By their very nature, powerboat endurance races are outside today’s mainstream offshore racing, which features closed-circuit, mostly near-shore contests on five- to seven-mile courses. As such, endurance affairs tend to attract eclectic fleets. The first-year LuminSea Bimini Cup set for October 24 is no exception.
Leanna Shadlow and Chad Havens will run a 38-foot Skater catamaran in the event. Photos by Pete Boden copyright Shoot 2 Thrill Pix.
At present, the fleet for the 67-mile roundtrip contest has nine registered boats. The group includes a 1987 model-year Apache Cigarette 515 sportboat currently being repowered at Angle of Attack Marine, two Deep Impact 369 center consoles and one Deep Impact 499 center console, A DWR 39 catamaran, a 43-foot Midnight Express center console, a turbine-engine-powered 50-foot Mystic catamaran, a Skater 388 catamaran and 28-foot Vector V-bottom raceboat.
The competitor mix is equally diverse. On the factory-representation side, John Wittenberger and Mauricio Urbina will run the 49-foot Deep Impact. Well known racers in the mix include Steve Curtis, who will run in the Cigarette with professional captain Roberto Bustamante, Canadian Lorne Leibel in the Apache, Nick Buis in the XINSURANCE-backed Mystic powered by twin 1,500 turbine mills and Super Stock-class teammates Chad Havens and Leanna Shadlow in the Skater.
“ I’m excited for this race,” Havens said, then laughed. “Obviously, it’s a little disturbing since we’ve never done a race like this before. But that’s what feeds you, right?”
Deep Impact will have three boats competing.
Having proper safety assets in place for such events is as essential as it is challenging. For that aspect of the production, Pete Riviero, an offshore racer and the LuminSea Bimini cup’s chief organizer, turned to professionals he knows and trusts.
According information on LuminSea Bimini Cup website, “The full course is protected by SSR — Powerboat Safety & Rescue Team—with rescue boats strategically positioned across five response zones, the Rescue & Safety Director coordinating response, two SSR rescue divers ready for rapid deployment, and U.S. Coast Guard notification procedures in place.”
As previously reported, the 67-mile course will take participants to the edge of Bahamian territorial waters and back to its mainland starting point. The race-window is slated to begin at 10 a.m. and finish by 1 p.m.
On board video from each boat will feed into the livestream broadcast led by Riviero, who earned strong reviews for his broadcasting skills during the Roar Offshore Fort Myers Beach event last month.
Registration closes October 17.