She’s the Culprit. Photos spplied by Cody Barry
UPPER Hawkesbury Power Boat Club (UHPBC) Secretary and Media Director Alison James reports the club will host a round of the National Drivers Championship for Forced Induction Drivers at Windsor over 12-14th September.
“The UHPBC started in 1932 and is one of the oldest clubs in the country. As a club, we run events almost every month, including eight Club days a season and two major events, one being the UHPBC Regatta weekend, which includes the Double Dash.
“This is the race that has replaced the ‘Bridge 2 Bridge’, which historically is the race that first established the Upper Hawkesbury Power Boat club before 1932 and is a two day event held on the 1st Weekend of May.
“Our other major event is the Windsor Spectacular, held on the 3rd weekend of September. This year it has been brought forward by a week due to the RAAF Air Show, ensuring there was not a clash. The Windsor Spectacular is the biggest powerboat event in the country and draws crowds and boats from all over the country. This year we have 95 entries, with people travelling from Queensland, Victoria, South Australia and from all over NSW.
“This is the 3rd year that UHPBC has hosted a round of the National Drivers Championship for Forced Induction Drivers. Established in 2022, this series travels the country where some of the best Blown Alcohol Displacement aka B.A.D boats or Unlimited displacements compete for the title of National Drivers Champion. We have 16 Blown boats entered, including last year’s champion Tate Ramsey (VIC) in his new boat ‘Lay it On’.
“Last year’s Round champion Chris Hearne (local St Marys UHPBC member) will also be racing in his Turbo charged Barra engine boat Xplicit, which is often referred to as the red taxi on social media. This team has a big following.
“In addition, this year there is a new National Drivers Championship that is beginning at the Windsor Spectacular and it is for Junior Drivers. Juniors races are known as the Formula Futures class and range from:
J1: 8 to 10-year-old racing with a 6hp (we have three entered, two of which have won the J1 Australian Title (Jacob King and Hunter Dee). Jacob is a 3rd Generation racer, both parents race and also his older sister, and all four are competing at Windsor. The 3rd J1 driver is Azalea Chesser, who is a 4th Generation Racer.
J2: 10 to 12-year-old racing with a 9.9hp. We have five entries, which includes a number of State and National title winners in this group.
J3: 12 to 16-year-old racing with 15hp. We have 15 of these kids entered, which includes a number of state and National title holders.
“Over the weekend we will hold the following races: J1 and Junior, J2 and Junior, J3 and Junior, Geoff Bollins Yamato Challenge, 550cc Super Sports Cup, Mono Hawkesbury Outboard Cup, F2 Craig Bailey Gold Cup, Unlimited Outboard Ron Beasley Silver Shield, 95mph, 105mph Lewis Buhagiar Memorial, 5.2LGraham Hart Silver Cup and Chiquta Cup, 6.0L Menace Cup (Saturday) and Dargle Cup (Sunday), Unlimited Displacement (B.A.D) – National Drivers Championship (Saturday) and Barry Chesser Fury Trophy (Sunday), Open Unlimited Race – Commodores Cup (Saturday) and King of the River (Sunday).
“All 2024 winners from the above events have entered again for 2025.”
Penrith owner / drivers Cody and Nathan Barry will be among the competitors in the Unlimited class, continuing the boat racing legacy of their father, Dean Barry. Cody said, “The Culprit racing tradition started with my father Dean in the early 1990s. His first boat was called ‘the culprit’ and for numerous years, he would run around not being very competitive, coming last and second last in almost every race. As the years went on and with a lot more money being spent, he purchased a 19.6ft (5.97m) Gambler hull, built by John Williams, which he named ‘She’s the Culprit’.
“This is the boat that everyone began to follow and he built his legacy winning numerous Australian and NSW championship races, Memorial races and coming 3rd place in the UIM World Championships.
“After losing the boat in a fatal crash in 2010, which also claimed the life of our friend who had been brought out from the USA to drive, Dad had a break from racing. In later years, he decided to build a new boat, fitted with a safety cell, which all boats now over the speeds of 105mph must have installed.
“The new boat was a 21ft Childsplay Marine, built by Rob and Garry Newall, which are the ‘Rolls Royce’ of circuit boat racing. With Dad’s years of experience, it didn’t take him long to get the hang of the new boat and he started to get back to the front of the pack, winning numerous championship races and getting a 2nd place in another World Championship.
“Growing up (Nathan and I), it didn’t take us long until we wanted to start our own journey into circuit boat racing. Nathan bought an open deck super stock boat, running around in it for a few years, then decided he wanted to go faster and follow dads footsteps. He decided to purchase his own 21ft Childsplay boat, and knowing Dad’s engine combination is a front runner, Nathan decided to build an identical engine and has since shown plenty of potential.
“So, now it was time for me to buy a boat, and I bought the super stock boat and ran that for a couple of years, before deciding to upgrade to a newer boat in the super stock class. Taking it out for its very first race, a fuel line broke and the boat caught fire.
“I then decided that I would race in an open deck boat, as safety was my number one priority. Since then, I’ve driven ‘She’s the Culprit 2’ a few times and I’m starting to pick up on the extra horsepower ( almost 2.5x more than the old boat). Due to an injury, Dad has stepped back from boat racing, letting Nathan and me take over, whilst he still builds and tunes the engines himself, and guides us with all of his experience over 30+ years of being in the sport.
