• Safety in High Performance Boating – Part One, Racing

    by SeriousOffshore



    Most knowledgeable people agree with the basic concept, operating high speed powerboats carries a certain amount of danger. Based on recent experiences, the danger involved has been brought even more to the forefront than previously. What this series of articles will try to review, and possibly cause some intelligent thought and discussion about, is what has been the difference causing this increase of terrible consequences during the recent few years? And, more importantly, maybe some ideas of what could be done to improve the situation for the safety of all involved? In this first article we’ll visit the issues involving Offshore Racing because of the proximity to the OPA and SBI World Championships.

    Offshore powerboat racing has been around since 1911, and there have been a total of 28 fatalities during its history of over 100 years of organized events.



    However, 10 of those deaths have occurred within the past five years, and five of them within the past 11 months. Why is that? Are not the safety equipment, the rescue teams, the boat designs, and the strength of the boat building materials better? Are not the courses shorter and closer to shore and therefore closer to safety personnel and rescue craft? Are there not helicopters and rescue divers in the air during every event with the ability to get to the racers almost immediately in case of an accident? Are not many of the racers protected by a canopy design, with on-board air breathing systems, to keep them from harm in case of a flip, collision, or rollover? If there have been all of these safety improvements, what is the main issue? Where does the root cause lie? Why have these tragedies occurred at such an increased frequency, when in almost every other sport the occurrences have fallen drastically? Why?

    Charlie Bass, who has been a medical safety coordinator for the offshore racing circuits of both the Offshore Super Series and Super Boat International, says, “Technology has not kept up with horsepower. Speeds have doubled in the past 25 years, since the mid 1980s. If you can’t do 160 mph in the upper classes, where speeds average 160-180 mph, you can’t compete.” (June, 2012) “In most cases the hull and cockpit designs have not kept pace with the speeds setting up a disaster waiting to happen. In my experience I have never known anyone to survive an incident occurring at 160 mph or higher.” (Jan, 2012)



    So, is this the root cause, flat-out excessive speed in comparison with the newer boat building materials and designs? Let’s review that proposition.
    Because of their record keeping, and the number of years they have been producing offshore races, we will use SBI’s records for a comparison of speeds the last five years versus previous. First consideration- the fastest average speed for a completed race;
    #1 – 136.38, Drambuie on Ice, 1998 Bahamas
    #2 – 124.82, Big Thunder Marine, 1998 Bahamas
    #3 – 124.75, Fountain/Mercury, 1998 Bahamas
    #4 – 123.49, Geico, Sarasota 2011
    #5 – 122.92, Cintron, Sarasota 2011

    So, three of the fastest all time for completed races were prior to the past five years. For our second consideration, let’s review the fastest lap speeds.

    #1 – 147.4, Planetman, 2001 New York
    #2 – 138.8, Drambuie on Ice, 1998 Bahamas
    #3 – 138.8, Alcone Motorsports, 1998 Bahamas
    #4 – 129.4, Cintron, 2011 Sarasota
    #5 – 129.1, Big Thunder Marine, 1998 Bahamas

    This time, four of the five fastest laps ever were previous to the past five years. Next, let’s review the fastest average speed of a complete race in the SBI World Championships.

    #1 – 121.09, JBS Racing, 2008 Key West
    #2 – 118.10, Big Thunder Marine, 1997 Key West
    #3 – 114.04, Goddess, 2002 New Orleans
    #4 – 112.85, Bud Light, 2008 Key West
    #5 – Unknown

    So, this time, half of the fastest average speeds occurred within the past five year review window. And finally, we’ll review the fastest lap speeds during an SBI World Championship event.

    #1 – 126.1, Drambuie on Ice, 1999 Key West
    #2 – 126.1, Big Thunder Marine, 1999 Key West
    #3 – 125.9, Bud Light, 2008 Key West
    #4 – 124.1, Goddess, 2002 New Orleans
    #5 – Unknown

    So, three of the four known fastest are also previous to the five year window where over 1/3 of these tragic accidents have occurred. Of the speeds for the different categories, there are 18 total and 12 of those 18, 67%, are before the five year window. Can a conclusion be made that the increased speeds of the boats during the past 5 years are the root cause? Can any conclusion be drawn one way or the other? Is that 160 mph straight-away speed Charlie Bass brings up the issue? Well, more than just Charlie certainly think so.



    When I spoke with one of the racers, he thought that canopy design and strength was one of the key issues. The failure of some canopies during race accidents has been an obvious result of some of the accidents. His thought was that, “crash bulkheads, windscreen masks, multi point latches, integrated roll cages, and zero intrusion rigging are the main goals of upgraded canopy safety”. I do know that when I discussed this issue with John Cosker, the founder and owner of Mystic Powerboats, he thought his improved design was capable of 150 mph crash survival. He was not confident in any crash over that speed. However, as he pointed out, there are really no tests to be performed that will take in all possibilities of the different accident scenarios at those speeds. At that time, there were 7 boats total with his improved canopy design on the water.

