Wahoo ATV Article
07-25-2006 | 07:34 PM
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Wahoo ATV Article
UPDATED July 25, 2006 6:02 PM EST
PUBLISHED: Wednesday, July 26, 2006
Local man gets thrills and chills on the water
BY JOE GRAY
VOICE SPORTS EDITOR
Dean Howard has had a short offshore powerboat-racing career so far, but it's been a productive run that has some thrilling moments, including an accident in Cleveland a couple weeks ago.
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Howard, 40, of Richmond who was the driver, and his throttle man, Dave Sikorski of Cleveland, were coming off one wave only to crash into another immediately. That forced the nose of the boat underwater and the windshield was shattered.
"It happened so fast," said Howard, a 1983 graduate from Anchor Bay High School. "I saw the water coming up and the next thing I remembered was staring up and seeing a helicopter flying over. It blew my canopy apart."
The accident didn't stop Howard, but it did slow him down. At that point of the race, he was in the lead but finished third.
The accident damaged the boat so badly, he won't be able to enter it in this week's St. Clair River Classic. While that boat won't be ready, Howard and Sikorski will be - they will enter a boat in another class - the P2.
Howard began his boat-racing career a year ago after many years of motorcycle racing. Looking for new ways to enjoy the thrill of racing at high speeds, he took to the water and created the team of Wahoo ATV.
He began in the offshore powerboat racing P5 class and competed in eight races so far, five of which were under the sanctioning of the Offshore Performance Association. The P5 is an Ocke Mannerfelt V-24.
Starting with the race in Cleveland, Howard entered in the P2 class as well and will continue racing both classes. The P2 is an AMT 30.
Under the classification system, which has P1 through P6 classes, P1 is the fastest and each group's top speed decreases 10 miles per hour per lower level. The P5's top speed is 75. Howard's team was ranked number one in the nation in the P5 class after three races. Wahoo ATV hasn't gotten a win yet, but hasn't finished lower than third in any race either. The team finished second in the offshore race in Algonac earlier this year.
Because the team got a late start in P2, the chances are extremely slim it will win a championship in that class but Howard and Sikorski are using this time to learn racing at higher speeds.
There are eight races in the OPA season, which runs from June to November. Points are awarded at each race and the seven best points totals for each team are tallied for the overall national and world champions.
Howard expects his P5 boat will miss just the race in St. Clair and should compete in the remaining races of the season for a chance at that title.
Howard, who is a financial advisor for Smith Barney during his day job, said he moved from motorcycle racing to powerboat racing in part because he was getting too old to risk injury from a bike race and in part because his new venture has new challenges.
"There is risk (with powerboat racing)," he sad, "but I love the speed, the sounds, the water. I love racing."
Howard has made his racing a family affair by bringing his wife, Anne, and children, Brittany, 11, and Matthew, 7, to every race, which includes traveling to the east coast and down to Florida..
"We make family trips out of it," Howard said. "We go to some nice places. The kids love going out on the boat. My daughter loves going 100 miles per hour."
Link to Article
PUBLISHED: Wednesday, July 26, 2006
Local man gets thrills and chills on the water
BY JOE GRAY
VOICE SPORTS EDITOR
Dean Howard has had a short offshore powerboat-racing career so far, but it's been a productive run that has some thrilling moments, including an accident in Cleveland a couple weeks ago.
Advertisement
Howard, 40, of Richmond who was the driver, and his throttle man, Dave Sikorski of Cleveland, were coming off one wave only to crash into another immediately. That forced the nose of the boat underwater and the windshield was shattered.
"It happened so fast," said Howard, a 1983 graduate from Anchor Bay High School. "I saw the water coming up and the next thing I remembered was staring up and seeing a helicopter flying over. It blew my canopy apart."
The accident didn't stop Howard, but it did slow him down. At that point of the race, he was in the lead but finished third.
The accident damaged the boat so badly, he won't be able to enter it in this week's St. Clair River Classic. While that boat won't be ready, Howard and Sikorski will be - they will enter a boat in another class - the P2.
Howard began his boat-racing career a year ago after many years of motorcycle racing. Looking for new ways to enjoy the thrill of racing at high speeds, he took to the water and created the team of Wahoo ATV.
He began in the offshore powerboat racing P5 class and competed in eight races so far, five of which were under the sanctioning of the Offshore Performance Association. The P5 is an Ocke Mannerfelt V-24.
Starting with the race in Cleveland, Howard entered in the P2 class as well and will continue racing both classes. The P2 is an AMT 30.
Under the classification system, which has P1 through P6 classes, P1 is the fastest and each group's top speed decreases 10 miles per hour per lower level. The P5's top speed is 75. Howard's team was ranked number one in the nation in the P5 class after three races. Wahoo ATV hasn't gotten a win yet, but hasn't finished lower than third in any race either. The team finished second in the offshore race in Algonac earlier this year.
Because the team got a late start in P2, the chances are extremely slim it will win a championship in that class but Howard and Sikorski are using this time to learn racing at higher speeds.
There are eight races in the OPA season, which runs from June to November. Points are awarded at each race and the seven best points totals for each team are tallied for the overall national and world champions.
Howard expects his P5 boat will miss just the race in St. Clair and should compete in the remaining races of the season for a chance at that title.
Howard, who is a financial advisor for Smith Barney during his day job, said he moved from motorcycle racing to powerboat racing in part because he was getting too old to risk injury from a bike race and in part because his new venture has new challenges.
"There is risk (with powerboat racing)," he sad, "but I love the speed, the sounds, the water. I love racing."
Howard has made his racing a family affair by bringing his wife, Anne, and children, Brittany, 11, and Matthew, 7, to every race, which includes traveling to the east coast and down to Florida..
"We make family trips out of it," Howard said. "We go to some nice places. The kids love going out on the boat. My daughter loves going 100 miles per hour."
Link to Article
