Boats.com story on "Whatever Happened to Offshore Powerboat Racing?"

[ericc]

Whadya mean? Who didn't like me?

Oops, my bad. EVERYBODY loved ya, LOL! Love the little Corsa down at the Innovation shop. Hope you're doing well Mike.

[Ratickle]

Like Matt, I am a professional fan of offshore racing, having covered the sport seriously for 9 years at Powerboat. I also raced for about three years before similar spousal pressure and the birth of my son Blake made me decide to hang up the orange helmet. I admit that every time I see a race, part of me yearns to be out there. I tried to cover the sport with an optimistic approach and annually hoped that a coming season would be the year when everyone got together and made the sport as great as it could be. I think that the closest we got was when Gene Whipp was running APBA Offshore and, as much as some didn't like him, Michael Allweiss did a good job of bringing the sport closer to the fans. Matt's assessment is dead-on. It's primarily always been a serious hobby, not a professional sport, but one we can't seem to get enough of.

Okay, first, what were the keys to Gene and Michaels successes? Plus other eras where there were successful periods?

You gotta start somewhere.

[Mike A.]

Oops, my bad. EVERYBODY loved ya, LOL! Love the little Corsa down at the Innovation shop. Hope you're doing well Mike.

Whattup E?! I am doing really well. How are you? Remember the old Subluxator "A" boat? Well, that is the Corsa you saw at Innovation. They are putting in a new Vortec and port side throttle station. Time for the kids to learn to drive a performance boat with Daddy as T-Man. G-d help 'em!

[Mike A.]

Okay, first, what were the keys to Gene and Michaels successes? Plus other eras where there were successful periods?

You gotta start somewhere.

Television and Factory classes.

[ericc]

Okay, first, what were the keys to Gene and Michaels successes? Plus other eras where there were successful periods?

You gotta start somewhere.

A couple of things made Gene a success and the first was that he was a FORMER, not current racer when he was in charge, so he had no personal agenda. Plus, he had instant credibility and respect from the competitors so no one questioned his decisions. He came the closest to ruling with an "iron fist," so to speak. Finally, he was also fortunate enough to have a strong fleet of Open and Modified class boats, long before there were Super Cat 750s, 850s and all this stuff we have today. Many would argue that the old class system worked better, especially when you had cats competing against V-bottom in Open and Modified.

Michael came the closest to making it a spectator sport, got corporate backing from GMC and other companies and basically laid the foundation for the current class structure with the Factory and Spec-motor classes we have today. The first canopied Fountain to appear at the world championship basically killed Factory class racing because now everyone had to have a much more expensive canopied boat to be competitive. Yes it is safer to be enclosed, but it definitely limits boat counts and it essentially pushed companies like Donzi, Cigarette, Velocity, Sunsation, Hustler and others out of the sport because they don't build boats exclusively for racing.

Trust me, I could go on and on, but my 5-year-old daughter is sick of seeing me write this and it's kind of tough to type when you've 53 wriggling pounds sitting on your shoulders.

[Ratickle]

Go on and on as you get time, different points of view for the same issue are always good.........

Some questions/observations about your comments.



1. I see no way to put Cat and Vee back together in Open and Modified. The slower GPS classes, yes. My opinion is many current teams would say heck with it.


2. To get back to Factory Class racing, the speeds would somehow have to be contained at under a maximum top speed of -?- to keep the teams safe. What would that speed be, and, would/should it be done with weight per HP like the overseas circuits?

3. Did running courses closer to shore also help with the spectator sport issue? It seems to me to be the largest complaint I hear. And, when someone does swing wide at the end of a race, people really get excited.

[ericc]

Go on and on as you get time, different points of view for the same issue are always good.........

Some questions/observations about your comments.



1. I see no way to put Cat and Vee back together in Open and Modified. The slower GPS classes, yes. My opinion is many current teams would say heck with it.


2. To get back to Factory Class racing, the speeds would somehow have to be contained at under a maximum top speed of -?- to keep the teams safe. What would that speed be, and, would/should it be done with weight per HP like the overseas circuits?

3. Did running courses closer to shore also help with the spectator sport issue? It seems to me to be the largest complaint I hear. And, when someone does swing wide at the end of a race, people really get excited.

I'd rather see V and cat race in a controlled competition than at the front of a poker run with Cat Killer jumping the start to prove that Fountains are faster than catamarans. And before anyone jumps on me for being a Reggie-hater, you're wrong. He's done amazing things for the sport of performance boating and offshore racing, but I just don't agree with this particular approach.

The sport of offshore racing goes through cyclical ebbs and flows. When the fleets are big, guys stick around for a couple of years, get sick of the politics and leave, while the die-hards keep running and wait for the next increase in fleet numbers.

What I miss, personally, is the POPRA days in the mid-1990s when travel costs were minimal because there was a great LOCAL circuit for guys who didn't want to travel all over the country. OPA provides that now for guys on the NY, NJ and MD coasts and I'm not sure what's going on for guys on the West Coast. SBI is primarily a FLA circuit for competitors who don't want to travel outside the Sunshine State, but John isn't exactly a big proponent of the smaller classes.

I'd like to see the sport get back to racing with the smaller classes in local organizations and then ONE big NATIONAL circuit with a few classes, such as Super Cat, Cat Lite and Cat Outboard with Super Vee and Vee lite, vying for National championships. The guys in the smaller classes would need to QUALIFY for the world championships in Key West and that title would mean something. I raced in the old Offshore A class in Key West in the mid-1990s and there were at least 20 boats. It was awesome and if you won, you felt like you accomplished something.

[Ratickle]

OPA's circle is a 12 hour drive maximum when they set it up. I think they did a good job.

