History of Offshore powerboat racing

Offshore powerboat racing has a long standing tradition on both sides of the Atlantic. First recognized as a sport in 1904, the first official race was held in the then typical offshore format of a point-to-point race from South-East England to Calais, France. In the United States the American Power Boat Association (APBA) was formed in about the same era. The first race recorded in the USA took place in 1911 in California. The Union Internationale Motonautique (U.I.M. ), the governing body of the sport worldwide, is to date recognized by the International Olympic Committee. 

The powerboat sport increased its populirty over the next few years with a certain disruption in Europe in both World Wars. The sport really began to come into it’s own in the 1950’s and 1960’s. Some of the big names in the sport like Jim Wynn and Don Aronow stem from that time. As the saying goes here in Holland; those were the days of men of steel and boats of wood. Offshore events in those days were typical point-to-point races where long stretches of sea had to be negotiated. 500 mile race were frequently held and contrary to today where also most ofhshore racing is done on a preset circuit, the pilots and navigators in those days had to find their waypoints without GPS assistance out on the open sea.

In the 1980’s the sport entered the catamaran and after that the ’superboat’ era. In the racing these boats started to take over from a lot of the deep V-hull 35-40 foot boats that had been top dog in the 20 years preceding this era. With some restrictions on engines and hull length being lifted the superboats came into their own after the ’80’s.

Most offshore races today are held on a pre-set offhore course to better cater the audiences on the shores, being close to the racing and being able to keep a constant eye on the participating boats. The racing on both sides of the Atlantic has evolved in a way that different type of boats have their own classes to participate. This means that in this day and age there is room for superboats, catamarans, V-hulls, formula boats and personal watercraft all racing in their own class complying with their own set of rules.

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