Ron P

www.njoffshore.com newsletter.
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April 10, 2002

Hello Race Fans,

The so-called winter of 2002 is almost behind us and as spring approaches only one thought comes to mind. Offshore Power Boat Racing! Over the last few years we have seen OPA (Offshore Powerboat Association) become the dominant player in our area through its affiliation with SBI (SuperBoat International). OPA is now managing the entire Northeast Division of SBI and NJ Offshore is now the official club for OPA/SBI racing in New Jersey.

OPA has five races on their 2002 schedule and we once again we are asking for your assistance in order to produce safe and efficient offshore races at the Jersey Shore. Here is the entire OPA race schedule.

SBI/OPA NORTHEAST DIVISIONAL SERIES

June 1, 2 BRICK, NEW JERSEY
June 22, 23 SEASIDE HEIGHTS, NJ
August 2, 3, 4 WASHINGTON, NC
August 14, 15, 16 POINT PLEASANT, NJ
September 6, 7, 8 NEW YORK, NY

As we get closer to the season you will be receiving specific information about each race. For now we’ll just hit some of the highlights and major issues surrounding each race.


Brick Race - Divisional
On Sunday June 2nd the Township of Brick will host and sponsor the third annual running of this early season race. Last year this was an OPA/SBI national race. This year the national race has been moved to Friday August 16th in favor of this divisional race. On Saturday June 1st, the boats will be staged at Windward Beach in Brick for Boat Fest 2002. Boat Fest is a day for families to come out and meet the racers and see the boats up close. We will have a course set up on the Metedeconk River for testing during Boat Fest and the State Police will hold inspections of our volunteer boats at the pier in front of Windward Beach from Noon until 2pm. On Sunday morning the boats will move next door to Wehrlend’s Marina and get wet for the first time of the season. The boats will leave the Metedeconk River in a group together with the pace boats and Police escort. This parade will continue through the Point Pleasant Canal and into the ocean. Lets just hope the tide is at their back as they come through the canal. The Police say this will be an off plane parade through the canal but it should still be quite a sight for those people that live along the canal. The racecourse for this race will be the same short four-mile oval that we usually run in front of Point Pleasant Beach.

Because many of our volunteers will be enjoying the NJPPC Poker Run to Atlantic City on Saturday June 1st, we have made some special accommodations for Poker Runners who would like to participate in helping with this race on their way home from Atlantic City on Sunday. First, we have moved the start of the race from noon to 1pm (possibly later) to give our volunteer captains extra time to make the run home on Sunday, and second, Poker Runners will be excused from the volunteer meetings as the flags and paperwork will be distributed via US Mail. If you will recall last year, the State Police Marine Division insisted on inspecting all of our volunteer boats prior to the race. To further accommodate Poker Runners, the State Police will be available to do inspections at their office on the Canal the weekend prior to the race, at the pier in front of Windward Beach on Saturday and on Sunday morning before the race at the Coast Guard station. We understand that things would have been easier if the race and Poker Run were not on the same weekend but hopefully these accommodations will allow our Poker Run volunteers to enjoy both events in the same weekend. And what could be better than a boat race at the end of a Poker Run?


Seaside Heights Race - Divisional
When you see the words “Seaside Heights Race” you probably think that we are once again racing in the bay by the Waters Edge restaurant. WRONG. This year we are racing in the ocean! That’s right we are racing in the ocean in front of Casino and Fun Town piers.

Here is the plan. On Saturday June 22nd the boats will stage at the dry pits in Seaside Heights behind Waterworks adjacent to Casino Pier. On Sunday the boats will be moved to the wet pits at Manasquan River Yacht Club where they will be launched and sent onto the racecourse for a noon start. Now here is where it gets really different. The boats will mill in front of Jenkinsons and then take the green flag at the Start Boat stationed at the south end of the Point Pleasant Beach boardwalk. From there the boats will race south for 10-miles along the beach until they reach the actual racecourse in front of the Seaside Heights Boardwalk. The four checkpoint boats and all sweep boats will be in Seaside Heights waiting for the boats to arrive. The race will end in Seaside Heights, as we will use one of the turn boats as the finish boat.

