Large breaking seas off Fort Lauderdale set the scene for the Super Boat International and APBA GMC Pro Gare National Offshore Championship finals on October 10.
Large breaking seas off Fort Lauderdale set the scene for the Super Boat International and APBA GMC Pro Grade National Offshore Championship finals on October 10.
Over sixty race boats were entered in the two race contest on Sunday, the first at noon and the second scheduled for 2:00 pm. Due to weather conditions however, the second race was delayed one hour, when 13 Super Vee Entries roared away toward the first turn and on past the pier.
“After a lot of reasoning and a little guessing, it was obvious we had selected the right combination of propellers and ballast for the conditions,” said Nick Pavlichek driving ‘Lucas Oil Scarab’. Then a sledgehammer hit us!”
“All power cut-out leaving us dead in the water. We fired the motors back up again and everything seemed fine but by now we were at the back of the fleet. Spectators on the pier later said they were amazed how quickly we caught up but the problems didn’t go away. After a few laps of intermittent electrical cut-outs, we were forced to make a pit stop.”
“I went back and lifted the engine hatch to diagnose the problem, but the five-foot seas made this rather tricky although we still managed to get back on the course for two more laps.”
The heavy sea took its toll. Many boats were physically breaking, two actually sinking, while others headed back to harbour with broken drives. The final results had ‘Pier 57’ taking first place with ‘The Lucas Oil’ finishing fourth.
After the race Superboat International announced they had signed a contract with the Outdoor Life Network for three more years, locking in a series of one-hour shows on US, TV networks.
The next major event on the American offshore circuit will be the World Championships in Key West, Florida – a three race series, on Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday November 17, 20 and 21.
