Recap of the days first race in St. Petersburg Beach:

St. Petersburg Times Forum

By RODNEY PAGE, Times Staff Writer
Published November 18, 2005


ST. PETE BEACH - The start of Thursday afternoon's Offshore Super Series World Championships gave an indication as to what kind of day it would be.

As boats in the OSS Vee Lite, OSS Catamaran outboard and OSS Cat Extreme classes were about to take the green flag, WHM/Mapei (Cat Outboard) flipped as it accelerated to the start line.

The crew of Bill Mauff and Gary Ballough escaped unharmed. But it was a sign of things to come, as many other boats were unable to finish because of high winds and rolling 3- to 4-foot waves off St. Pete Beach.

Many boats nearly collided as they skipped over the waves. It was common to see boats sail more than 6 feet into the air, and damage to engines, framework and crew were inevitable.

"It was a brutal race," said Wild Ride throttleman Larry Kostelac, who teamed with Ben Hendrick to win the Vee Lite category. "There was a lot of confused water out there. No real rhythm too it."

The races were delayed an hour when the boats couldn't get through Bunces Pass near Fort De Soto because of the low tide. The boats had to go around Fort De Soto to St. Pete Beach, nearly a 10-mile trek.

After racing started, the Vee Lites provided the biggest drama in the first of the day's two races. Six boats started the race, but after three or four laps the race was down to three. Screaming Eagle, Team Imco and the aptly named Wild Ride were the only Vee Lites left.

Screamin' Eagle led throughout the race, but on the seventh and final lap Wild Ride started closing the gap. With only a few hundred yards left, Wild Ride ducked past Screamin' Eagle and won by a boat length.

"The last two laps we could see we were closing the gap," Kostelac said. "We were just seeing how close we could get. At the end we tucked in behind them and did a slingshot at the end. We just let it all hang out."

There was a good reason Screamin' Eagle got caught at the end. Driver Matt Jones and throttleman Allen Campbell couldn't see Wild Ride coming. The crew lost both rearview mirrors after crashing over a large wave.

"Those guys sneaked up on us," Campbell said. "We lost both of our mirrors, so I didn't see them. I looked over there and saw them and just gave it some more power.

"We skied it a couple of times out there. When it does that, all you see is the front of the boat and you know it's going to be bad. Then the nose goes down completely under water. Water goes all over the boat. We did that three times."

Team Imco had engine troubles most of the race, and after completing its sixth lap the crew of Matt Reed and George Auriemm decided to call it a day. They were credited for a third-place finish.

In the Outboard Catamaran race, Bermuda Berry Cuda won by a comfortable margin over Mojo, but the crew of driver Chris Marshall and throttleman Dennis Berry were far from comfortable. On its fifth lap, Berry Cuda went into the air with its nose pointed straight up. The bow blew forward, and the boat skipped once and landed right side up. Berry Cuda continued without incident, although it did lose the cover to one of its engines.

"The tabs saved us," Berry of the tabs that protrude from the stern of the boat. "That's the closest we've ever been to blowing one over. We thought it was all over for us."

Loan Shark finished third in the Cat Outboard division.

There were only two boats in the Cat Extreme division, and when Pair-A-Dice broke down early, JEM had an easy route to first place.

The three divisions race again Sunday at noon for the World Championship. Teams earned points in Thursday's first round, so boats that broke down Thursday have little chance of winning a championship.

The races again will be along St. Pete Beach.

Drivers and crew members will work the next two days trying to get their boats back in shape for Sunday. And they hope the water calms down.

"We've never raced in conditions like that, and you can't practice in this because you wouldn't want to abuse your boat," said Campbell, Screamin' Eagle's throttleman. "We took a huge beating."

any pics?????

..what happened with Typhoon and WHM/Mini Me SVL?

What about the second race yesterday?

Typhoon had trouble shortly after leaving the dock, Mini me was running well but broke.

thanks!

I sure miss Randy keeping us up to date on things...

Isn't Gdftha there too?

Real light on the info to OSO this week....

I hope it gets better.

I guess I will go tune into www.talkoffshore.com for the replay.

=============>
Sharkey..

I need a change in my Offshore mind set...

It hurts not being at either venue. I do appreciate all the photos posted by others.

Tonight for example is the OSO party in KW

Take care

Uggh!!!

Did you have to remind me about that?

Yeah, I miss both venues as well.

I noticed no International teams showed this year for KW.
Not even Buzzi. What's up with that?

I thought that was what all the hype about the UIM was...

I took some pics from the beach, I just need to get them resized, should have them up soon. Also have the super stock cap rolling on video.