Preview To Offshore Powerboat Racing

Introduction by William L. Gills aka Bos'n Bill

Most everyone who spends time on the water has seen them at one time or another, those ear splitting, brightly colored powerboats that skip across the water at break neck speeds.  They can be the most dangerous and powerful racing machines known to man in large part due to the speeds they can attain, the highly volatile fuel needed to power the craft and the unique design and balance of the hulls built to withstand ever changing elements of wind  and water. A finely tuned balance needs to be maintained to max out speed to the point of possible wipeout.

Offshore powerboat racing has been around since 1904 when the first race took place from the southeast coast of England to Calais, France.  Today, it's as popular as ever with classes of boats ranging from single, twin and four piston engine V-bottom boats and catamarans to turbines in various hull configurations.  The races have become more spectator friendly lately, but endurance offshore races are what give the sport it's name.

In this video, Marc Granet, driver of the powerboat Miss Geico, describes his passion for powerboat racing; his desire to build the fastest boat with a greatest team that knows how to compete and win.  Miss Geico is a 40 ft turbine powered monster. Grant describes the boat this way, "This boat is beyond extreme.  We hit 210 mph (338 km/h) in seconds," he adds, "There is nothing like it on the water."

Double click on the video for a HiDef full video presentation.



William L. Gills aka Bos'n Bill, webmaster of this site, is the author of the book Lubber's Log, published by Llumina Press; a boating journal and adventure story of the author's first time experiences in the preparation, maintenance and piloting of a new, unfamiliar boat. You can visit his website here. Lubber's Log

Xtreme Wakeboarding

Introduction by William L. Gills aka Bos'n Bill

Wakeboarding
A water sport briskly gaining in popularity among boating enthusiasts is wakeboarding (see video in this post).  It's been around since the mid 1980's and has really caught on lately, providing new challenges on the water; thrills and spills to the boarder and an amazing spectacle to the viewer if done with knack and flair. 

To the uninitiated, wakeboarding is really a melding of snow boarding, water skiing and surfing. The board looks like a broad water ski with boot bindings affixed fore and aft according to the rider's preference. 

Boarders are pulled behind a "wakeboard boat" which is different from a "ski boat" in that it is more often stern driven with more weight in the rear to create a larger wake for jumping and other fancy maneuvers like, "bigwings", "whirlybirds", "dum dums" and "fruitloops" (the sport, sports its own language...).  

The Boats
Wakeboard boats have a tower attached to a towrope, typically 7 feet (2 meters) off the water's surface, to make jumping easier. The boat is often an open bow with radial seating up front and in the cockpit. It operates at slower speeds than most ski boats, usually in the range of 20 to 25 mph (32 to 40 kph) to facilitate the timing of maneuvers and provide a larger wake. Another characteristic of most official wakeboard boats is that they have a variable ballast system where water can be pumped into and out of a ballast tank to effect weight distribution and wake size, helping to facilitate "tricks". 

The Video 
The video in this post is of the Xtreme variety featuring some of the best wakeboarders in the world. Produced by Network_A, this video is a teaser for the movie, DEFY featuring extraordinary wakeboarders, Danny Harf, Parks Bonifay and Dean Smith. Their stunts are  amazing and artfully done using floating rails, drain pipes and helicopters. Hang on to your towrope, this video will capture the imaginations of the amateur and the respect of the proficient.

This is a Hi Resolution video.  Double click on it for a full screen production.
 


William L. Gills aka Bos'n Bill, webmaster of this site, is the author of the book Lubber's log, published by Llumina Press; a boating journal and adventure story of the author's first time experiences in the preparation, maintenance and piloting of a new, unfamiliar boat. You can visit his website here.