Hervey Bay
hosted the final round of the 2017 Australian Offshore Superboat Series.
It was a
great 3 day long weekend with nice sunny days but strong northerly winds
meaning the race course would be rough and choppy.
Great for
spectators – not so great for the boats and their drivers and navigators.
The Friday
was spent in the pit area looking over the boats and their support systems.
Some of them
have huge budgets with state-of-the-art prime movers, fully decked out
workshops inside semi-trailers, additional support vehicles and a very
experienced team of up to a dozen people.
Team Newcastle's set-up was amazing with state-of-the-art everything!!!
Paul went to the Driver's Briefing and also down onto the dock.
Saturday had
the Pole Position Shootout so Paul sat on the edge of Marina
Breakwall and watched the boats motor loudly past Lorelei.
The boats were hauled in and out for propellor or rudder changes, modifications and repairs in between races.
On Sunday Paul
went out on the Spirit of Hervey Bay, a large spectator boat with 5 viewing
levels.
The super high top deck meant Paul could take photos overlooking the marina and Lorelei during departure.
The first
race was great with some very high speeds and tight racing.
Spirit of
Hervey Bay was one of only a few boats allowed into the centre of the course so
Paul and the other people on-board could see the racing right around the
course.
The Spirit crew served a great buffet lunch and the break also gave Paul extra
time to take other photos around the boat.
The wind and
chop picked up for the afternoon race.
However it
was the last race of the season and the Championship was on the line,
so they pushed the boats to the limit with many getting some big air under the hull and landing in all sorts of unusual positions.
so they pushed the boats to the limit with many getting some big air under the hull and landing in all sorts of unusual positions.
It was nice to come home to a calm marina and clear afternoon and get some more photos on the way in.
If it’s on
again in 2018 we are definitely going again and would highly recommend it.
It was only
$65 for a full day out on the charter boat and an excellent buffet lunch was included in the price.
Bring on the 2018 series....!!!!
Bring on the 2018 series....!!!!
