Re: Open Ocean Racing
 

Nobody says they can't run, I said earlier that just bragging rights would be up for grabs for the boats that can't run with the big boys. Who knows, maybe all the big boys will break, and a smaller, slower boat would win. A classic Tortoise vs Hare scenario.

Re: Open Ocean Racing
 

and there are 42 starters not the half dozen you mention, and they are ranked/started on thier qualifying effort... many guys that run in the race are no nomers that qualify 42...thats better than being 43rd.

Re: Open Ocean Racing
 

They will go hand in hand. And I think the point to the original thread was real offshore racing to bring in more manufacturers! :D

Re: Open Ocean Racing
 

Re: Open Ocean Racing
 

Cuda, think about this. Avergae Joe Public is sitting in his recliner and watching Nascar on a Sunday afternoon. A commercial comes on and says:

#1 - REAL OFFSORE CHALLENGE! Back like it the good ol' days this 150 mile race will test man and machine against mother nature! We have rounded up SIX of the fastest boats in the world to compete in this event and it is sure not to dissappoint any fan of true speed! Be sure to tune in and see who the offshore king will be!!!

#2 - REAL OFFSORE CHALLENGE! Back like it the good ol' days this 150 mile race will test man and machine against mother nature! We have rounded up over SEVENTY of the fastest boats in the world to compete in this event and it is sure not to dissappoint any fan of true speed! Several classes of boats from the high flying under 30 footers to the 100+ mph big dogs. Be sure to tune in and see who the king of offshore will be!!!

Which one is the average person going to want to watch? Which one is going to draw more manufacturers? Which one is going to draw more sponsers? Which one is going to be better overall fo the sport?

My point is we can have the big dogs run AND have smaller boats run in classes. Did I make my point? :D

Re: Open Ocean Racing
 

Many people miss the point. Think about where Nascar would be today if only manufactures provided support/sponsorship. The cars you see are sponsored by major corporations, not the manufacturer unless of course I missed something and Viagra is building cars :rolleyes: The teams need money to setup the boat they feel is competitive, at that point the manufacturer may get involed with supporting their product. The only way to get corporations to put up the money is to get the public involved. It's all advertising and corporate hospitality.

Sanctioning bodies need to set the rules, keep them in place for a mininum of 5 year and not bend to pressure from well funded teams. The LLC almost had it but got so deep in the politics and dealing with the egos they lost it. Takes a huge pair of balls to stand up to all these teams and say "this is the way it is, don't like it race somewhere else." In the end you may lose a team or two but the overall fleet will be much larger.

As far as classes, there are too many. You can't build a professional race organization with amature type classes. The fans, especially new ones, get confused and lose interest. We did a lot of corporate hospitality with our sponsor and their "guests". Our SCL usually ran with SC and SCL outboards. They had no idea who was racing again who. So the only fans we're really left with are the hard core boaters that understand the boats. You need fans that can identify with the teams. 80% of the people watching Nascar don't have a clue about the cars or the rules, but that toothless woman sitting it TN is saying "that driver sure is cute" so she watches the race and can understand who is leading and who isn't.

but that's just the opinion of an x-racer that got totally tired of the BS to the point where I don't even bother following it anymore.......except to see how ScottB is doing. AMF rules!!!

Re: Open Ocean Racing
 

I agree, that's why I say size classes only. That's it, unlimIted hp, any drive you want, any weight, whatever. That way MORE boats will be involved. I think the public could handle that. Even the toothless women! :d

Without a lot of boats and some good deck to deck racing the public will never show interest.

Re: Open Ocean Racing
 

2 classes, one for Vs and one for Cats. All other boats should be run on a different day.

Re: Open Ocean Racing
 

Look, boaters are boaters, performance boaters would love it. If we just had an OSO member race, and told everyone else to F off, filmed and taped everything, we would have an awesome event. Let's do it. Fort Lauderdale to Bimini. My boat is ready.....in the under 60 MPH class, complete with fishing gear! Under 60, under 80, under 100, over 100 under 35, over 35 feet, cats and V separate classes. That ain't too difficult. <gg> Make sure U.S. Coast Guard was notified well in advance.

I think many of the lightweight B.S. "performance boats" made today would break apart, or fly weird off real offshore waves, that is why manufacturers don't want to do this type of thing.

Hey, this is Offshore Only, let's prove it with an internal "club" event. That will give the goof up racing organizations something to think about also.

It should cost NOTHING more than Bahmian entry permits. Plus extras for a party, t-shirts, moorage etc. Start offshore and end offshore or where the Bahamian police say it is okay for a flying finish near shore. I am sure they would be totally amped for this as they love this type of thing, it is great for tourism and brings in the bucks.

Expecting a lot of broken boats, so it would be great for SeaTow also, get them to sponsor perhaps. Safety would be an issue though. Perhaps each boat would have to do a radio or cell phone check on a separate frequency every fifteen minutes or so, giving GPS readings, speed and heading. Failure to report means a roving helicopter would check. Required MOB devices on every person would make rescue easier. Run only the number of boats for available radio channels.

Oh yeah, call it an ocean ralley so the insurance companies are happy.

Re: Open Ocean Racing
 

Why turn away potential smaller boats that could make the whole thing more exciting and in turn get more viewers? Size classes aren't confusing and they could all race at the same time. Hell, even the average nascar fan can read a tape measure! :D