The parties before the race and the awards afterwards will be held in Seaside Heights at one of the local bars.

This should be a very interesting event, mark your calendar because we will need quite a few sweep boats for this race.


Point Pleasant Beach Race – SBI National Race
Our traditional race in mid July has been moved to mid August and will be televised on the OLN Network. This race will be an SBI/OPA National race that will be held on Friday August 16th.

Many new boats have joined the SBI race series over this past winter and we are expecting a fleet of 50 boats or more for this race. The races will start at noon and you should anticipate having two separate races at noon and then 1:30 due to the number of expected boats.

This will be the traditional race Sponsored by Jenkinsons and raced in front of Point Pleasant Beach. It appears everyone seems to like the Friday date better than the traditional Wendsday race date. I have a feeling that this race will remain on a Friday for many years to come.


Would you like to race with OPA/SBI?
We have already lost some of our volunteer boats to the racing fraternity, are you the next to move up to wearing a helmet on race day?

Offshore racing is a growing sport and now it’s even easier to be competitive. SBI/OPA has now made a set of rules for speed bracket racing. This new class of racing will be called “Local Class Racing”. In Local Class racing there are no rules regarding size or type of boat or engines. You simply race against other boats that have the same top speed as you do. The speed brackets are as follows.

P5 for boats with a top speed between 60 and 69 mph
P4 for boats with a top speed between 70 and 80 mph
P3 for boats with a top speed between 81 and 91 mph
P2 for boats with a top speed between 92 and 102 mph
P1 for boats with a top speed over 103 mph

This form of racing allows for a single engine catamaran to race against a twin engine V bottom in a fair fashion. Safety rules apply but not much else so if you ever wanted to race, this may be your chance.

Can you help this summer?

Please take a look at your calendar and see which races that you will be able to attend this summer. As always, without your assistance we would never be able to run these races in a safe manner.

Further details will be sent out, as the date of each race gets closer. For now we need you to fill out the attached form and either mail it or fax it back to me so that we can assemble out support fleet.

If you’re interested in finding out more about SBI/OPA racing call 732 477 7400.

If you use email, please sign up for the mailing list at www.njoffshore.com as many more emails are sent out than are sent in the mail.


See ya at the races,


Ron Polli
Director of Water Ops

P.S. If you already received this newsletter via email, then you are already on the email list. If your on the email list, please just write MEMBER where it asks for your email address so we can see who needs to be added to the list. If you give an email address we will automatically add you to the email list so that you receive information via email. It’s much easier to stay in touch that way.

P.P.S Please mark down if you are participating in the NJPPC A/C Poker Run so we can take care of getting you the proper information and flags in the mail.





Name __________________________ E-mail ___________@__________________

Address____________________ City ________________ St_________ Zip_______

Home Phone________________ Work _________________ Cell _______________

I would like to be a LAND _____ WATER _______Volunteer.

How many years have you been participating in this event? _____________

In past events I have been a (circle all that apply) Ocean Sweep Boat, Turn Boat,

Pace VIP Boat, Medic boat, Dive Boat, River Sweep Boat.

BOAT INFORMATION:

Make ________________ Length _________________ Total HP _______________

Approx. top speed _____________ Type of boat ______________________________

Do you have a VHF ______ Home Port ___________ Do you need a slip ________

I will be able to volunteer my time on:
Sunday June 2nd ___ I will with NJPPC in A/C ______
Sunday June 23rd ___
Friday August 16th ___
Please mail this form back ASAP to:
NJ Offshore
241 South Shore Dr.
Toms River NJ 08753
Or Fax it (707) 371-1549
If you’re on the Internet, please stop by www.njoffshore.com and join our mailing list on the site.