Superboats action comes to the Bay!
2019-11-28
A thrilling new class has been added to the Australian Offshore Superboat Championships which will hold its final round of racing for the year off Hervey Bay on the last weekend in November 2019.
As well as the Superboats category with craft capable of 220kmph, first-time racers will be contesting the new Sports Boat class, open to licenced boat racers with their own craft.
Sport Boat nominations will be accepted until 22 November and at least two Hervey Bay competitors are expected to line up over the 5km course starting at the Scarness Pier, then to Torquay, Point Vernon before heading back to the finish line at Scarness.
The annual offshore championships is returning to Hervey Bay for the seventh year in 2019 and an action-packed family weekend of racing is expected.
Offshore Superboat Club secretary, Paul Gibbs, said there would be a limit of 20 boats in the new Sports Boat class and competitors should enter as soon as possible.
“Superboats is an incredibly exciting and popular event – the Superboat boats can go as fast as 220 km an hour with Sports boats reaching speeds of up to 160km an hour,” he said .
The organisers expect between 15 and 20 boats in the new Sports class with about half this number contesting the Superboats series finale, including one boat which had competed in Europe and the United States.
Specatators can watch the action from the Hervey Bay foreshore between Pialba and Torquay.
“The competitors always look forward to the last race in the series and the open water course at Hervey Bay because a lot of the earlier races are on flat river systems. The open water conditions can be a lot more challenging for the drivers,” said Mr Gibbs.
Boat enthusiasts will also have the option of watching the race from water onboard the whale watch vesels, Freedom, Tasman Venture and Spirit of Hervey Bay which will be anchored 1 km offshore in the centre of the race course for a prime vantage point.
For your chance to get up close and personal, the public are invited to visit the boat pit area at the Sandy Straits Marina between 10am and 2pm on both the Saturday and Sunday.
The event also includes a popular street parade of boats starting at 3.30pm on Saturday November 30 from Urangan, travelling along the Esplanade to the Main Street roundabout and back again.
Mr Gibbs said one of the highlights for spectators each year was watching the Superboats lifted in and out of the water by crane at the boat harbour in Urangan before and after each day of racing.
“The boats are normally craned into the water at 9am and are picked up as soon as the races finish in the afternoon. It gives people a perspective of how big they actually are,” he said.
This final round of the Superboat series, which finishes on the Sunday, will decide which boats will compete in the 2019 Australian Championships.
Currently in the lead of the inboard motor boats is “Dynamic Racing”, followed by “Team 3” then “Maritomo”. “The Hulk” is in the lead of the outboard motor boats.
To mark the return of the annual event to Hervey Bay, Fraser Coast Tourism & Events is giving two lucky people the chance to ride the Superboats on the media day, November 29.
To win two passes to board the Superboats, simply tell us in 25 words or less via our Facebook competition which event on the Fraser Coast is your favourite and why! Entries close November 20 and the winner will be announced November 22, 2019.
*Conditions apply. Please visit the website to view the full list of terms and conditions http://bit.ly/36gr4Tb.
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