Several countries have laid claim to the ‘invention’ of offshore powerboat racing but the first documented report of a race is from 1904 when the 34-foot ‘Mercedes IV’ beat 20 rivals over a 22 mile course from Dover to Calais.
‘Mercedes IV’ was powered by an 80 hp Daimler engine and owner/driver M.Sauer collected £450 ($750) prize money for his victory...an absolute fortune in those days.
America pioneered offshore racing in the late 1950’s after organising several marathon events that included the famous Miami - Nassau race. These long haul battles were the launch pads for countless designers who set out to perfect the ideal hull for unpredictable offshore conditions. Jim Wynn and Don Aronow were just two legendary names who went on to fame and fortune through their racing success in craft designed by themselves.
Sir Max Aitkin, then chairman of Express Newspapers, was so impressed with an American race he attended while on holiday in Florida, he pledged to launch a similar event in the United Kingdom. Thanks to the support from the Daily Express and BBC Television the first Cowes-Torquay offshore race in 1961 captured the public’s imagination. The fleet was made up of a ‘hotch potch’ of cruisers and open sportsboats, and after a gruelling voyage over the exposed English Channel Tommy Sopwith’s 24-foot ‘Thunderbolt’, powered by a 325 hp Cadillac engine, won the 179 mile epic at an average speed of 24.4 mph.
Offshore racing has evolved considerably over the years and the once dominant monohull craft is now a rarity in Class 1 racing. The passing of time has witnessed a radical change in the shape and power of raceboats, and the most captivating action has been in the premier division of offshore - Class 1 or Open class, as it’s known in America.
During the late 1960s, ‘70s and ‘80s the USA and Italy regularly entered craft in the traditionally British Cowes-Torquay race and these monster boats were a far cry from the early production type craft.
Speeds increased and advanced safety precautions were introduced, not only to safeguard crews but also the thousands of spectators who turned out to watch the action. In 1969 Don Aronow’s ‘The Cigarette’ had averaged 66.5 mph thus making the sport not only spectacular but also potentially very dangerous.
Transportation costs eventually led to the absence of American teams coming over to European races, but in their wake came the full might of the power passionate Italians. They boasted huge fleets of Class 1 powerboats in their Italian championships and when international events were staged the Italian teams turned out in force. Throughout the 1980s Italian teams collected all the major prizes.
British boatbuilder Cougar were one of the first companies to perfect the catamaran for offshore racing. Cougar’s designer, the late James Beard, had developed a twin hull configuration that could handle rougher conditions yet despite Ken Cassir’s ‘Yellowdrama 3’ winning the 1977 Cowes Classic averaging 72.7 mph the Italians remained unconvinced until the late 1980s of the aluminium monohulls, often powered by twin diesel engines. With the exception of Fabio Buzzi’s barn storming win in the four engined monohull ‘Cesa 1982’ in 1988 and Stephano Casiraghi in the same boat renamed ‘Pinot di Pinot’ the following year, every Cowes race since has been won by a catamaran.
More recently in the quest for speed and safety Cougar have been overhauled in the design stakes by Michael Peters and Peter Hledin of Skater fame and aluminium construction has been replaced by high-tech composites which are lightweight, yet immensely strong.
The once traditional open cockpits have been discarded for fully enclosed canopies furnished with air-supply for crew members, to be used in a capsize emergency, as speeds have increased to nearer the 150 mph barrier...once thought of as impossible.
Inevitably the rapid development of technology in powerboat racing has provoked a huge increase in the cost of racing and these days most teams are funded by wealthy owners and sponsorship. Whilst early raceboats bore classic simple names such as ‘Thunderbolt’, ‘Telstar’, ‘Surfury’ to name just three, by the mid-’70s ‘Dry Martini’, ‘Rothmans’ and ‘Cinzano’ had become familiar names on the racing circuit.
The title Class 1 was introduced in the very late 1960s and prior to that time classes were divided into groups of Production A, B, etc. Today’s Class 1 represents the ultimate in offshore racing and the expression "The greatest watersport spectacle in the world" fits comfortably with the elite team owners who spend fortunes in their quest for glory.