Offshoreonly.com - Boat Racing for the Clueless

From the Sarasota newspaper-

Boat racing for the clueless

By STEVE ECHEVERRIA JR.

After two decades, the folks involved with the Suncoast Offshore Grand Prix Festival know everything about the sport — the boats, the race, the history.

But what about the rest of us?

What does it mean if officials wave a black flag after only five laps? Why can’t every boat use the inside lanes on the turns? And what are those boats stationed at each turn called?

The closest thing to Cliffs Notes on the sport are two rule books from the event’s governing bodies: SuperBoat International Productions Inc. and American Power Boat Association.

Each is more than 80 pages long, and contain exciting phrases such as “post-race technical inspections” and “performance parameters.”

All most of us want to know is what’s happening on the course during the race, which begins at 11 a.m. Sunday between New Pass and Big Pass. (The awards ceremony is at 6 p.m. at the Sarasota Fairgrounds.)

Proceeds from the festival benefit the Florida Center for Child and Family Development.

And since there aren’t resources for race novices or average Joes, we decided to put this primer together.

So the next time someone asks which class a 50-foot catamaran with more than a 1,000 horsepower belongs in, you can confidently state, “Superboat Unlimited, of course.”

It’s better than shrugging your shoulders.

http://www.heraldtribune.com/assets/pdf/SH370771.PDF

http://www.heraldtribune.com/assets/pdf/SH373471.PDF