Trade-A-Boat — December 2017

by heavy mobile crane from their
trailer-mounted cradles into the water.
Spectators were welcome to wander
through the ‘pit area’ to chat with crew
members and inspect the boats at
close quarters as they were prepped
and tuned, thunderously, for the Pole
Position Shootout on the bay.
A six-kilometre course had been
laid for this speed trial within 600
metres of the foreshore between
Torquay and Point Vernon. Alerted by
a well-orchestrated media campaign,
thousands of fans had taken up vantage
points along the Hervey Bay beachfront
to watch the action. The Outboards,
followed by the Extremes, all took

advantage of the light conditions to post

very competitive times, trailing plumes

of spray many times longer than the

boats themselves.

Later that afternoon, the appreciative

crowds were treated to a colourful

horn-blaring spectacle as the boats were

paraded along the Esplanade aboard

‘oversize’ semi-trailers bedecked in team

graphics and sponsor logos.

Day two dawned overcast but quickly

cleared to another balmy, blue day on

the Bay, with a low swell on a rising

tide and 10-15kts onshore northerly

winds, near perfect conditions for the

exciting two-race program. As the day

progressed, however, the freshening

winds whipped up a serious chop that

had the Outboards struggling, while

the Extremes seemed to revel in the

conditions. Adding to these high-octane

thrills was the aerobatic performance

of the chase chopper as it shadowed the

speeding vessels at close range.

Two race wins by 222 Offshore Racing

was a great effort in the challenging

conditions but didn’t prevent the

Maritimo 12 team securing 2017

Extreme class champion. Line honours

were shared among the Outboards,

with Saracen winning the first race and

Hog’s Breath the second but Team 88

Power Zone emerged as this year’s class

champion.

MAIN Phantom and Team 88 Power Zone in the pits before the Supercat Outboard pole

position shootout. TOP The Hog’s Breath team won Race 2 among the Supercat

Outboards. ABOVE Maritimo 11 shows a clean pair of heels during Round 5 of the

Offshore Superboat races at Hervey Bay.

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