Bern,

Yes, definitley, it cost less to campaign a P-class boat in a race than it does to enter the same boat in a poker run. But the initial question had to do with the "fantastic machinery," which is why I drew the Super Cat analogy. I can tell you this, though, the purses in racing don't even come close to covering the costs in the Super Cat and Super Cat Light classes.

No one is racing offshore for the money. Even John Tomlinson doesn't claim to make a living as an "offshore racer." He owns a marine business and a marina. Name a famous throttleman, past or present, and I'll show you someone who also had another job.

That doesn't make the spectacle of offshore racing any less cool. It just puts it in perspective. And even if the sanctioning bodies were totally unified, you'd have a tough time selling a sport that few people can relate to sponsors. Yes, it could be packaged for television (that gets beaten to death in discussions), but that becomes a chicken or the egg argument ... so me the product before I invest ... need investment before I can show you the product.

Again, that doesn't make offshore any less cool. It is what it is, though.

Trick is right, too. Though poker runs are cool, the majority of high-perf boat owners have probably never entered one.

Robert is dead on, too. Not everyone has racing in their blood. There are plenty of guys out there with really fast boats who have no interest in running deck to deck with others guys trying to beat them to the finish.

I think my point was that racing, at least in terms of cost, isn't any cheaper and, in the upper classes, is a whole lot more expensive than poker-running. I'd be interested to know what the average P-class guy spends in a season. That might make a difference. Feel free to chime in.

[QUOTE=Robert Geoghegan
* Why do Poker boats have #'s?? Are they racer wanna bees???
[/QUOTE]

The reason poker run boats have # on them is for the Helicopters who take video & pictures. If you notice Poker Runners always have the # on the deck, not on the side of their boats.

LS

I would say one of the biggest reasons is MONEY. It costs alot of money (expenses) to run a boat in the racing circut.

The poker runs have more deaths then real racing.........must be the thrill........m.m........

and you have to do all the races. you can go to just one poker run

I don't think its true you have to do all the races.

i think the media does not realize the how cool the sport really is.....we dont get the coverage........i know this is like a broken record but i have to say it, if we went back to the old school way it would work........just think with technology helicopters, cameras, sound quality..........you would have to be a homo not to like that..............puck people watch reality tv................................................ .................................................. .....................ok im done

In light of the drawing thats a timely question considering someone who wins has most likely not raced.

A good poker run boat is not a good race boat. It is like a street ferrari verses a competition ferrari.

P-class racing is good because it shows how good your pleasure boat is to the market. It gives you a chance to run your boat at 90% to 100% so you can handle running your friends around at 50%.

Go race. Get some help from professionals, it will make your pleasure boating better.

pat W

ORL has some great plans for 2007. Please feel free to contact me and I'll give you the run down. Basically you can purchase a 50 thousand dollar boat and take home 20 grand on the weekend.

www.offshoreracingleague.com