Miami Herald

May 23, 1993

AIRBORNE TRIUMPHS EASILY IN OFFSHORE GRAND PRIX

MARTY KLINKENBERG - Herald Outdoors Writer

Driving an offshore powerboat at 90 miles per hour in choppy seas is a breeze for the Airborne cockpit crew.

Art Girard, owner and driver of the 38-foot Cigarette race boat, is a former Army paratrooper. Mike Girard, Art's son and the boat's throttleman, is a skydiver. And navigator Bob Doerr flew 135 combat missions as an Air Force fighter pilot in Vietnam.

No wonder the group was so nonchalant after its seemingly effortless victory Saturday in the Fort Apache/Hooligans Miami Offshore Grand Prix.

"It was a real nice race," Art Girard said after winning the Offshore D Class at a blistering average speed of 123.07 miles per hour. "It was like taking a nice Sunday ride."

Thirty-seven boats in seven classes started the race, held off Miami Beach in moderate seas and light winds. Two-thirds of the competitors were still running at the finish and only one boat was involved in a mishap, albeit a major one.

Pantera Racing, a 28-foot entry in Offshore B, sank shortly after the start.

"We jumped a wave at 85 miles per hour and when we landed, the deck of our boat peeled right off," said Carlos De La Osa of Miami, the Pantera throttleman. "It sank in seconds."

Few boats were as dominating as Airborne, which crossed the finish line 3 minutes 46 seconds before its nearest rival. Only one other competitor -- Frank's Marine in Offshore A -- was as convincing. The latter bested the runner-up in its class by 5 minutes 37 seconds.

"This victory is special for me," said Art Girard, who bases his team out of Miami. "To win a race here, in the birthplace of this sport, means a lot. More dough and bigger trophies might be offered in other places, but it just doesn't compare."

Girard, who owns construction and real estate firms and recently purchased a high-performance boat factory, has driven offshore powerboats six years. He saw his first while watching Miami Vice and bought his first, a craft riddled with bullet holes, at a government auction on the Miami River shortly thereafter.

"As soon as I saw these boats, I fell in love with them," said Girard, 55, who maintains residences in Bal Harbour and Portland. "The minute I came down here I bought one."

Girard added Doerr to Airborne's cockpit crew as a navigator in 1992. A Boca Raton resident and former pilot for Pan American, Doerr has dabbled with the sport for 27 years.

"Both Art and I enjoy the challenge," Doerr, 47, said. "We don't go to sea, we attack it. This is a sport that breaks your back. You put up with physical pounding, dehydration, sunburn and wind blasting in your face at 160 mph.

"We do it for fun and enjoyment."

Doerr may even be more fearless than Girard.

He was shot down twice -- in 1966 and 1969 -- in Vietnam.

"I had to ditch the planes in the ocean," Doerr said, "but patrol boats picked us up both times. I think that's why I like the water so much."

The Girards and Doerr combined talents to help Airborne win the 1992 American Power Boat Association national championship in the Offshore D Class. Now the boat is off to another fast start.

Saturday's victory was its second in three races on the APBA circuit this year.

Girard hardly worked up a sweat.

"Racing boats is a lot safer than skydiving," he said. "The nice thing about it is that you can shut a boat's engine down if you get scared.

"When you are skydiving, once you have made that commitment there is no going back up."

Fort Apache/Hooligans Grand Prix results (Class, order of finish, boat number, boat name, driver, home town, average speed).

* Pro-stock: 1. P-41, The Forge, Shareef Malnik, Miami Beach, 83.47 mph; 2. P-99, Tequilla, Scott Mander, North Miami Beach, 83.11; 3. P-7, Patriot, Lisa Greager, Orlando, 81.25 mph.

* Stock: 1. S-1, Mobil 1/Sundance Skater, Robert Loeffler, Fort Lauderdale, 72.52 mph; 2. S-171, Quality Machine Product, Simon Taylor, Bermuda, 71.63; 3. S-2, Team Florida, Richard Spaeth, Lakeland, Fla., 70.30 mph.

* Offshore D: 1. M-2, Airborne, Art Girard, Bal Harbour, 123.07 mph; 2. M-37, Endangered Species, Daryl Lehman, Winter Haven, 106.47 mph; 3. M-99, Mohican Warrior, Humberto Rodriquez, Miami, retired, fourth lap.

* Offshore C: 1. C-22, Ramada Offshore, James T. Carroll, Fort Myers, 73.08 mph; 2. C-77, Ocean Outboard, Daniel Irwin, Boca Raton, 75.56 mph; 3. C-76, Bad Intentions, Eddie Santos, Miami, 68.82 mph.

* Offshore B: 1. B-61, Richard Fingree, Beaufort, S.C., 73.43 mph; 2. B-52, Thunder, Hermann Gold, Orlando, 72.46 mph; 3. B-44, Triton, Bill McComb, Sarasota, 66.37 mph.

* Offshore A: 1. A-1, Frank's Marine, Frank Eiroa Jr., Miami, 69.63 mph; 2. A-44, Team Gulfwind, Gene Whipp, Sarasota, 64.01 mph; 3. A-181, Scott Free, Kevin Brown, Sarasota, 62.30 mph.

* Local/club: 1. L-169, Warpath, no other info available, 74.72 mph; 2. L-25, Power Lips, Carlos Quijano, Miami, 59.36 mph; 3. L-69, Frank's Marine, Andres Fonte, Hialeah, 59.79 mph.