Offshore Powerboat Racing Returns to St. Clair

Blue Water/OPA Press Release

St. Clair, Michigan - The St. Clair River Classic offshore races will return to the City of St. Clair for its 25th year and Blue Water Offshore Racing Association's President Steve Brunner said: "We are excited to be part of a new offshore racing series that includes international teams; will bring more boats to St. Clair and we will continue to welcome teams and fans who have made our race site so popular".

Following the joint announcement at the end of October by Powerboat P1 and OPA Racing that they were to partner to create the American Power Boat Association Offshore Championship in 2019, the two promoters have released details of four of the race sites in the six-venue series; that includes St. Clair.

OPA Racing has been the primary sanctioning body for the St. Clair River Classic in partnership with Blue Water Offshore Racing Association since 2004.

OPA and Powerboat P1, have been involved in offshore racing since 2003, run under the APBA and a key aim of the new partnership is to strengthen the future of racing in the United States by delivering an expanded, cohesive, world-class race series split equally between northern and southern states. The four race venues announced today see the 2019 championship feature major, high-profile events in Florida, Missouri and Michigan:

Cocoa Beach : 17-19 May - 'Thunder on Cocoa Beach'
Lake of the Ozarks : 31 May -2 June - Lake Race
Sarasota : 5-7 July - Sarasota Powerboat Grand Prix Festival
St. Clair River Classic : 26-28 July - St. Clair River Classic

Offshore and, working with Powerboat P1, we now have the opportunity to unite the race teams in a way that has been missing for a long time. We plan to announce the remaining two race venues later this month and then everyone can look forward to a new and exciting six-race championship in 2019."

Azam Rangoonwala, chief executive of Powerboat P1 which has its United States office in Orlando, added: "We have identified several important areas where we believe the partnership will deliver significant results commercially and in terms of the sport's organization and profile. Our aim is always to stage events that excite and entertain, ensuring enjoyment for spectators and TV audiences with sponsor value and a real economic impact for the host venues."

Brunner states "combining this new offshore racing partnership with Blue Water Offshore Racing Association's experience in race production in St. Clair; and, the entertainment and vendors managed by Funfest Productions, will absolutely enhance St. Clair's event so our event will continue to be a fan favorite".

Blue Water Offshore Racing Association, Inc. was organized in 1994 as a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation for the purpose of producing offshore powerboat races on the St. Clair River; and to support like community non-profit organizations as possible.

Hi! I’ve been absent for a while as I retired from racing in the UK and lost interest a bit, however a friend of mine wants to start racing in one of the single inboard engine V boats in 2020, I think the Bravo drive is one to avoid to start with, he’s got a decent budget and is based in Florida, how much is in the South East without travelling too far or would it have to be the OPA series nationally?

Hey big guy, glad to see you around.

That is a loaded question in many ways. First, what class? There are several single engine Vee classes, but the only spec single engine classes (non-GPS maximum speed) are the two canopied classes which were, (before the new names), Vee Lite and Vee Lite Extreme.

Both use modified Bravos. And they actually hold up well, unless you spin the boats out and crack a gimble. With the latest designs from Merc, and possibly upgrades from the Bravo Shop, IMCO, etc, they have lasted multiple seasons with proper care and partial rebuilds in the off season.

As far as organizations go, where the events are, right now it is up in Limbo for a year from now. The second question is does he want to race for fun, or a national championship with a lot of events.

OPA - http://www.oparacing.org/schedule.html Four events in Florida, ten events total
RWO - https://www.raceworldoffshore.global/schedule/ Two events in Florida, three events total
SBI - https://superboat.com/ Actually only one event in Louisiana. (Shows they have the two RWO events).

So, if you're racing for fun, and next year is exactly the same with organizations and events (highly unlikely), get a boat and run six events in Florida. The class for a single engine canopied vee is either Super Vee Lite, Superboat Vee, ProStock Vee, or Super Vee Lite Extreme, depending on engine stock or modified.

If you want to race a full season and get a national championship, go with OPA (at this time). We all have our fingers crossed that the P1/OPA combination will actually invigorate the sport again. But, the new RWO put a monkey wrench in that happening this year. No idea how it will shake out long term, and won't know until after Key West most likely.

Thanks for that - I hadn't seen your reply so I started a new thread on the main board - sorry for the duplication!

He would prefer to keep it as much as possible in Florida to start with but could travel if we can find a reliable tow truck driver! Which class could we do the 6 Florida races in that would be the most reliable - Super Vee Lite, Superboat Vee, ProStock Vee, or Super Vee Lite Extreme, it's more a question of not breaking stuff and finishing races than the cost to be honest?

If it gets serious I'll probably fly out to one of the races, I think 6 a year will be plenty for both of us as I'll be commuting from England! Lots of air miles!