Great Lakes to Northeast guys.

[Ratickle]

And one thing we don't want to discuss on this thread is Cat Killer in a Poker Run. That needs to stay somewhere else.

[ericc]

And one thing we don't want to discuss on this thread is Cat Killer in a Poker Run. That needs to stay somewhere else.

True, true. Great Point.

[Ratickle]

F1 and F2 (Or one or the other). Viable for return? Or dead forever?

[imco offshore]

money helped kill offshore lateley big money attracts more big money , it,s all a personal agenda, so you want to be a STAR, build a big boat put in an engine or turbine in it knowing well there is no class for it , don,t worry? go to any org PAY THEM to start a class with your boat and engine type ,, bwalla your now WORLD CHAMPION , PRESENT this ressume to a unknowing sponsor tell them you never been beat they think these guys are all that bwalla MORE MONEY. how many WORLD CHAMPIONS can you think of that DID,NT race anyone, think about it , it,s all the BIG CLASSES super turbines, giant 1500 hp v-8s, cats , giant v-8s super v,s , even cats with 4 engines, I ,seen a woman on a dock at a race jumping up and down screeming at the top of her lungs GOOO GOOO GGOOOO. everybody was looking at her after the race yelling WE WON WE WON , i stood next to her after the race was over acting like a unknowing fan and aksed her,, you won ?she yelled YESS , i asked WHO WERE YOU RACING? the blood drained from her face as 50 people waited for the answer! if they trully wanted to compete against someone else they could have, the org,s were whores for the buck, !yea we all <racers> would love the chance to ride or drive one of these things , but you have to be in the right place at the right time, you know how that goes, but untill the org,s qiut passing out checkerd flags like candy , the sport will always fight mockery , it,s not the number of classes , it,s the number IN THE CLASS, if there arn,t at least 3 or more boats in a class , your not racing , your riding around on a race course. i think it would be humileating to stand on a deck of a race boat waving a checkerd flag back and forth, going into the pits where 100 other drivers and throttleman are knowing they all know you didn,t beat time, ,,sorry,,, well that,s my 2 cents,

[imco offshore]

F1 and F2 (Or one or the other). Viable for return? Or dead forever?

i think to have f 1 or f 2 you would need factory involvment,

[Ratickle]

True, but in another stance, there is a market for that.

I put it in the same principle as wheel-standers, jet-dragsters, the Blue Angels, etc.

They really don't compete with anyone except one or two under very rare circumstances. But, when the Blue Angels are around for an air show, attendance usually doubles. The Bi-Planes and stunt pilots who compete are still there, they are just kind of upstaged by a high dollar really big show.

Same with the jet dragsters and wheelstanders at the tracks around the country.

As my wife said at St Clair, every time CatCanDo came around, the crowd cheered, excitement was increased, etc. It is the biggest, loudest, and fastest thing there (and was racing no-one)......

Probably didn't make JD Byrider and Amsoil super happy. But, helps with the gate next year.

So, work them in to help support, and promote, the sport of racing. If it does that, it's good for all. (I think)

[DAREDEVIL]

money helped kill offshore lateley big money attracts more big money , it,s all a personal agenda, so you want to be a STAR, build a big boat put in an engine or turbine in it knowing well there is no class for it , don,t worry? go to any org PAY THEM to start a class with your boat and engine type ,, bwalla your now WORLD CHAMPION , PRESENT this ressume to a unknowing sponsor tell them you never been beat they think these guys are all that bwalla MORE MONEY. how many WORLD CHAMPIONS can you think of that DID,NT race anyone, think about it , it,s all the BIG CLASSES super turbines, giant 1500 hp v-8s, cats , giant v-8s super v,s , even cats with 4 engines, I ,seen a woman on a dock at a race jumping up and down screeming at the top of her lungs GOOO GOOO GGOOOO. everybody was looking at her after the race yelling WE WON WE WON , i stood next to her after the race was over acting like a unknowing fan and aksed her,, you won ?she yelled YESS , i asked WHO WERE YOU RACING? the blood drained from her face as 50 people waited for the answer! if they trully wanted to compete against someone else they could have, the org,s were whores for the buck, !yea we all <racers> would love the chance to ride or drive one of these things , but you have to be in the right place at the right time, you know how that goes, but untill the org,s qiut passing out checkerd flags like candy , the sport will always fight mockery , it,s not the number of classes , it,s the number IN THE CLASS, if there arn,t at least 3 or more boats in a class , your not racing , your riding around on a race course. i think it would be humileating to stand on a deck of a race boat waving a checkerd flag back and forth, going into the pits where 100 other drivers and throttleman are knowing they all know you didn,t beat time, ,,sorry,,, well that,s my 2 cents,

I agree.

[DAREDEVIL]

True, but in another stance, there is a market for that.

I put it in the same principle as wheel-standers, jet-dragsters, the Blue Angels, etc.

Then they should put on an after race show just for them !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Ratickle]

Then they should put on an after race show just for them !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Then I think you'd lose their involvement.

[imco offshore]

Then they should put on an after race show just for them !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

damn DD i agree too, don,t label them WORLD CHAMPIONS ,

[Ratickle]

So, reach a comprimise. To get a world championship, you need at least two other competitors. Otherwise it's a ????? fastest lap award or something.

[DAREDEVIL]

Then I think you'd lose their involvement.

Which probably wouldn't be bad at all. FOR THE SPORT.
not for the fans at this point because most of them are there because of that.
Which i think is sad.
I do think the best racing is if u take all V singles canopy boats.
all V twin canopy boats and same for the open ones. and stick them in a class for each.
Make some rules for engine/'s and length and that it.
Ofcorse the cats the same.