Ricky Sousa and Nick Cabral had plenty cause for celebration after pulling off an impressive treble in the Rubis Round the Island Race at Ferry Reach on Sunday.

Capitalising on the calm conditions in their 23ft Ocke Mannerfelt boat, the pair won class and overall honours while also blazing a new B class course record after stopping the clock at 37min 54sec.

“We knew we had the speed, so I knew if we could get out ahead and not have to work to overtake boats that things would fall into place,” pilot Sousa told The Royal Gazette.

“It was flat calm the whole way. It was very little time when we were out of the tank. The boat weight was most to contend with going through Hamilton Harbour and around Dockyard. South Shore was easier than North Shore because you knew what to expect, there was no boat wake.

“It’s been a lot leading up to it, so it’s good to finally have it run on the right day and everything worked out for us. We’ve put our time in and everything came together for us, so it really worked out.

After starting the race several minutes behind the A class boats, Sousa and Cabral eventually reeled in and passed leaders Chris Marshall and Santiago Roe as they approached Spittal Pond coming down the South Shore.

“It was a nice calm ride for us. We were very fortunate with the weather and thanks to pilot Ricky who handled it really well today,” co-pilot Cabral said.

“It wasn’t much for me to do but happy we made it in one piece and the boat ran good. We was able to stay in the tank most of the race and that is what helped us and no complaints.

“I’m just glad it all worked out and we’re back safe, which is the main thing.”

Sousa and Cabral were not the only ones setting new records as the team of Marshall and Roe and Chad Sutherland and Lee Wilson also achieved the feat on the way to securing class honours.

Marshall and co-pilot Roe led the A class across the line and were second overall in their 19ft Phantom boat in a new record time of 46min 04sec.

“There were four boats in the class and three of us went back and forth all the way up towards Daniel’s Head. It was really close so it was a really good hook,” former professional racer Marshall said.

“A class is made up of a great group of racers and is always extremely competitive. To be honest even a small mistake or hesitation may have resulted in a different finishing order. We were fortunate that things went our way.”

Sutherland and co-pilot Wilson claimed C class honours in a new record time of 39min 22sec in their 23ft Ocke Mannerfelt boat.

“The race was good, boat worked fairly well. I was fairly good, co-pilot was good,” Sutherland said.

The pair’s race was not without incident as they flirted with disaster near the finish.

“Everything was well until we came into the pylons and pretty much spun out,” Sutherland said. “It was a mixture of driver error and also my lower unit was broken, which is why I had less handling than I expected.

“Happy we walked away from that, luckily, and the day overall.”

Sutherland’s celebrations were quickly muted back onshore as he was whisked away to hospital by ambulance after taking ill and later released.

“After we spun out I was not feeling too good, so St John’s Ambulance took me to the hospital just to get checked out,” he said.

D class honours went to 67-year-old Bobby DaCosta and co-pilot Joshua Holder in a time of 42min 20sec.

The pair’s afternoon was also not without incident as they encountered engine problems on the South Shore near Watch Hill Park in Smith’s.

“We broke a fuel line off the carburettor and instead of the fuel in the carburettor it was pumping down the breathers. The motor was still running so we kept going until the boat completely ran out of fuel right here at the finish line,” DaCosta said.

“We were bouncing probably 85-86 miles per hour. Everybody was strung right out and we pretty much was running wide open. We put a little bit of water in the tank, but otherwise it was like a lake.”

Jody and Tony Carreio finished third overall in 40min 37sec, while B class rivals Damon Morris and Jordie Smith (B class) was the only team that did not to finish the race.