Waiting Out the Wind and the Waves - Monday Report on the 2006 OSS World Championships
Racers met Monday night for the opening drivers’ meeting amidst a strong wind storm and iffy forecast for tomorrow. The 2006 Offshore Super Series Merrick World Championships are set to begin in earnest tomorrow if weather permits. Today teams finalized set-up in the dry pits and prepared for scheduled test runs tomorrow. We attended the drivers’ and volunteers’ meetings to get a feel for upcoming events.
All OSS teams were present and accounted for at tonight’s drivers’ meeting. Also in the audience were representatives from Mercury Marine Racing, the race dive and medical teams, and members of the press. A universal concern is the weather for tomorrow’s test runs. As of this writting, the major rain is passing through - so there is hope tomorrow will dawn with subsiding seas and weaker winds.
Race Format
This year’s course is 6.84 miles long. The catamaran class will race 14 laps or ~95 miles. Light catamarans and v-hulls will race 11 laps or ~75 miles, and the light v-hull, outboard catamaran, and extreme/turbine catamarans will race 8 laps or ~55 miles. We’ll make a guess that the turbine cats really go through the gas and might not last many more laps. According to the race director, 100mph is the minimum top speed in OSS racing with the larger catamarans approaching 200mph
Race Coverage
The races will include up to 8 helicopters and 1 fixed-wing aircraft. 2 of the helicopters and the aircraft will have state-of-the-art wireless cameras to film the action. The aircraft is a new addition this year as the large catamarans can outrun the helicopters. During Thursday’s and Sunday’s races, live video will be available online at www.offshoreonly.com and at a limited number of cable venues. Broadcasts will start 15 minutes prior to race time.
Safety
Safety is #1. OSS rules require completely enclosed cockpits - most of which have dedicated air systems. Windshields must be built to withstand water impact well above each class’s maximum speed for 10 continuous seconds. All drivers and throttlemen must certify in the “dunker” (more on that later this week) and hold diving, first aid, and CPR certifications. Besides incredible photography, the race helicopters also carry rescue divers ready to deploy at a moments notice. The airborne “Angels” are augmented by medical staff on volunteer boats which will line the race course.
Tomorrow we hope to get ‘in-depth’ coverage of dunker training and get our 1st glimpse of the hot pits and test runs.
