Powerboats to race this Sunday off the Jersey Shore
A powerboat in the Manasquan Inlet in May 2016. (Photo: Jerry Meaney/Barnegat Bay Island, NJ via Facebook)
Powerboat racers will descend on the Jersey Shore this week for the Point Pleasant Beach Offshore Grand Prix on Sunday.
40 powerboats will compete in races between Point Pleasant Beach and Bay Head that begin at noon.
It’s a scaled-down version of the world famous race, which Point Pleasant Beach began hosting along with the New Jersey Offshore Powerboat Racing Association decades ago.
“There is probably no single race more famous than the Benihana Offshore Grand Prix. This race was known as the Indy 500 of Offshore Racing and was held in Point Pleasant Beach during the 1970s,” according to Offshore Powerboat Association.
That race was over 200 miles long, running 80 mile laps from New York’s Fire Island to Seaside Heights. But like last year, the event will run along a four mile oval “as close as the beach as possible,” the Offshore Powerboat Association says.
“Since the beach drops off quickly, the boats usually run within 150 feet of the surf. Even the outside leg can be clearly seen from the shoreline,” according to the organization’s site.
While racing is slated for Sunday, events begin Thursday, including a block party, race boat pit areas open to the public, and a street boat parade. Visit here for more information.
WHYY is your source for fact-based, in-depth journalism and information. As a nonprofit organization, we rely on financial support from readers like you. Please give today.
