Panama City News
04-11-2005 | 05:49 AM
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Panama City News
Panama City News Herald
Sports: Boats power back to Bay
Saturday, April 2, 2005
Boats power back to Bay
Powerboat racing returns for May event
By Jason Shoot
News Herald Writer
747-5069 / [email protected]
PANAMA CITY
There’s nothing that brings a husband and wife together quite like racing on open water at speeds exceeding 100 miles per hour.
“I’m probably one of a few people who knocked his wife out and got away with it,” said Ken Doyle, who is overseeing the return of offshore powerboat racing to Panama City with on May 21 and 22. Thunder on St. Andrews Bay, an event sanctioned by Super Boat International, will be held on a 5-mile oval course near the St. Andrews Marina.
“We were testing for the world championships in Key West last fall,” Doyle continued. “I set the boat up wrong in the turn and it hooked. The back end tried to come around the front of it, and it caught a wave, stopped suddenly, and her head hit the canopy and knocked her out. I asked her if she was OK, and she said, ‘I can’t see out of one eye.’
“Five minutes later we were back at it again at full throttle.”
Doyle and his wife, Shannon, have been racing competitively for five years. Shannon handles the driving, and Ken mans the throttle.
Doyle, who lives in Louisville, Ky., received support from Panama City and St. Andrews officials and turned to the Super Boat International/American Power Boat Association to see if Bay County could host an event. He could have set the date for Memorial Day weekend, but he chose to move the event up a week because of concerns the would be too much recreational traffic on the water during the holiday weekend.
Bay County last hosted powerboat racing in 1992, but offshore events back then were held in open water in the gulf. Moving the races into St. Andrew Bay cuts down the height of the waves and allows the boats to reach speeds between 80 and 110 mph, Doyle said.
The event is part of the SBI/APBA’s divisional schedule, meaning the field will consist of 35 or 40 boats. The race will be part of the organization’s national schedule next year, however, and that will mean a fleet of watercraft — some of which can top 160 mph — and exposure on national television, Doyle said.
Doyle added that he expects between 30,000 and 40,000 spectators to gather at St. Andrews Marina other water-accessible points around the area to watch the racing.
“The event will bring some interest to the community and an economic boost to the community,” Doyle said.
Panama City Beach hosted an offshore race in 1988, and two racers were killed when their boat flipped and sank. A subsequent investigation by the Florida Marina Patrol ruled that the racers might have been saved if they had been wearing U.S. Coast Guard-approved life jackets and if the rescue team had been equipped with scuba gear.
While boating accidents always are a possibility, Doyle said many measures have been taken to ensure that racers and rescue personnel are as safe as possible.
“Since 1988, there have been so many changes,” Doyle said. “In 1988 was when they started coming out with canopy raceboats. At that time, there weren’t any guidelines, and people were just putting together things that seemed like they would work. … Today, all canopies must follow Lavin Foundation standards. It’s a safety standard developed specifically for offshore powerboats.
“All manufacturers and all builders must build boats to those standards. They include things like hatches that are marked and accessible and a top hatch so crews can get out. Each team goes through a training course each year and do a dunker test. They put a team member in a simulator and dump them in a pool and turn them upside down. They go through the exercise of getting themselves out of the boat.”
Rescue divers are outfitted with scuba gear, and the drivers have onboard air systems that provide 30 minutes of air in case the drivers are unable to escape.
Doyle said the rescue teams are positioned so they can respond to any crash within 30 seconds, so that gives them ample time to free a racer from a boat if he or she is unable to escape the canopy.
Sports: Boats power back to Bay
Saturday, April 2, 2005
Boats power back to Bay
Powerboat racing returns for May event
By Jason Shoot
News Herald Writer
747-5069 / [email protected]
PANAMA CITY
There’s nothing that brings a husband and wife together quite like racing on open water at speeds exceeding 100 miles per hour.
“I’m probably one of a few people who knocked his wife out and got away with it,” said Ken Doyle, who is overseeing the return of offshore powerboat racing to Panama City with on May 21 and 22. Thunder on St. Andrews Bay, an event sanctioned by Super Boat International, will be held on a 5-mile oval course near the St. Andrews Marina.
“We were testing for the world championships in Key West last fall,” Doyle continued. “I set the boat up wrong in the turn and it hooked. The back end tried to come around the front of it, and it caught a wave, stopped suddenly, and her head hit the canopy and knocked her out. I asked her if she was OK, and she said, ‘I can’t see out of one eye.’
“Five minutes later we were back at it again at full throttle.”
Doyle and his wife, Shannon, have been racing competitively for five years. Shannon handles the driving, and Ken mans the throttle.
Doyle, who lives in Louisville, Ky., received support from Panama City and St. Andrews officials and turned to the Super Boat International/American Power Boat Association to see if Bay County could host an event. He could have set the date for Memorial Day weekend, but he chose to move the event up a week because of concerns the would be too much recreational traffic on the water during the holiday weekend.
Bay County last hosted powerboat racing in 1992, but offshore events back then were held in open water in the gulf. Moving the races into St. Andrew Bay cuts down the height of the waves and allows the boats to reach speeds between 80 and 110 mph, Doyle said.
The event is part of the SBI/APBA’s divisional schedule, meaning the field will consist of 35 or 40 boats. The race will be part of the organization’s national schedule next year, however, and that will mean a fleet of watercraft — some of which can top 160 mph — and exposure on national television, Doyle said.
Doyle added that he expects between 30,000 and 40,000 spectators to gather at St. Andrews Marina other water-accessible points around the area to watch the racing.
“The event will bring some interest to the community and an economic boost to the community,” Doyle said.
Panama City Beach hosted an offshore race in 1988, and two racers were killed when their boat flipped and sank. A subsequent investigation by the Florida Marina Patrol ruled that the racers might have been saved if they had been wearing U.S. Coast Guard-approved life jackets and if the rescue team had been equipped with scuba gear.
While boating accidents always are a possibility, Doyle said many measures have been taken to ensure that racers and rescue personnel are as safe as possible.
“Since 1988, there have been so many changes,” Doyle said. “In 1988 was when they started coming out with canopy raceboats. At that time, there weren’t any guidelines, and people were just putting together things that seemed like they would work. … Today, all canopies must follow Lavin Foundation standards. It’s a safety standard developed specifically for offshore powerboats.
“All manufacturers and all builders must build boats to those standards. They include things like hatches that are marked and accessible and a top hatch so crews can get out. Each team goes through a training course each year and do a dunker test. They put a team member in a simulator and dump them in a pool and turn them upside down. They go through the exercise of getting themselves out of the boat.”
Rescue divers are outfitted with scuba gear, and the drivers have onboard air systems that provide 30 minutes of air in case the drivers are unable to escape.
Doyle said the rescue teams are positioned so they can respond to any crash within 30 seconds, so that gives them ample time to free a racer from a boat if he or she is unable to escape the canopy.
