How Our British Friends Viewed 2013's Key West World's

[Serious News]

2013 SUPERBOAT INTERNATIONAL AT KEY WEST - A QUICK DASH AROUND THE CANS

This year's 33rd Annual Key West World Championship appeared to be a fuel preservation exercise with some races less than 20 miles

Let's look at the positives that came out of this year's Super Boat International organised event - the 33rd Annual Key West World Championship.

International competitors, glorious Florida Sunshine, parties, socialising for fans / competitors, good food and copious amounts of cold American beer and for us Johny Foreigners, the live streaming was excellent.

Super Boat International race promoter John Carbonell certainly played his part in putting "heads in beds" in Key West hotels and gave restaurateurs, bar owners something to smile about.

Powerboat Racing is great for Key West

Let's look at the negatives.

The racing saw the shortest courses ever run at a Key West event, with race laps over a 4.5 mile distance and a total distance of 19 miles for the Wednesday and Friday heats.

The Event "spin" - "The Grand Daddy of all Offshore Powerboat Racing events" rings hollow when 2013 Key West competitor Vee Ganjavian in Microlink drove nearly 178 miles in horrendous seas to win the 2012 Cowes Torquay Cowes race, whilst competing last week in Florida - 3 heats "round the cans" racing a total of 80 miles in flat, inshore water.

As a final note, we fail to understand how a competitor can be awarded a World Championship with no more than 15 miles raced.



http://raceboatinternational.com/index.php?id=993

[fund razor]

The water was "flat" at key west?

[old377guy]

The races did provide a whirlwind of fantastic social, community and powerboat events; perhaps a re-naming would quell this - The 2014 Key West Whirled Championships

[Ratickle]

How about the "catamarans" comment......

History of the Race

It was back in 1961 at a party on his boat Drumbeat that Sir Max Aitkin decided to start the powerboat race. Ray Hunt, the designer of Drumbeat, pointed out that on the previous day it had been the Bertram boat, designed by him, that had won the Nassau-Miami powerboat race.

Not to be outdone by the Americans Sir Max Aitkin said, “Let’s have a race between my house (The Prospect in Cowes) and somewhere in the West, say Torquay,” and the race was born.

There were between 30 and 40 entries in the first race with celebrities of the day like Billy Butlin and sports car drivers racing.

“The race became the leading race in Europe, if not the world and internationals say you haven’t really achieved anything unless you’ve competed and finished the Cowes-Torquay,” said power boat racing expert, Ray Bulman.

“In 1968 when the UIM (Union Internationale Motonautique) introduced the World Offshore Championships they required races of 150 miles to qualify so it became Cowes-Torquay-Cowes,” added Ray.

The British Powerboat Racing Club was formed in Cowes five years ago to run the social side of the race and the race itself.

“The race is now limited to mono hulls. The first catamaran appeared in 1977 but it altered the race overnight, because they were very expensive and, of course, they couldn’t handle the weather and the race kept having to be cancelled,” said Ray. “They changed the race to mono hulls only about five years ago.”

[Ratickle]

It may be a relative thing too....


Cowes Teignmouth (Torquay) Cowes powerboat race 2012 outward leg at Portland Bill

[Ratickle]

Cowes Teignmouth (Torquay) Cowes powerboat race 2012 Portland Bill - return leg

[fund razor]

We stopped needing to take such long boat rides once we escaped the Crown.

[Ratickle]

Here is the start of the race filmed from Apache Warhorse. Only 178 miles to go!



CTC powerboat race 2012 Start
Race start filmed from Apache Warhorse

[Ratickle]

Apache Warhorse in Cowes-Torquay

[lohring]

My only personal experience with offshore racing was in the 2010 Cowes Torquay Cowes race. It was very rough. Mike, Dry Martini's owner, broke ribs, and it took us almost 6 hours to go the 200+ miles for an average speed of 36 mph. Only 13 out of 26 starters finished. Mike was in the 2011, 2012, and 2013 races. He placed the best in 2013 with a 6th overall finish. The water was smooth and for the first time he ran Dry Martini's engines at 6,000 rpm the whole way. He finished both legs in under 3 hours and average speed was 77 mph. Allowing for deviations from the shortest course, that's pretty close to Dry Martini's top speed in the mid to high 80's.
By today's standards Dry Martini is small and underpowered. The lack of seats as well as an open cockpit also limits speed when it's rough.

All these races were old style races with only mono hull boats for safety reasons. In all but the last one, cats that survived probably wouldn't have had a speed advantage. The year I raced, the winner was Red FPT at 59 mph average. The same boat has won with an average speed of over 90 mph. Size really mattered under rough conditions.

The US offshore races haven't been like this for a long time. They are safer, cheaper (It costs over $600 just to fill Dry Martini up in the US, gas in England costs lots more.) and better for spectators. Are they as good a test? Does it matter? Costs and other issues are threatening to kill the Cowes Torquay Cowes race. Thoughts from people much more involved than me are here. Mike keeps entering Dry Martini because people love the old boat and the times it represents.

