Ricky Raynor On His Son Rickai ‘Pugi’ Raynor
Ricky Raynor returned to the water last weekend to honour his late son, taking part in a memorial powerboat race in Dockyard on what would have been Rickai “Pugi” Raynor’s 29th birthday.
Raynor also brought Pugi’s restored boat to the event, where it was displayed in front of a mural celebrating the late racing enthusiast. Pugi died nearly three months ago in a crash while racing in Hamilton Harbour.
Raynor planned to race the boat in the memorial event but was unable to do so because of mechanical issues. He instead joined his nephew Damon Morris as co-pilot for the race.
“Pugi and I had been messing with this boat since he bought it,” Raynor told Bernews.
“We poked with it, poked with it, and finally got it running.
“My son and I did a lot of sports together and spent a lot of time together.
“It’s not nice losing a child. It’s very hard for a parent to bury a child.
“We had a lot of fun. All I think about is the joy and the fun we had.”
Raynor said he intends to keep his son’s boat and continue with the sports they shared.
“There’s no way Pugi would want me to park this boat, or sell this boat, or anything like that,” he said.
“I’m not going to be satisfied until everything works out.”
He also described the difficult task of restoring the boat after collecting it from the police station following the crash.
“I didn’t want a lot of people around the boat, so I did it myself,” he said.
The work eventually became another way for Raynor to remember his son.
“After the first day, I kind of enjoyed it,” he said. “I sat in the same seat my son passed in.
“I feel good talking about him, the laughs, the jokes, the sports.
“If you heard his laugh, you’d never forget it.
“Everything he did, he tried to master it.”
Raynor expressed his appreciation to the Bermuda Powerboat Association for organising the memorial event.
“Now I’m just going to look out for my grandchildren,” he added. “It’s OK – that’s what we love.”
