Outboard Access

Fast catamarans draw fans and boaters to thesport, and tight racing is practically a given.

By TERRY TOMALIN
Published November 4, 2005

ST. PETERSBURG - Marc Granet was hooked the first time he saw an offshore powerboat scream across the bay.

"I knew that I had to race," the 38-year-old executive recruiter said. "It could feel it in my blood."

Ten years ago, however, a guy like Granet was out of luck. Offshore powerboat racing was a rich man's sport. It was the wallet, not skill in the cockpit, that determined national champions.

But "checkbook racing" is a thing of the past. Tight specifications and post-race inspections have evened the playing field. On any given Sunday, anybody, even a rookie driver such as Granet, can go home with a checkered flag.

And when the big boats return to St. Pete Beach this month for the Offshore World Championships, Granet hopes he can bank on a little beginner's luck.

"We are all so close," said Granet, who drives the twin outboard-powered catamaran Loan Shark. "You never know who is going to win. We have as good a chance as anybody."

If you look back at the history of offshore powerboat racing, you can see peaks and valleys. Some years are worth remembering; others, one can only hope to forget.

During the late '80s, when Hollywood stars Chuck Norris, Don Johnson and Kurt Russell were regulars at the World Championships in Key West, powerboat racing reached its zenith. But greed, infighting and lack of oversight tore the sport apart.

Offshore experienced something of a renaissance in the late '90s when St. Petersburg lawyer and former powerboat racer Michael Allweiss took what had been a club sport and turned it into a for-profit business. Allweiss shortened the courses, tightened the rules and reduced the number of classes to make racing more fan friendly.

For a while Allweiss' business plan worked. The Pier in downtown St. Petersburg hosted some of the largest and most successful national and world championships in the history of the sport. But the former prosecutor's take-no-prisoners management style alienated many in what had always been a millionaire's boy's club.

The sport fractured again, and 2004 saw not two but three leagues competing for a limited field of race boats. Most of the elite racers went with the new Offshore Super Series.

The sanctioning body struggled at first but has since come into its own, attracting the biggest, fastest boats while remaining true to racing's roots by finding a home for a guy like Granet, who wants to do nothing more than unwind with a pair of 2.5-liter Mercury outboard motors on a warm Sunday afternoon.

"There is something about outboards," Granet said. "The average boater can look at them and relate. But the cool thing is when they come out on race day and go home thinking, "Man, did you see how fast they made that boat go.' "

Veteran catamaran manufacturer Jay Pilini, whose Clearwater-based Spectre Powerboats has produced several world and national champions, said he will always be a fan of the small outboard, catamaran class.

"The racing is so tight that you could go out there, throw a blanket and cover three or four boats," he said. "That is what it is supposed to be all about."

Granet and his teammate, throttleman Dan Lawrence, have bounced back and forth between the Offshore Super Series and older, more established, Super Boat International.

The Outboard Cat, or Stock, fleet is small, but the boats are fast. The 32-foot canopied catamarans are capable of speeds in excess of 115 mph and have proved to be a crowd favorite.

"They were the big thing for a while, then they fell out of favor," said Pilini, who retired from racing and now builds poker-run and fishing boats. "The rules were always changing, and it was difficult to keep up."

But in a sport where a top-of-the-line catamaran with twin inboard engines can cost more than $500,000, an outboard-powered cat is an attractive alternative for even experienced racers.

"I amazed at how fast we can head into a turn," said Granet. "A few years ago, 100 mph was unheard of. Now we can do that all day."

Doug Wright, the man who designed and built Loan Shark and the other top cats in the outboard fleet, said he expects the class to grow in 2006.

"Other manufacturers are looking at it," he said. "The great thing about an outboard is that they are relatively inexpensive and easy to fix. If you have a problem, you can be ready to race in a couple of hours."

A new, 2006 Doug Wright cat, race-ready and legal to compete on any circuit, costs about $180,000. The OSS Cat Outboard class is expected to double in 2006.

"The outboards are a big hit with the fans," said Sarasota's Lawrence, who owns and throttles Loan Shark. "We sold 98 T-shirts in Corpus Christi ... nobody else came close. That just shows how popular the class is."

For more information of offshore racing, go to www.offshoresuperseries.com.

When: Nov. 15-20

The dry pits will be at Vinoy Park. Food and beverage concessions will be set up Wednesday, Nov. 16. Admission to the park is free every day except Nov. 18, when a $5 admission will be charged.

The actual racing will take place off St. Pete Beach.

Schedule

Nov. 16: Testing

Nov. 17: Racing - five classes.

Nov. 18: Special events, Vinoy Park

Nov. 19: Testing and time trials

Nov. 20: Racing - five classes

[Last modified November 4, 2005, 19:40:15]