Daisy Coleman is a shining example of how to be ready to take on a new sporting challenge because she has only been involved in the hurly-burly world of powerboat racing since 2012 but is already recognised as a real talent by her racing peers as she competes internationally in the P1 Powerboat Racing series.
 

Equestrian fan

 
Daisy hails from Saundersfoot and in her younger days was heavily involved in the equestrian world as she regularly rode out with the South Pembrokeshire Hunt, as well as a range of other activities on horseback.
 
Even when she joined the Royal Artillery she remained involved by training as a jockey for the Royal Artillery Gold Cup and the Grand Military Race at Sandown, and when home she was always happy to ride other people's horses.
 
Daisy remained in HM Forces for nine years and had tours to Afghanistan and Iraq before she was injured in the former country and left the Army in 2013.
 

Loving speed on water

 
She attended a corporate sponsorship day at Hayling Island, near Portsmouth, where she was intent on trying out 'Aqua-X' which is thought of as like motocross but on water, and really enjoyed the feeling of speed it engendered.
 
But whilst there was offered the chance of trying out Powerboat Racing with 'Mission Motorsport', a charity which uses motorsport to aid veteran soldiers’ recovery..
 
"I thought the open day was a case of 'big boys' toys' when I saw the impressive 28’ race boats but decided to give it a try - and loved every single minute of it!
 

Buzzing start - and a call out of the blue

 
"During my first trip on the water with 2014 Champion, James Norvill, he offered me the chance to drive and I had an inward chuckle when I could see his raised eyebrows when I immediately put my foot to the floorboards!
 
"It was brilliant, I went home buzzing after an amazing experience, thinking that was the end of it.
 
"But within a few days I received a phone call out of the blue, inviting me to go back and take part in a basic boat-handling course followed by mandatory race training with seven-time world champion Neil Holmes (who also holds three world speed records, numerous national and numerous awards) - I literally jumped at the chance!”
 

Showed the fellers what’s what!

 
Daisy was told at the start of the course that there was a 70% attrition rate in terms of people who didn't pass first time and had to go back for extra tuition.
 
All the others on the course were men and she bore the brunt of some good-natured banter from the ‘boaty’ types, which she didn't mind in the least, since she had only ever been on a mackerel fishing trip as a child.
 
As Daisy told us,
“It was obvious I was the only non-sea experienced individual and was laughed at for not being able to moor up a boat or not knowing port from starboard – but boy did I enjoy it when it was announced afterwards that I was the only one who had passed first time and didn't have to go back for further training!
 

Thrown in at the deep end, literally!

 
“As a result of this success I was signed off to navigate powerboats competitively. This, as you can imagine, raised a few eyebrows, especially since other students had already been racing Fast Cat boats for years!
 
“However, with only one qualified navigator, the Mission Motorsport team had no choice but to sit me in the navigator seat for the upcoming race a few days later. 
 
“My debut race resulted in the team’s first podium finish in what is known to be the sport’s toughest offshore race (from Cowes to Poole and then back to Cowes, a distance of 35 nautical miles). It was from that moment I was hooked!
 

Setbacks have to be faced

 
“When the sport folded the 150 series that I was racing in in 2012, I was scouted by the three-time ex-champion, Mr. John Wilson, to navigate for him in the Pertemps Powerboat Racing Team.
 
“Despite numerous set-backs in the 2013 season (engine failure, disqualification & being thrown out of the boat) we managed to finish third in the Championship and I was awarded 2013 P1 Superstock Sports Personality of the Year, which I regarded as a great honour as had been nominated by my fellow competitors.
 
“In our 2014 campaign we were on track to take the championship until gearbox failure resulted in us not finishing a race dropping us back down the order – but we managed to claw our way back to a consolation third place again.
 
“In the 2015 season we were leading the Championship in the penultimate round at Cardiff when another boat came into us, resulting in a disqualification and the precious points lost in this one race resulted in us narrowly missing out on winning the Championship, despite having a phenomenal winning weekend in the final round at Bournemouth, we finished in 2nd. To say it was something of a disappointment was an understatement!
 

‘New recruit’ is a family success

 
“At the end of last season my team mate Mr. John Wilson, announced his retirement, although retirement is the wrong word, because he will be taking up the role of team mentor and manager for our previous manager, Sam Coleman (my brother) to step up and take the driver’s seat.
 
“I was proud of the fact that Sam completed his race training despite, like me, coming from a non-boating background, in record time for someone new to the water. Showing great promise, Sam had guest drives in Hull, contributing to the team’s third place finish in the championship, and at Bournemouth in the Gallagher-backed boat.
 
“In the roughest conditions P1 has seen, Sam mastered the conditions and drove the boat to achieve the team’s best race finish in second place, although sadly was unable to finish the weekend due to his co-pilot getting injured.   
 

Memorable US trip

 
“Following the UK season close we were then invited to Tavares, Florida to race in the final round of the US P1 Powerboat series. This was to be an excellent close to mine and John’s partnership so we gladly accepted the offer. In a boat that we had never seen prior to a few days before the race and that its previous team considered it to be slow, we went out and won the weekend, which was a great way to finish our season and partnership.”
 
The team’s Facebook page also includes regular updates and team news https://www.facebook.com/p1superstockboat03/ and you can follow them on Twitter @RacingColeman.
 

And finally . . .

 
They have successfully secured headline sponsors for the UK and US P1 Powerboat series along with subsidiary sponsorships with Sparco, Gill Marine, Barton Executive Valeting and backing from the Endeavor Fund so exciting times ahead. However, given that Daisy and Sam are the youngest team within their series they are still looking to forge new local Team Partnerships to help them achieve their goal of a transatlantic winning season both sides of the pond. 
 
After finishing 2^nd last year, in 2016, the Pertemps team are back and the Colemans from the seaside village of Saundersfoot are gunning for the top spot in Powerboat Racing!