POWERBOAT racing is one of the world’s most photogenic sports and one of the most difficult to capture well on film. Whether it is a hydroplane as it side-slips across the surface of an inland lake, the splash of spray as a formula cat tucks in its trim to round a buoy, the sheer magnificence of five tonnes of offshore boat as it rockets off a wave in the open ocean or the muscular fitness of a rider getting the most out of an aquabike, all give the photographer a surge of creativity as he frames the shot and commits an image to posterity.

In 1998, the UIM recognised the art of marine photography by initiating a competition and inviting submissions in the four categories of aquabike, circuit, offshore and general interest subjects. The winning submissions featured here, all taken by young photographers or photographers relatively new to the sports they covered, were considered by the judges to demonstrate both technical expertise and to capture the spirit and mood of their subjects. Truly, images of excellence.