish to thank the Bermuda Police Service, Bermuda Fire and Rescue Service, Emergency Medical Services, and everyone who responded with professionalism and care.

“On behalf of the Government of Bermuda, I extend my deepest sympathies to all those affected by this tragic incident.”