Agnew is completing a rebuild of his 1800-horsepower unlimited V8 and will go to Sydney with a completely sealed or ‘cell’ boat which circulates clear oxygen in the event of a major accident.

“A couple of drivers have been involved in major accidents of late and the cell boat goes a long way to making racing safer,” declared Agnew who is employed by WesTrac, Dubbo’s specialty agent for Caterpillar.

During the 2007 Classic at Windsor Agnew and Allan Newton were at full speed when the boat between them, Adelaide’s Trevor Stanley, encountered a steering failure and crashed spectacularly.

“Trevor’s boat, Agent Orange, flipped violently which catapulted him into the Hawkesbury River,” Agnew remembers.

“I looked into a cell boat soon after that because it seemed a much safer option considering we are racing at 200km/h.”

Powerboat racing first caught the attention of Agnew as he learned the ropes from veteran unlimited champion Brian McCosker at his Tamworth race shop.

“Preparation is everything with the unlimited boats because you have to make an 1800 horsepower V8 reliable to the point of being indestructible,” Agnew stated.

Two years ago Agnew was second to Victorian Brett Shepherd in the Coles Clearwater classic at Windsor Marine Stadium and over the September 19 to 20 weekend he aims to go one better.

Making the annual trip to Windsor is still an experience Agnew and his Dubbo area supporters look forward to because it invariably brings the best drivers and boats together for the two day regatta.

Tasmanian champion Chris Palmer, Victorians John Cross and Brett Shepherd, South Australians Dave Clarke and Trevor Stanley, Tamworth veteran Brian McCosker and Sydney’s Dean Barry are just a few of the guns trained on the Dubbo speedster and his ‘air conditioned’ cell boat Typhoon.