    Another who appears to believe the speeds over 150 mph may be the issue are the organizations themselves. The boats capable of the fastest speeds currently are the turbine class teams. It is not uncommon to hear the discussion of 180 mph speeds being bantered about. This seems odd when the fastest average speeds for any completed race has the fastest Turbine boat fourth overall, and the one for the fastest of any lap doesn’t even have a Turbine boat in it. But, there are no records of the fastest speed down a straight-away, and that may be where those faster speeds are being put down. But, because of the issues with accidents at the higher speeds, Turbine boats especially have had the rules nailed down to the lower maximum speed. Under the SBI rules for 2012 and 2013, the rules state:



    (SBI) 7. TURBINE CLASS
    7.1 Turbines Class Boats CAN NOT EXCEED 150 MPH any time during the event, which will be periodically monitored by radar guns. If any Turbine class boat exceeds the above stated speed during the event the Boat will be disqualified from the event and fined $1,000.00 for the first offence. A second offence during the season the boat and crew will be suspended for 2 additional events, and a third infraction the boat and crew could be suspended for the balance of the season or 12 months.

    In OPA, the same maximum allowed speed of 150 is also the rule.
    (OPA) TURBINE CLASS RULES
    8. Boat speed is limited to 150 MPH at any given time for all boats, no exceptions.
    So, obviously there is a concern about the speeds, and something is being done to pull them in. I am unable to find out how much of this is because of the insurance company’s insistence, and how much of it is because of the previously mentioned concerns about canopy integrity at higher speeds.

    OPA has also mandated the 150 mph maximum speed in Extreme, and SBI is monitoring the speeds in all classes with clauses like the one in their Superboat Class:
    (SBI) 3.1.3 Performance Parameters/Intent of Rules – The spirit and intent of these rules, thus, are to limit maximum competition performance to safe and competitive straightaway speeds not exceeding 150mph. This parameter is merely a guideline for SBIP officials in the creation and/or amendment of technical rules to maintain competitive balance, contain costs and most importantly to maximize safety. Accordingly, SBIP reserves the right to take whatever actions are necessary, at any time, to ensure that boats competing in the class perform within this parameter in competition.

    Another issue that has been brought up by several of the racers I have talked to, the shorter courses. Shorter courses mean more laps, which mean more corners, which mean more opportunity for rollovers, flips, and contact between boats. The difference between running a 180 mile course to the Bahamas and back, versus running a 60 mile race in most of today’s events, is 30 corners versus a couple. Is this the root cause? Have the courses become too short to better attract fans and please promoters and sponsors with their businesses close to shore?



    And yet another issue discussed with racers, the difference in attitude of today versus back “in the day”. Back then, you counted on no one except yourself. You carried a life raft, water, food, oars, etc because you knew it was up to you to save yourself. You couldn’t count on a diver, a helicopter, a patrol boat, a medical boat, etc. Sometimes the teams who broke down weren’t found until a day later. Why, it was an offshore race, really truly offshore. An old saying for the early offshore competitors was, “Wooden Boats and Iron Men”.

    Also, does some of the issue lie with the teams and builders? Always building lighter boats for better weight distribution? Getting complacent and “expecting” someone to save our butts when we have an issue? Not carrying the necessary safety equipment because no one told us we have to? Not going through a checklist, as your airplane pilot does before takeoff, before each and every race? Actually complaining that they did not inspect the boats to see if all of the necessary safety equipment is aboard and connected, etc? Is it a good idea for the racers and the organizations to get together and make sure these possibilities are discussed?

    One racer I spent time talking with had some other insight. Some of those thoughts were, (with a bit of political editing);
    First, “Too many of today’s racers have too little experience. There are many classes and your first racing experience should not take place in the highest speed classes. ”

    On a similar note from Charlie Bass (Jan 2012), “Anyone with the financial means can buy a boat with lots of horsepower and go fast. Racing should be about the skill of the team to have the proper set-up, prop selection, and the skill and expertise of the Driver and Throttle man.”

    Second, “The courses are entirely too short.”

    Similar statement from Charlie, “Modern race courses are shorter and closer to shore to allow for better spectator involvement. It would be a simple task to make it a course that would require skill rather than speed. High speeds on a smaller course in close proximity to spectators are a recipe for disaster that could cost many lives. I cannot begin to tell you the nights I have stayed awake worried that all that could be done was NOT done to prevent this nightmare for occurring. While the loss of racers is tragic the loss of multiple fans and or spectators would be devastating.”



    Another thought from my discussion with this particular racer, “Many of the race boats are old and wore out. Some have no business on the race course. Older boats that are in need of repair, some with a canopy that offers only an illusion of safety, and the occasional ridiculously overpowered entry. There have been many lessons learned, yet no one gets turned away. If you extract the old wore out boats from the equation, seems to me the turns become the central issue. Offshore boats are not intended to be run like sprint cars. Sprint cars tumble off the track all the time. Little wonder the boats are doing the same.”

    “And yet another issue is the biggest and fastest mentality. They don’t actually race anyway. All they do is raise the expectation for higher speeds. The racing is NOT better the faster you go. It is always a parade of broken boats by the end. The winner is the one that broke the least, or he is uncontested. Either way it is no good.”

    “Water demands respect. Until you have been hurt it is impossible to imagine just how un-forgiving it is. Everyone who hasn’t had a bad day and gone swimming at a race course should be asked to jump out of a moving boat. 45 mph is fast enough to get your attention. It could very well send a few guys home.”

    So, in addition to the “dunk-tank” testing, we add the “push-you-out-of-the-boat-at-45” testing?



    Final thought; The one thing that seems to come up in every conversation, whether verbal or inked, speed today is thought to be excessive for the current courses and equipment. Obviously the organizations are working to control that, just look at their rules above; maybe some of these other items can also be part of the discussion. I truly wish them success, for my sake as well as all my friends.

    Take Care, Think, and Be Safe