The powerboat racing community is mourning the death of Rickai Raynor, who succumbed to a serious head injury he suffered after crashing into a moored vessel during the Bermuda Power Boat Association’s Hamilton Harbour Race series on Sunday.

“A lot of people including myself are still in disbelief,” Aaron Sims told The Royal Gazette.

“I woke up this morning thinking it was a bad dream, but it’s not and is hitting the community pretty hard.”

Sims was one of the last people to speak with Raynor just before the start of the second race of the series when the fatal incident occurred near the Lower Ferry site in Paget.

“He called me in between the two races asking what I think of the boat, and I gave him some pointers,” he said.

“Then a half an hour later I’m getting a call saying he’s been in an accident and died. He was the last call on my phone before all that happened.”

Sims said Raynor was passionate about the sport and always willing to learn.

“Pugi got into powerboat racing a lot later in life and would always call me for advice and what I thought he should do if he had problems with the motor and stuff like that,” he said.

“He really loved the sport and was passionate for it. He just put a whole lot of effort and time in and finally brought the boat out to race this season. I want to say this was his second, third race this season and this happens.

“I’ve known Pugi since he was little kid and he was just a genuine, upbeat guy. He would help anybody and was just a genuinely nice guy.”

Fellow competitor Brandon DeSilva also spoke fondly of Raynor.

“He was a good competitor and a positive young man,” he said. “He was a fine kid and it’s so sad because he was such a well-liked person in the community. He wasn’t someone that caused any trouble, so it’s sad that it had to happen to him.

“It’s just one of those sad realities that sets in really quickly that a lot of people overlook. You can get caught up in the hype of how much thrill, fun and everything it is and sometimes overlook that death is lurking.

“The irony of it all is that he shares the same nickname as me, so when people heard Pugi has had a bad accident, everyone is blowing up my phone checking to see if I’ll answer.

“It’s a weird feeling when the community is thinking it was me. I felt sick to my stomach and don’t wish that on anybody.”

The Bermuda Power Boat Association declined to comment when contacted.