ambulance personnel, some moronic jet skiers were fortunate not to find themselves under, at best, hospital supervision. Spectators were aghast as the skiers buzzed around and through the finish line at Ferry Reach just as the first powerboats approached. The situation became more precarious when a driver and passenger fell off, leaving two heads bobbing in the water directly in the path of two C-class boats travelling at speeds in excess of 80 miles per hour. Following the race, Michael Araujo, who piloted C-7 to second place, two seconds behind leader Luis Martins, just shook his head after narrowly avoiding the pair. "Looking ahead, I thought it was a piece of wood floating in the water so I veered a little bit because I didn't want to wreck the propeller,'' he said. "Then when I went by and saw it was two people, I couldn't believe it.'' Marine Police were further west of the finish line along Ferry Reach clearing a path for the oncoming boats and race director Ernie Mello said there was nothing more his crew could do to keep the area clear. Woolridge, meanwhile, was taken to hospital after his co-driver, Ivan Smith, steered their boat into the pits some 45 minutes after they started.

Woolridge, 38, was in obvious pain as he was gently lifted from the boat onto a stretcher before a considerably softer ride to King Edward VII Hospital for treatment. Smith said the pair ran into "a couple of waves'' and Woolridge's ribs were slammed into the side of the boat. "He kept trying to go on but I said, uh-uh, it doesn't make sense,'' said Smith, who finally persuaded Woolridge to turn around near Commissioner's Point at Dockyard. PHOTO Photos by David Skinner PAINFUL JOURNEY -- Powerboat driver Cornell Woolridge winces as he's tended to at pit row. He and co-pilot Ivan Smith turned back when Woolridge suffered a rib injury one-quarter of the way through the race.