The Palm Beach Post

11-14-1994

Racer Critically Injured In Key West Offshore Event

By: Chris Dummit - Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Offshore powerboat veteran Tom Gentry was in critical condition Sunday after his 40-foot catamaran spun out and flipped as he was leading his division of the Key West World Championships.

Gentry, 64, of Honolulu was not breathing when he was pulled from the capsized boat by a fellow racer, rescue officials said. He was taken by boat and ambulance to Lower Florida Keys Health Systems.

Late Sunday, his condition had stabilized and he was taken to Cedars Medical Center in Miami.

``By the time I swam there and went down, I couldn't find my buddy Richie (Powers), who throttles the boat,'' said John Tomlinson of North Miami, who leaped into the water from a nearby competing vessel, the CSB out of Puerto Rico. ``I saw Tom. He was caught by the hand and I pulled him out.''

The CSB was about to be lapped by Gentry's boat. When Tomlinson saw the accident, he knew he was the closest help. Rescue boats and a helicopter responded within two minutes.

``I'd want someone else to do the same for me,'' said Tomlinson, 32. Asked whether he considered having to drop out of the race, he said: ``That's not too important right now.''

Powers, throttleman for the Gentry team, was rescued by one of five safety divers as he breathed on a scuba regulator in his cockpit.

Powers said Gentry wanted to catch the front-running Superboat, Recovery, and was gaining on that vessel before the turn in Key West Harbor. Although Gentry's boat was in the Open division, it is considered a matter of pride to win the overall race.

``We knew we had the lead in the Open class,'' said Powers of North Miami Beach. ``I asked Tom, `Do you want to take it easy?' He said `Hell, we should go for it overall.' ''

Powers said they got bottlenecked behind Recovery and the Japanese boat, Arasaki, in the No. 3 turn. The boats were beginning the 10th lap of the 15-lap race.

``Maybe we were too aggressive. I guess it's just racing,'' he said.

Gentry, whose boat had been averaging 105 mph on the 10-mile course, steered the boat to the inside, then decided he couldn't pass. As he corrected, the boat turned too sharply.

``I just remember the rooster tail and it was just a continuous rooster tail and then we were underwater,'' Powers, 48, said. ``I remember the cockpit filling up with water . . . I was down in the floorboards. I just kept thinking to myself to stay calm, stay calm. It was pretty dicey for a while. I didn't think I was going to make it. It felt like an eternity.''

Gentry, a three-time world champion, has 23 years of experience in offshore racing. He is chairman and chief executive officer of companies which build residential communities, marinas, shopping centers and other ventures in California and Hawaii.

His boat had not completed the course during Wednesday's race because of a hydraulic system failure. The championship is determined by points accrued during the two races.

Two other boats flipped Sunday: the Open boat, Gifford Marine; and the Superboat Alcone Motorsports, which had won its first race Wednesday. Although Gifford Marine rolled mere feet from spectators at the Pier House hotel, no one was injured in either incident.

The seas were 4-5 feet high, churned by a stiff northerly wind, and could have been a factor in the accidents. Since 1985, four racers have died on the Key West course.

Stuart Hayim, who drove the 46-foot Recovery to victory in the Superboat class, said Gentry's accident has made him think about continuing the sport.

``I've had three world championships in a row; seven world and national titles in two years. The sport can't be better to someone. Maybe what I'm saying is it's time - with the pile of chips on the table - to say let's leave the casino,'' he said.

The first race Sunday had run smoothly, with smaller boats in the Sportsman (B), Offshore C, Stock, Production (A) and Factory classes competing on a shortened ``storm'' course. Seas were predicted to be 6-8 feet and race officials reduced the number of laps.

Ragamuffin, out of California, swept the C class. Throttleman Kirk Dunteman of Homestead was a stand-in.

``The boat really hooked up and was running good,'' he said. ``We were able to put the hammer down on the calmer sections.''

The Harmsco Hurricane, a Pro class boat owned by North Palm Beacher Hank Harms, ran second after finishing first by three seconds on Wednesday. Throttleman John Christensen said the boat lost power after the second lap and never recovered.

This year's world championship involved the largest field of boats - 147 - in the sport's 90-year history. Three competing racing organizations combined for the record event.

``The thing about the world championship and why it's so dangerous is there's no tomorrow,'' race director John Carbonell said. ``In a national race, you can always catch them tomorrow. But there's no next race. These guys are going for broke.''