Key West Race Length???

[chewiekw]

I just read that the race length is only 83 miles for Sunday and 44 miles for the Wed and Friday races????
What kind of World Championship is that? I remember when it was over 200 miles for the final day.

We are supposed to make this harder not easier. First we stop going offshore and now we are doing sprint races? This is not what offshore powerboat racing is supposed to be.

Back in 86 the open boats would run 150 miles for a regular national race...What happened to making this a proving ground?

[Gladhe8er]

Yup, those lengths sound right, and the smaller boats will likely run less laps, making the race shorter. It's cool for the spectator because the boats go by so many times, but it certainly isn't the challenge it used to be running in the rough seas off of Key West back in the 80's...

It doesn't take the same amount of balls these days to boat race as it did 25 years ago, thats for sure...

[smokeybandit]

I have had this discussion numerous times, and I still don't believe that the racecourse needs to be inshore to keep the fans interest. Most fans have absolutely no idea who is winning and what class they are watching. They just love to see and hear the boats. If you have enough boats, and the starts are staggered, the fans will constantly be seeing boats go by. In order to truly test man and machine, these races need to be run offshore. The true test in Key west has always been when you make the turn at Sand Key. The inshore racing on shortened courses just doesn't make sense to me.

[1waterboy1]

Originally Posted by smokeybandit

I have had this discussion numerous times, and I still don't believe that the racecourse needs to be inshore to keep the fans interest. Most fans have absolutely no idea who is winning and what class they are watching. They just love to see and hear the boats. If you have enough boats, and the starts are staggered, the fans will constantly be seeing boats go by. In order to truly test man and machine, these races need to be run offshore. The true test in Key west has always been when you make the turn at Sand Key. The inshore racing on shortened courses just doesn't make sense to me.

I agree with you.The key to spectator appeal is helicopter coverage of the boats battling the ocean conditions while they battle each other.Offshore powerboat will never be enough of a live spectator support to attract a paid gate.In fact,I know that the crowds are not any bigger now than they used to be when the boats were really offshore.By the way,I always liked your Stock class "Smokey And The Bandit";and the the chris cat in the Pro-Stock class.I really thought our sport was at its best in the late eighties...my favorite classes were S,B and A.

[butch ryan]

Back In The Early 80's It Was Standing Room Only At The Pier House , The Galion, All Along The Shore. The Races Went Out To Smiths Shoal, Sand Key. All Offshore . Lots Of Action And The Fans Were Entertained For The Whole Race As Boats Were Always Coming Into Or Leaving The Harbor.

[smokeybandit]

Originally Posted by butch ryan

Back In The Early 80's It Was Standing Room Only At The Pier House , The Galion, All Along The Shore. The Races Went Out To Smiths Shoal, Sand Key. All Offshore . Lots Of Action And The Fans Were Entertained For The Whole Race As Boats Were Always Coming Into Or Leaving The Harbor.

Butch,

That's exactly the point that I was trying to make. We always packed em in back then. For the most part, I don't think the fans even realize what they are watching. As long as boats are going by, they always seemed happy.

If there are any out there that have never raced, but like to watch, answer this:

Are you able to tell who is winning, and what classes are racing at any given time? Or, do you just love seeing really fast, loud boats going by?

[ufix1]

I am a 15 year old so Obviously i never raced but it depends if there are not a lot of classes just three or four I will be able but the ay key west is nobody has a chance

[Top Banana]

HORBA is planning on a re-creation of the Miami to Key West races of old.

We picked the weekend that follows the Miami Boat Show in 2010...That's right everyone has 18 months to prepare.

We feel that boat racers will race anything, anywhere and we love seeing the new technological advances made, BUT, we also feel that some racers would still like to battle the open ocean too and we hope to provide a venue for that.

More info as far as dates and classes on our website. www.historicraceboats.com

Oh yeah, that is a 38 foot Bertram on it's way down after jumping a wave.

[smokeybandit]

That sounds like an awesome race. I can only hope that by then I will have another boat.

[Velocity Vector]

Will it be televised?