Race World Offshore President, Larry Bleil, was on-site at the recent Ocean Cup run held in South Florida, earlier this month. Sanctioned by the American Power Boat Association, records were set for this epic event. Larry enjoyed the event and supporting fellow offshore enthusiasts, boat owners and companies. Continue reading to learn more about the affair and all that happened.
“The Ocean Cup has considerable potential and the fleet is growing,” said Rich Luhrs, the APBA Offshore Racing Commission chairman who provided his broadcast services for the event. “There is definitely a desire for big-water competition separate and distinct from our current closed-course series on a more limited scale.
On the face of things, the six-boat 2023 Ocean Cup Gateway Marathon fleet appeared to be a loose collection of open- and closed-cockpit sportboats, a center console and one 52-foot catamaran. But as last weekend’s event in South Florida proved, endurance racing attracts all kinds competitors with all kinds of great stories, each shooting to either set a new record or break an existing one.
The vessel they choose is for the most part secondary to the joys and challenges of battling the clock in open water.
Take the father-and-daughter duo of Michael and Kristal Drury, who ran a 28-foot, outboard-powered LaveyCraft V-bottom dubbed Revelation Racing, in last Saturday’s 128-mile run from Palm Beach to West End, Bahamas, and back. Not only did they have the smallest registered entry in the event, they averaged a solid 59.31 mph for a total running time of 2 hours, 9 minutes and 29 seconds for their class win.
On the speediest side of the 2023 event, Ocean Cup Series found Nigel Hook, Nick Pjatikin and Tim Pattison smoked the roundtrip journey in Ocean Cup, Hook’s 52-foot Mystic Powerboats catamaran, by averaging 102.31 mph for a time of 1 hour, 15 minutes and 4 seconds.
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Original article published on speedonthewater.com