Smokey-its no different than when you raced in Barnegat Bay and called that an "Offshore race".

The decision to have as much exposure to the viewing audience seems like a good move to me.

Its great that the event was an overall success.

I think it brings out alot of people that aren't necessarily offshore "enthusiasts", which I think is good. I took three people with me that have never been to an event. They all enjoyed themselves and would like to come back next year.

The layout was great, easily accesible, free admission, and there's enough to do and see to keep you entertained for the whole day. How is any of that bad for the sport?

Does anyone have info/link to the Qatar boats? Engines, setup, etc. That thing sounds nasty!

Where there any waves? Did the boats get any air? How are they calling this offshore racing. APBA did this in the early 2000s. What a shame, hope they can get back to real offshore some time soon.

You may have this smokey mixed up with someone else...
Barnegat was considered a "divisional challenge" not an offshore race.

To be fair, there are sites that offer true offshore racing.
OC Md, AC Nj are close and rough to offer all people a great time.

Waves? Have you ever hit a super barge wave at 90 plus? Have you ever been to St Clair? I've raced there and it's a great race venue for the racers and fans.

Not trying to start anything at all but from what i remember there was a lot more spectators/sponsors back in the day then now. Everyone was involved in offshore racing. Actors, players, icons, celeb, fans sponsors BIG sponsors. NGK, Pepsi,Coke, every single kind of beer and so on BIG corporations. The sport in the 80's to early 90's was some what, what nascar is today.

TOASTY,
The program for the 1980's Barnegat Bay race calls it an "Offshore Race". Although it was a divisional race, several "Open" class boats raced here. Boats such as Jesse James (Conquest), "Apache Bandit" and "Bounty Hunter" just to name a few.
If I had my choice, I also would rather see ocean racing!

As I said, my problem is not with the racing, rather with calling it offshore racing. The legacy of offshore racing was built by men and women who raced not only against each other, but against the elements. I got involved because of names like Rocky Aoki, Betty Cook, Tom Gentry, and many others, who were heroes to me. They knew what it meant to race "offshore". I'm sure if they wanted to race in circles, they would have gotten involved with hydroplanes or champ boats.

As for the Barnegat Bay and other divisional races, even they were longer and raced farther offshore than todays venues. The average NPBA race was 75-100 miles long. The Long Island and Boston races were always brutal.

Has the sport increased in popularity since the courses were made shorter and moved into flat water? I don't think so. I don't have answers, I can only say that what is presented today is a far cry from offshore racing.

There were many of us that raced both circuits. We felt a loyalty to the divisional circuits because that is where we got our start.