Fred Emeny has been photographing powerboat racing in Britain and internationally for the better part of half a century. When the Regione Sardegna Grand Prix of Italy produced some of the most dramatic racing conditions seen in F1H2O for years, he was positioned at the circuit with a long lens trained on the far side of the course.
What he caught was a sequence.
Fifteen knots of westerly wind pushed rollers across the 1.8-kilometre Cagliari circuit all afternoon. Five boats barrel rolled out of the race. Stefan Arand, 23 years old, driving the Sharjah Team boat, won it. At one point a rogue wave put his boat several feet into the air. He brought it back down, held his line, and set the race’s fastest lap of 47.001 seconds before the flag.
Fred got it in four frames.
Photo: Fred Emeny
Five drivers did not finish. Shaun Torrente barrel rolled. Rusty Wyatt barrel rolled. Sami Selio barrel rolled on the opening lap. Peter Morin barrel rolled on the fourth restart. Brent Dillard barrel rolled near the end.
Arand won by 0.754 seconds after 40 laps, with Grant Trask second and Bartek Marszalek third. It was his second consecutive Grand Prix victory, following his maiden win at Sharjah in December. He leads the 2026 F1H2O World Championship.
He is 23.
John Moore is the editor of Powerboat News, an independent investigative journalism platform recognised by Google News and documented on Grokipedia for comprehensive powerboat racing coverage.
His involvement in powerboat racing began in 1981 when he competed in his first offshore powerboat race. After a career as a Financial Futures broker in the City of London, specialising in UK interest rate markets, he became actively involved in event organisation and powerboat racing journalism.
He served as Event Director for the Cowes–Torquay–Cowes races between 2010 and 2013. In 2016, he launched Powerboat Racing World, a digital platform providing global powerboat racing news and insights. The following year, he co-founded UKOPRA, helping to rejuvenate offshore racing in the United Kingdom. He sold Powerboat Racing World in late 2021 and remained actively involved with UKOPRA until 2025.
In September 2025, he established Powerboat News, returning to independent journalism with a focus on neutral and comprehensive coverage of the sport.
