This is the weekend for powerboat racing
By JAMIE PAPPAS
AMANDA McCOY/SUN HERALD
The Isle of Capri can be seen in the distance while looking out the cockpit of the AMSOIL offshore racing boat on Thursday. Racing crews have began to arrive from all over the county for Smokin' the Sound.
Home base: Lake Worth, Fla. Boats are kept at Pompano Beach off-season.
Class: Super Cat Extreme. The "extreme" classes are the biggest and baddest offshore racing boats on the circuit.
Crew: 20-plus members on site for this race, including a mechanical crew, divers/medical team, and a full-time chef. Crew totals 54 members in all.
Green isn't just for geckos: Calling offshore racing eco-friendly may be a stretch, but the Geico team's race boat is being fueled by biodiesel, and the twin engines are "recycled" - both originally served as helicopter engines in Iraq.
Notable quote - cleared for takeoff: "We easily go 185 down the straightaways, but up at 210 mph, it's surreal. It feels and sounds a lot like a commercial jet at takeoff. Only difference is it's bumpier. And actually faster. And we don't take off, knock on wood." - Throttleman Scott Begovich.
Boat: AMSOIL
Driver: Paul Whittier
Throttle: Bob Teague
Equipment: 2007, 36-foot Douglas Marine Skater 368 with a Mercury racing 525-horsepower V8 engine, 6 dry sump. Weight: 9,000 pounds, fueled. Hull: Carbon.
Home base: Van Nuys, Calif.
Class: Cat Lite. "Cat Lite is a 'spec' class, meaning the engines are sealed, and all boats have to be about the same length with a catamaran tunnel at 66 inches max," said Teague. "So it's not the boat that wins, it's the skill of the racers - calculating fuel usage, weight placement, adjusting to weather and water conditions, etc. to win this class."
Crew: 6-man crew on site.
G- force: Forces reach 4-5 Gs in turns, and Team AMSOIL spun out in a recent race, tearing off the boat's fins. "We kept going. We figured out how to steer by throttling, and actually, you know the boat goes even faster without fins, if you don't mind not being able to maneuver much."
Notable quote - safety first: Teague, who has been a fixture in offshore racing since the early 1970s, said safety today exceeds anything he ever imagined in the early days of racing. "Helicopters, escape hatches, rescue drills where they throw us and the boat in the water upside-down three times a year so no one panics. In the old days, races were 50 miles out in the ocean, and you had a life raft and shark repellent. And if you didn't finish, no one came looking for you for a long while - you just missed the (after) party," he said.
Get your motor runnin'
What: Offshore Super Series Powerboat Racing Association
When: Qualifying rounds take place 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday; the main race is scheduled for 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday.
Where: Nine separate races will be run on the 8-mile track, which begins in front of the Isle of Capri and includes turns in the Biloxi Channel near the Beau Rivage and at the east end of Deer Island. Premium viewing areas will be located at the parking lots at the Hard Rock and Isle of Capri casinos, the pool deck at the Beau Rivage and the Schooner Pier. The Race Village, where the boats are housed, is adjacent to the Isle of Capri Casinos, where the J.L. Scott Marine Center was located prior to Katrina.
More info: smokinthesound.com; Rusty David 617-3112
Smokin' schedule
This weekend's Smokin' the Sound schedule (Offshore Super Series Powerboat Racing Association):
Friday
9 a.m.-4 p.m. - Dunker Testing Biloxi Natatorium
9 a.m.-4 p.m. - Inspections open, Race Village
9 am-4 p.m. - Racer registration and Will Call area open, Isle of Capri
10 a.m.-6 p.m. - Race Village open to the public
5 p.m. - Drivers' meeting, mandatory for all categories, Isle of Capri
6 p.m. - Volunteer fleet meeting, Paradise Room, Isle of Capri
7 p.m. - Meet the Racers party, Hard Rock Casino Center Bar
Saturday
11 a.m. - Qualifying races
Sunday
10 a.m.-6 p.m. - Race Village open to the public
11 a.m.-4:30 p.m. - OSS Powerboat Race
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