Lohring Miller

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[Pete B]

The short races has it's advantage, you can start drinking earlier

[Bobcat]

I think we need a mixture of both long, and short races in KW. They should have one race out to Fort Jefferson and back, roughly a 140 miles.

[Ratickle]

I agree with Bobcat. Some shorter laps, longer than the rough water shortened course though, with at least one long offshore leg would seem to be the best compromise out there and give some of the "Offshore" back to offshore performance boating.

[Anchored]

Lohring, Dry Martini finished Fourth overall this year! Give the Ol' boy some credit.

Jeff

[Cookee]

It may be a relative thing too....


Cowes Teignmouth (Torquay) Cowes powerboat race 2012 outward leg at Portland Bill

That's me at 6.33 - although it looks fast we are in the smallest category with two 3 litre diesels (Yanmar BY260's) - It is a real challenge to finish the race and there is the debate over which is best for the sport overall taking into account the competitors, spectators and of course the sponsors not to mention the TV. It's tough to get it right but the CTC race has been around for a long time and I hope we can keep it for a few more years!

By the way we did finish the race although we lost a blade of a prop past the half way mark - it was a long ride home!

[BarChopper]

In the Venture Cup race this year... On Race number 5 "the final race of the event" the course was from Guernsey to Poole. However to give the people on the Guernsey shoreline a treat and something to watch the boats ran a somewhat short course that carried the fleet by the island three times before they set off across the English Channel to Poole. I think rat has the right Idea. A course does not have to be the SAME laps each time. You can give the spectators a chance to see the racing AND have distance at the same time.

[FLYING FISH]

Looking at Post 4,the Cowes Race has only be cancelled once,when a gale was forecast.Also not every year has run a CTC,due to sponsor require ments.In the days when cats ran, it was fairly moderate conditions,although 1981 was a bit rougher,and the cats found that too much.Some of the time it`s been called the Cowes Classic,another name for a race that never crossed Lyme Bay or was round the solent cans for P1 racing.

In 1977 (Cougar cat debut) it never changed the face of the race as such.2010 when Dry Martini IV entered it was particularly bad,the worst for a long time,by which time the rules were based on Marathon racing ,so cats were regarded as menace if they got into trouble in heavy seas and the rescue services would be needed.

Racing is more governed by the staying power of safety boats out in rough seas for hours on end,and the cost of course,so anything approaching force 5-6 needs debating as to course re-appraisal.Sure you need a mix of long and short laps,but places like Guernsey lend themselves to that,whereas the Solent now is awash with health and safety.Select venues where health and safety is not so demanding,bring the boats in close for spectators,then you have a chance of enticing sponsors and TV,otherwise you`ll be stuck in the mire of an exciting sport with no one to appreciate it.

I am sure that although short U.S. courses suit a lot of people,there are those who want the challenge of really achieving something in testing conditions and you`ll never please everybody,but it says `Offshore Racing ` on the tin and nowadays you ain`t getting what the tin says,unless of course you come to the Cowes - Torquay.As past world champions have said many times,you haven`t achieved anything till you have done a CTC or a Viareggio - Bastia or a Miami - Nassau,and the last two are now history.

[Dunbar 104]

The short races has it's advantage, you can start drinking earlier

Might as well just have 10 2 lap races. Most every race is over by the first corner anyway.

As far as the longer races, They require a different type of person than what we have racing. The distance racer is looking for adventure and accomplishment. The short track racer a trophy and attention. It was fun for awhile.

Riding a 100 mile 8 hour dirtbike enduro next week. The last 20 miles at night. Just finishing is something of an accomplishment. It is put on for the racers not the fans.

[phragle]

One of the funnest races I have ever done was a 24 hour desert race. Racing at night is a whole different world. If your going to do a lot of night stuff, check out Baja designs, they have some really nice light setups.

As for the first turn.. this offshore racing, not drag racing, not hydroplane racing. If you race long races, you take the 900 hp 75 mph boats and the newest fanciest hull out of the equation, Replacing it with prep, and skill. The more you race the better you get. more people have a chance of doing well and feeling a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction racing. That leads to less people leaving the sport and more people thinking they have a shot entering the sport.

In 93 I ended up 2nd overall in the country doing the national hare and hound series riding the smallest atv in the field. I did it not by having the latest greatest quad or the biggest baddest motor. I put hours and hours into dialing my bike in, prepping it so it held together and being a smart rider.

One of the 24 hour races I was in the overall lead for 6 hours on a blaster against factory backed 250r's and banshees.

[Pete B]

This year's storm course was two fold, after the first race , races 2 and 3 did NOT have ample boats to make it good racing, before the first race One supercat had flipped in testing and was out, one turbine did not start on wednesday, and the second turbine had issues every race throughout the week, by Sunday 2 more supercats were OUT. no matter how you spin it, it wasnt the best numbers KW has seen. as far as a long course go, if navigating comes into the picture you may have some lost at sea. even with today advanced electronics.