A few days after announcing its first major offshore wind contract, Gaoh Energy has reinforced its commitment to Lowestoft by sponsoring a local speedboat racing team.
"We are from Lowestoft; it is our home and we want to play a part in the community," said chief executive Paul Carter.
And the support for driver Jamie Marr and his Team Piranha is timely as they have had to invest several thousand pounds in a new boat to replace one damaged when it 'flipped' last season.
"The boat will be seen regularly racing at Oulton Broad and it will take our name around the country,” said Mr Carter. “Gaoh hopes to win a lot of international business and it would be good to give visiting clients a social night out at the racing to see the boat in action."
Team Piranha races most Thursday evenings in the summer at Oulton Broad with 33-year-old Jamie driving their Italian-built boat with its Japanese 400cc Yamato engine – and a top speed of around 70mph - in the hydroplane class.
"We were looking for sponsorship after I flipped the original boat last year. We got it going again but it was never the same - and kept leaking. The new boat is made from carbon composite rather than fibreglass so is lighter and hopefully faster," said Jamie.
"It's brilliant to have Gaoh Energy on board as main sponsors. We couldn’t have done this without them."
Jamie, who walked away unhurt from last year's accident, is in his third season. Last year was their first full season competing on the club and national scene and the team finished third in the club championship and collected third place in the British sprint championships.
Last week, Gaoh Energy was awarded a multi-million pound contract to install a meteorological mast to enable future development of offshore wind energy in the outer Moray Firth. The company launched last November pursuing development work in onshore and offshore renewable energy projects.
