The Palm Beach Post

09-17-1995

Harrah's Cruises To Third Title

By: Chris Dummit - Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Palm Beach's inaugural offshore powerboat race closed its first day Saturday with near perfect weather, somewhat predictable racing, a 30-minute delay, one boat barrel-rolling and a minor collision.

The Harrah's team won its third national championship in a row in the C class, leading the race from start to finish.

The boat simply needed to begin the race to have enough points to win the Grand Prix series. But owner, Mac Seelig of Absecon, N.J., said there was more at stake.

``We look at (ourselves) as a business,'' said Seelig, who races with his sons, Jeff and Jason. ``It's just important to us. We want to be the best.''

The 34-foot Harrah's boat was one of the largest in Saturday's field of 38 boats, which included Offshore A, B, C and Stock S classes.

Today's races, which begin at 12:30 p.m., feature the larger classes: Offshore D, Pro Outboard, Modified, Open and Super Boat. Of the 45 boats expected to be there, many are capable of reaching speeds up to 160 mph. They will range in length from 30-50 feet.

Saturday's race was slow to start because rescue helicopters were late to arrive, race host Hank Harms said.

The first of three heats crossed the starting lineabout 30 minutes after the proposed starting time of noon.

The brightly colored hulls flew past thousands of spectators lined along the beaches and several hundred boats anchored offshore.

During the first leg of the race, they appeared to be closer than 100 yards from the beach, giving viewers a chance to recognize the numbers and colors of the lead boats.

Those with radios monitored a live broadcast of the race on WEAT-AM 850. And those with binoculars could follow the boats as they maneuvered through eight turns on the 11.9-mile course.

Seas were 2-3 feet most of the afternoon, which gave a slight edge to the rougher water vee hull boats over the catamarans.

Some of the smaller boats went completely airborne navigating the worst spots. And one, the A-class, 26-foot Subluxator, owned and throttled by Greg Loman of Naples, barrel-rolled on a turn.

The three occupants were thrown from the boat, though no one was injured. The boat was towed off the course.

During the seventh lap, a spectator boat crossed the course. The B-class boat, Everglades Executioner out of Fort Lauderdale, hit the vessel's wake then nosedived. Its stern spun 180 degrees and its bow struck an oncoming vessel on the port side.

The second vessel, the A-boat Frank's Marine/Hooligan's out of Miami, was damaged by the impact. But both vessels continued to race, and the Frank's boat won its class.

At the dock, Everglades driver Tim Foster complained of dizziness and a neck ache and was taken to the hospital by race rescue workers. Information on his condition was not available late Saturday night.

Despite the accidents and glitches, Harms said the race went well.

``I'm breathing a lot easier. I can swallow again, and eat. And I might be able to sleep,'' he said. ``It'll go better tomorrow.''