World champions of 2014: Lean buildup helped Canterbury boatbuilder secure fifth world crown

Canterbury's Peter Caughey was meticulous in his planning but it paid off with a fifth world jetsprint title. Photo / NZME.

Jetsprint: Peter Caughey

Peter Caughey may not have a Wikipedia page but he does possess a resume to fill it.

Caughey, one of the more anonymous Kiwi winners of a world title in 2014, claimed the world jetsprint championship after the series concluded in Oregon in September.

It was the Cantabrian's fifth title and he did it while dealing with a change in navigator and a restricted diet in the land of temptation known as the United States.

Caughey, whose last world title came in 2009, headed to America on a high after winning the New Zealand championship in Wanaka earlier in the year.

Standing between the 50-year-old and the world crown were two rounds -- one in Missouri and one in Oregon -- and the road trip between the two venues.

The first leg in Poplar Bluff brought an encouraging victory, especially considering Caughey had to cope without long-time navigator Karen Marshall who was unavailable and replaced by Shama Putaranui.

But he then faced another challenge as his team headed west bound for Lebanon, near Portland. While the rest of the crew worked their way through the various fried and fatty food choices so abundant in the US, Caughey and Putaranui had to decline, knowing every second -- and every kilogram -- would count once on the water.

The pair's abstention would soon prove worthwhile. Caughey was one of only two drivers to go under 60 seconds around a tricky, shallow course in Lebanon, with the rest of the field struggling to navigate the rocks and stones that littered the waterways.

The Kiwis' time of 57.718 seconds was quick enough to take the title when factoring in the scores from Missouri, edging Australians Phonsy Mullen and Greg Mercier in the top 3 superboat final.

Caughey credited his victory to meticulous preparation that involved scouting out the course for almost an hour before the race, testing the depth at critical points by throwing in stones, with the painstaking approach enabling him to work out which corners he could cut and which he should avoid.

The boatbuilder knows, after all, that in a race with up to 30 corners that can finish in 60 seconds, even the slightest edge can prove the difference between being able to write first or second in an honour roll on a Wikipedia page -- if you have one.