Last weekend’s offshore racing season-opener in St. Petersburg, Fla., was not kind to Owen Buis. The 17-year-old throttleman was hoping to make his Super Stock-class debut with driver Cameron Turk debut on his Tampa Bay home-water. He planned to have a strong outing with Louisiana’s Dustin Clouatre in the Mod V ranks. And wanted to cheer his father, Nick, and J.J. Turk Turk—Owen’s dad—to Pro Class 1 success in their XINSURANCE North raceboat.
But offshore racing often foils the best-laid plans. Buis got a heavy dose of that last weekend in St. Pete.
“It was not a great weekend for us,” he said, then chuckled. “We had issues with all three boats.
“We ended up not starting the Super Stock race thanks to a power-steering problem,” he continued. “The Mod V boat had unexpected gremlins. We had the start, but broke on the first lap.”
His favorite Pro Class 1 team didn’t fare much better.
“One of the boat’s batteries died on Saturday when they were running in third place,” Buis explained. “On Sunday, they barrel-rolled, though everyone was OK.”
Buis isn’t wasting time with disappointment. On the contrary, he’s pumped for the next event. He’s already deep into prepping for the New Orleans Grand Prix this month.
“We will have the Super Stock and Mod V boats fixed up and ready to test then race,” he said. “The Pro Class 1 is at the shop getting repairs done as we speak.
“We will be ready for New Orleans,” he added, then laughed. “I am calling it my ‘Redemption Ark.’”