Great weather and good conditions set the stage for a record breaking day of powerboat speed runs at the Cleveland Offshore Grand Prix. Fifteen boats worked hard to set new world records, only five succeded.
Super Cat Tommy Bahama made four speed runs in the smooth Lake Erie water, logging a top speed of 138.905 mph. The Nemschoff father and son team pulled out an average overall speed of 136.975 mph, setting a new world record in
their class.
Fellow Super Cat team "Baker Engineering" put in a valiant effort, hitting a top average speed of 134.216 mph. In the Performance Class the "Bacardi Silver" catamaran registered a blistering 191.469 mph in its second of two runs. Their average speed of 186.570 mph blew away their Savannah speed run time of 168 mph.
In the Super Cat Light Inboard division, "Dirty Duck" set a new kilo record of 115.338 mph. "In Mocean Again" also entered the race to establish a world record and hit an average speed of 113.406 mph.
"Liquid Metal", another Super Cat Light Inboard team registered an average speed of 112.132 mph and in the Super Cat Light Outboard Triple "Money Shot" established a new kilo record of 116.334 mph.
"Nick Carter Racing", 2002 series points leader of the Super Vee Class, fell short of a new kilo record with its average speed of 114.542. In Factory II "Speed Wear" topped off its run at 92.280 for a new record and in the One
Design Class "Stay Alive" established a new kilo mark of 71.358 mph.
The speed run was slow to get going Friday afternoon on the Savannah River.
Worse, for the powerboat racers of the Savannah Offshore Grand Prix, once the competition got going, runs never quite got up to speed.
A 94-degree day with high humidity and the configuration of the river slowed racers hoping to post world -record times.
Still six world marks were set from the 20 boats competing.
It was a preview to the two days of racing off Tybee Island, which begin today with the Factory I and Outlaw boats competing in their respective divisions in the American Power Boat Association race.
Sunday, Factory II boats, along with Super Series and Super Light Series boats, will be in action.
"I'm sure it's going to be a good show for the fans," said Mark Nemschoff, the throttleman of the boat Tommy Bahama. "It's always fun to run."
The fun was almost clipped Friday. Apparently a boat that anchored in the river for the Fourth of July fireworks Thursday night tore a cable line that held a buoy for the speed chute in place.
Nearly 2,000 feet of cable was lost. More importantly, wiring to a timer was sliced, shorting out the entire system and delaying the six-tenths of a mile sprint for more than 4 1/2 hours.
When the competition finally started, the elements were just as unforgiving.
The high temperature and humidity drained horsepower from the mega engines.
And the curvature of the river on the north and south ends hindered racers from reaching top speeds before hitting the starting line.
"There just wasn't enough river to straighten out the boat," said John Tomlinson, the throttleman of the boat Bacardi Silver. "It seemed like we were turning all the way through the chute."
As a result, Bacardi Silver's time of 168 mph never came close to the world record of 188.8 mph in the Performance Extreme Division that Tomlinson and driver David Scott set with the boat Budweiser last year at Osage Beach, Mo.
Some records were set Friday, but only because officials decided to change specifications in boats, thus making the initial run for that division an automatically a record.
The Vortec/Extreme boat's run of 89.672 mph is now the new standard of excellence in the Super Vee Light Division. But driver Gary Deciucies wasn't too happy with the performance.
"We were a lot faster at home (in New Port Richey, Fla.)," he said. "When you start turning here, you scrub off a lot of speed."
Nemschoff, shaking his head, understands perfectly.
"It's like racing with the brakes on," said Nemschoff, whose Tommy Bahama boat now has the new standard for the Super Cat division despite posting a disappointing time of 132.258 mph.
Ben Perfected (103 mph) in the Outlaw B Division, Velocity VR1 (83.946 mph) in the Factory 1 Division, UTZ Quality Foods/Castaway (106.167 mph) in the Super Vee Light Twin Division and Dirty Duck (112.884 mph) in the Super Cat Light Inboard also set world records.
But the boats didn't perform as well as expected. Only Ben Perfected's mark would have beaten the old record in its class.
Jim Arvis, the driver and owner of Mountain Dew, had the look of frustration as he pulled back to the docks by the Savannah International Trade and Convention Center.
It summed up the looks of most of the competitors Friday.
"The boat handled great but I knew (setting a world record) was no use in the middle of the run," Arvis said. "(The boat) wasn't climbing in speed. The only thing climbing was my body temperature."
Friday's World Records
Boat, Class, Time
Tommy Bahama Super Cat 132.258 mph
Velocity VR1 Factory ! 83.946 mph
Ben Perfected Outlaw B 103.0 mph
Vortec/Extreme Super Vee Light Single 89.672 mph
UTZ Quality Foods/Castaway Super Vee Light Twin 106.167 mph
Dirty Duck Super Cat Light/1B 112.884 mph