You know, it is actually kind of a shame, the lack of media presence at this awesome event, that is.  There wasn’t even anything in the New Herald this morning.  I took tons of pictures and thoroughly enjoyed myself.

The “staging” area was truly a sight to behold.  If you are subscribed to our twitter page, you were getting messages as I was nearly getting my ear drums blown with the loud crack and roar of the huge race boat engines. All of the ones that I asked were running 500+cu V-8’s with many running superchargers.  800 to 1000 hp per engine was common.

In order to get the boats in the water, they were brought close to the marina on their trailers, then lifted with a crane above the pilings, over the docks and lowered into the water; many times, directly into their respective slip.

Many crews were up late Saturday night and into Sunday morning tweaking their engines, and one team to speak of actually had to replace a ruptured head gaskett.  When the boat was first placed in the water was the first opportunity they had to test the motor in the water.

At first, race teams were worried about the wind and the chop size in the gulf, but things actually calmed down and the surf was quite mild.

Tourist and locals alike crowded the beach in droves craving to see the action that was to happen a mere 300 yards from the shoreline.  I was perched atop the Towne of Seahaven’s Origin building with a view of almost the entire course, except the start finish line.

Unbeknown to me, my “spot” was also the “spot” of a couple of the race teams and their coordinators.  With their communications equipment in place and their headsets on, they awaited the start of the race so as to relay live, real time information to their pilots and other crew.

When the race began, the Bud Light boat shot out in front to capture a lead that grew rapidly throughout the race.  It was very obvious that this boat was truly in it’s own class.

There were several classes racing, but the Bud Light team won overall.

This event was here last year and I beleive the year before.  I challenge the local media outlets to give this event more coverage in the future.  We need to support these events that come to our area.