Super Boats International to honour 9-11 fallen

by Bob Wonders on 5 Sep 2011 New York’s Hudson River, arguably one of the world’s most famous waterways, will be the setting this weekend when Super Boats International (SBI) pays homage to the victims of the 2001 World Trade Centre terrorist outrage.

In effect, this will be the 21st New York Super Boat Grand Prix, set to be staged on the uncharacteristic Saturday (Sept. 10) because of the Sunday being a Memorial Day for those lost.

Some teams has chosen to pay their tribute to 9/11 by displaying special decals on their boats.

Competing teams have also been invited to attend post-race a special dedication named ‘Empty Sky Memorial’ in Liberty State Park that morning.

For race fans, the Hudson River spectacle will see America’s fastest offshore race boats blasting past such sights as the towering skyscrapers of Manhattan and the famous Statue of Liberty.

An astonishing 1 in 16 Americans reside in the Greater New York Metropolitan Area according to SBI.

Boats and crews will begin arriving from Thursday (Sept 8) at the Liberty Landing Marina in New Jersey.

Race fans can get up close and personal with the boats and their crews as they arrive and throughout Friday (Sept 9).

There will only be one race, set for 0900hrs on the Saturday morning with boats scheduled to cover 17.75 miles (28.5kms) around a rectangular course slightly less than five miles (8kms).

Race total will be 84 miles (135kms).

Spectators can follow the race from both the News York and New Jersey shorelines.

SBI continues to expand its international flavour with Norway’s Tor Staubo, of Oslo, taking part for the first time in his 48’ (14.63-metre) MTI, ‘Team Gasse’.

The series has previously inducted teams from Australia and the Ukraine into its fold, which will be contesting SBI’s renowned Key West World Championships in November.

Tor Staubo said he was ‘very excited’ to be competing in his first US race.

'I have a great throttleman in Johnny Tomlinson and my new MTI raceboat was delivered last week,' he said.

'It’s handling beautifully and we have already hit 172mph (276km/hr) in the Lake of the Ozark Shootout sponsored by SBI,' he added.

John Carbonell, President and Founder of SBI, said sponsoring an event such as the Lake of the Ozark Shootout and producing the New York Super Boat Grand Prix was very important.

'It goes without saying that we support the families affected by 9/11 together with the many volunteers we have, Coast Guard, law enforcement, rescue personnel and firefighters that support SBI throughout the year – we appreciate their help and could not do it without them,' he declared.

In other SBI news, a powerboat racing legend has joined SBI’s Board of Governors, none other than Reggie Fountain, former Mercury Racing triple world champion and builder of the renowned Fountain Powerboats.

Reggie recently established a new company, appropriately named ‘Real Fast Boats’ and has his two sons, Reggie III and Wyatt in with him providing service, repairs and new boats sales out of North Carolina.

'I am honoured to have John Carbonell invite me to join the Board of Governors and to again include me in offshore racing,' Reggie said.

'I have been involved with John for more than 25-years and to be around all these wonderful people and to meet new racers and teams is a great feeling,' he added.

Mr Carbonell was understandably excited at having Reggie Fountain ‘on board.’

'Super Boat International continues to grow and as we see many international teams entering this year’s Key West World Championships it’s important we focus on making this the best organisation for the competing teams.' He said.

'We have had some incredible years and a lot of history with Reggie Fountain and for him to come back and join us is most exciting.

'He has been very involved in our sport with his high performance boats and he is truly a fan of Super Boats International,' he added.

The New York Super Boat Grand Prix will be streamed live on Superboat.com