Records are made to be broken, so the saying goes. So just a year after shattering one mark, powerboat champions Sean White and Michael Mello are out to repeat the feat this time around.

Interestingly, when they crossed the line in their D-Class Ocke Mannerfelt Bat Boat in the 2000 Round the Island Race the pair thought the glory had gone to one of their rivals.

Preparing to settle for second best, they scanned the shoreline for the boat of Michael Lopes only to see a vacant spot on his trailer.

"We weren't even sure that we were first across the line, to be honest with you, last year," said White. "The only boat that we hadn't passed was the small A-Class of Michael Lopes. But until we realised that they weren't even on the trailer we figured we had second because we hadn't seen them.

"So it was sort of like a last minute `Hey, we've won it' and it suddenly hit us. We knew we had won the class so to find out we were first across the line was even better. At the end of it all to find out we had broken the record for D-Class made it like a triple crown victory."

To say they had broken the record would be something of an understatement.

"The new record we had set was 44 minutes and 28 seconds and I believe the old one was something like 44 minutes and 53 seconds," he said.

White said he believed, all things being equal, the mark could be under serious threat when they take to the water tomorrow.

"Anything is possible, it just depends on the day really," he said. "I do think that we could do it faster but a lot is going to depend on the weather conditions and hopefully we don't have any mechanical failures or anything."

What made the finish last year even more remarkable was that no-one had thought it could be done.

"I don't think anybody at Ferry Reach expected any records to be set on the day because it was quite rough on South Shore but we did it anyway," he said.

"I think if the conditions are a little calmer on South Shore it is possible we could even break our own record again."

White and Mello have had somewhat of a laid back approach to this year's event.

"We haven't actually raced at all this year. Both of us have been out flat with our businesses," he said. "We are just going out to support the club and have a good time and if we get first it will be great."

White said he realised as reigning champions they would be the boat all others would be gunning for.

But he said: "I don't feel any pressure on us. Obviously, we are the ones to beat now and obviously we have got to set a pace where everybody else has to catch us.

"But really as far as we are concerned until somebody breaks that record, because it stood for 10 years, we haven't been beaten really."

The fact that a number of their rivals will not be taking part could count in the champions' favour.

"I don't think Paul Rodrigues is racing because he has sold his boat, Patrick Stamper isn't racing because his has been sold as well," he said. "It's really hard to say (who are rivals will be). The only other people in our class who are veterans are ourselves and Warren Roe and Richard Correia and possibly Chris Franks."

Weather permitting, the powerboat race will be the main event of the day. It begins at 2.00 p.m. with A Class. B Class will start at 2.06 p.m, D Class at 2.13 p.m., C Class at 2.16 p.m and F Class at 2.21 p.m.

Earlier, the first jet ski class, the 785s, will leave Ferry Reach at 12 p.m. with the 1200s class starting at 12.03 p.m. Junior powerboats will take to the waters around Ferry Reach while the jet ski race is underway.