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An Introduction To Professional Offshore Powerboat Racing

     When a field of snarling professional powerboats roar over the starting line at more than 100 miles per hour,  one only gets a small glimpse of the skill, stamina, and just plain perseverance required by the crews involved.

            Offshore Racing is unlike any other form of motor sports competition.   Powerboat racers match themselves and their equipment against not only other participants and their boats, but also against the unpredictable and sometimes unforgiving rivers, lakes, and oceans across the globe.

            To the uninformed, power boat racing looks like a simple matter of raw speed and power.  However, it is markedly more complex than high performance machinery competing in a grueling environment under unusually difficult circumstances.

            Offshore Racing is truly a demanding sport both mentally and physically, requiring the crews to maintain the delicate balance between speed and control while repeatedly absorbing shock loads in excess of eight times the force of gravity over navigational courses stretching for more than 100 miles.  Total concentration is requisite as the boats hurdle airborne from wave to wave.   A  momentary lack of concentration or the slightest error can literally flip a boat or send it hurtling end-over-end with deadly consequences.

            No laboratory can duplicate the continual impact, loading, or vibrational stresses imposed upon the crews and equipment that the crucible of Offshore Racing provides. The human body can receive trauma equivalent to a ten-round prize fight while the hulls, engines, and drive systems receive punishment equal to hundreds of hours of consumer use in a single race. Key improvements in the construction and design of today's modern pleasure and commercial vessels have been brought about through the realm of Offshore Racing.