The challenge

Picture the opulent and stylish atmosphere of Monaco with bright young things messing about in sleek, streamlined speedboats. Then completely forget that image and brace yourself for a scraptastic boat race on one of Surrey’s finest lakes.

Cops and Bodgers

Andy Luchesa, Andy Stamp and Les Scott work for Hampshire Constabulary. The two Andys are police officers and Les, better known as ‘Miss Marple’, works as a scenes of crime officer. The Cops and Bodgers will have no problem solving our challenge and getting the best result. These cheeky coppers will be charging their way to the final and beating everyone in their path.

This time around, the Cops are joined by technical consultant Stuart Edwards. He works for Bernard Olesinski, one of the leading boat designers in Britain. In his day job, he designs yachts that will set you back �2 million but when the sun sets on the Isle of Wight, he goes down to the harbour and tinkers with his own speedboat, a rigid inflatable with a massive engine in the back that yanks it up to 50mph if needed. Apart from boats, his passion is messing around with his Cobra motorbike, a black beauty that ended up in a ditch a few months ago when he got a bit too excited about the power output. If it’s fast, it’s Stuart’s kind of thing.

Jousters

Tom Parker, Dave ‘Sparky’ Parker and Dave ‘Scotty’ Allison are three knights from Yorkshire. They enjoy jousting and sword fighting to wile away the time. Yikes! These North Yorkshire men are ready to put on their armour for a good scrap – let’s hope it doesn’t weigh them down in the water!

The Jousters are joined by Adam Younger for this challenge. He is a softly spoken man who turns into a fanatic in the company of water and internal combustion engines. Living on the Isle of Wight, he’s been around boats for as long as he can remember. Fifteen years ago, he started turning his hobby into a profession – and quite successfully so. He and his group of mates (who make up the K4+ racing team) have built and raced various boats, winning everything from national to European offshore powerboat championships. What’s next? ‘The world’, Adam says, grinning a shy grin.

The expert

Steve Curtis is an old Scrapheap favourite. He was the outspoken and sparkly expert for the Whitewater Rider challenge in 2001. His day job is offshore powerboat racer and boat designer. He has won the World Offshore Powerboat Championship an unprecedented three times and is the current World and European Champion. He began his racing career on two wheels, becoming a schoolboy and junior motorbike champion. Outside the cockpit, he runs the family business, Cougar Marine, and day-to-day he is involved in building and designing race boats. His hobbies are skiing, motorbikes and his dog Guido.