John Cooke gets the inside story from the UK and international race circuits.

After all the news about P1 last month, you would be forgiven for thinking that the series might have slipped beneath the waves - but believe it or not, the Phoenix has risen again. It may be a lot less glamorous without gorgeous girls wandering around in skin-tight suits and high heels, but the most important thing is that the racing is back. In fact by the time you read this, the first race weekend will already have happened at Yalta in the Ukraine.

How has this all happened? Well it seems that so many people had so much invested in the series, with boats built specifically for the job, that the owners, the sponsors and the international organising body, the UIM, decided to step in. Jean-Marie Van Lancker (President of the UIM International Pleasure Navigation Commission) is now the man in charge and the promoters of the events have mostly agreed to carry on as before. The only thing that has yet to be confirmed is the TV coverage, which of course is essential both to sponsors and to teams . . .

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