Special feature by Sonny Hawkins,
Tiger Performance Race Team

(Sonny and Tina Hawkins are well known on the performance racing circuit, and their efforts to enhance boating safety are key to the future of the sport.) Offshore powerboat racing has evolved over the past 45 years to today’s high-speed spectator driven near-shore motor sport. In the early days, famed organizer Red Crise produced Open Ocean round trip endurance races to such places as the Bahamas and to Nassau. These events included open cockpit deep vee bottom boats that were capable of 50-60 mph. Once the boats departed for their destination the few spectators that assembled waived goodbye and the race became an endurance event of open ocean racing, boat and men against the elements. These brave and hearty participants such as Don Aronow and many others became legendary and helped shape what was to become today’s huge high performance and racing industry. Today’s offshore powerboats are much faster than their early predecessors. Today’s race boats in the top classes can reach speeds of 150-200 mph. As the speeds of the boats increased so did the possibility of death or serious injury. With the death of Mark Lavin during the 1987 Key West world championships, the speeds of the boats and associated danger could no longer be ignored. As a result the Lavin Foundation, headed by Dr. Matt Houghton, was formed. The sole purpose of the foundation was to establish a published set of guidelines for improving safety in offshore racing, illustrating the proper design and construction of race boats, safety systems, crew safety equipment and their use. The first guideline was written by a committee of some of the most knowledgeable people in the marine high performance and racing industry at the time. Since the first publication, the guideline has been updated many times. These updates are a result of the contribution of the current committee members under the continued leadership and dedication of Dr. Mathew Houghton. These guidelines are utilized internationally by all the major offshore race sanctioning organizations to set minimum standards of safety. Some improvements in safety are a result of what is learned from accident investigations. Other improvements are a result of forward thinking individuals who could anticipate what might happen and design and develop boats and products to prevent injury or death before it occurs. Today’s offshore race consists of very fast boats, running in close proximity to each other on a short 5-mile course over a distance of up to 100 miles. The resulting 80-120 turns provide plenty of opportunity for spinouts, “T” bones, barrel rolls and overturning. The boats have to withstand all of these possibilities with the occupants walking away. The dangers associated with these types of accidents, and the evolution of safety measures should be no surprise. One just has to look at what NASCAR, open wheel cars, and drag racing has gone through to improve safety. The same occurred in boat drag racing and in the unlimiteds. The use of open cockpit boats in racing is nearly extinct. Fully enclosed cockpits with safety cells and air systems are now common. Offshore racing is still very dangerous but much safer than only a few years ago. Major improvements in enclosed cockpit design and construction including the integrated roll cage, stronger canopies, windows, top and bottom escape hatches and hardware have all resulted in increased safety. (Special breathing and safety gear have been adapted for performance boat racing. Watch for the Tiger Performance Flying Tiger on the OSS circuit.) The onboard crew safety equipment has also dramatically improved. Crew members inside enclosed cockpits are now mandated to have onboard Scuba air systems and know how to use them thru dunker test training. Beyond basic Scuba systems, many teams use fighter pilot helmets and masks designed to operate under water in the event of overturning, incorporating primary and secondary escape air systems. Further, some crew members are now utilizing the Hans head and neck restraint now mandated in NASCAR. Automatic water activated underwater lighting systems as used in the helicopter industry are now also beginning to appear. Crew safety is like a chain, it is only as strong as its weakest link. During an accident if all safety systems work as designed and intended then usually there is no problem. If one safety feature fails, such as a hatch or window, it causes a domino effect allowing the tremendous force of water to have direct access to the crew or causing other safety features to fail. Equally important are the rescue teams that arrive on the scene of an accident, usually within 15-30 seconds. These highly trained and dedicated individuals are very capable at extracting crew members and providing emergency care in the event of injury. Most people watching an offshore powerboat race have no idea what goes on inside a fully enclosed cockpit from the start to finish of a race. Before the race starts the crew may have to travel a long distance from the wet pits out to the race course, and then endure a long time in the milling area in the event of the sighting of a sea turtle or manatee. It is not uncommon for it to take more than one half hour before the race starts. Since most races occur in very warm weather, cockpit temperatures can rise to as much as 120 degrees. For example, at the start of an OSS cat class race the boats line up with the pace boat straight across, while coming up to speed. Once the green flag is raised, usually at about 70-80 MPH the boats quickly accelerate to as much as 140 MPH. During the acceleration period each boat is trying to get out in front for the first turn and many boats get cut off in the process. These boats throw a 200 foot rooster tail which totally blinds the boat crew that is being cut off for as much as 20-30 seconds. During this time other boats may also come into play cutting off as well. The blinded crews have no idea what is going on around them and could become victims of a violent accident at any moment. The crews are so blinded that it is like being inside of Niagara Falls. To further add to the danger, it is common for these boats to bang into each other, which on occasion causes a spin out, overturning, barrel roll, “T” bone or airborne launch, all of which can lead to serious circumstances. Once the first lap is complete the boats are usually spread out more and it is less likely to be cut-off by multiple boats, but all the other possibilities persist throughout the race, especially if it is a competitive race. Since water is usually not a smooth surface like a car racetrack, all of this is occurring while the crew is being thrown in every direction inside the cockpit constantly being yanked hard against their 5-point harnesses. Depending on cockpit clearance they may even bang their helmets against the cockpit. It is common for boats traveling at speeds of as high as 100-115 MPH, running in 3-4’ seas, to launch off of a wave and travel airborne for as much as 200-300’ and as high as 5-10’ off the water. Occasionally a boat may trip off of a wave with the front of the boat driven under water, which is called stuffing. Boats have been filmed traveling as much as 200-300’ under water during a stuffing. Often boats sustain damage during a stuffing due to the tremendous force of the water. One of the most dangerous accident scenarios is when a catamaran boat traveling at high speed gets partially out of control and digs in one of the front two sponsons. Once this occurs the boat may barrel roll causing serious damage to the boat and putting the crew in extreme peril. (Access to the race boat is through the canopy hatch. In the event a boat capsizes, the crew can escape through the tunnel safety hatch - that’s how the crew of 2005 OSS World Champion Bermuda Berry Cuda emerged shaken but safe after a recent mishap - action photo by Jeff Gerardi, FreezeFrameVideo.net.) As previously mentioned there are many accident scenarios that may occur. Inside the cockpit it is a very surreal experience. Due to the high noise canceling helmet communications it is almost like watching a near silent action packed video game while being thrown around. The crew may be talking to each other or their crew chief on-shore on their on-board noise canceling radio/intercom systems barely hearing the engine noise. Accidents occur quickly and usually without warning. If the boat flips or barrel rolls the crew find themselves in an instant struggle to escape to the surface. They go from one moment being right side up in the sunlight to the next instant being upside down, under water often in a pitch-black environment. Catamarans usually have a bottom escape hatch, which enables the crew to release their harness, rotate, open the hatch and crawl out onto the tunnel. Vee bottoms do not have bottom escape hatches, which require the crew to release their harnesses, open the top escape hatch, and swim out of the cockpit over to the side of the boat and to the surface. The dunk test training that the crew is trained to do becomes invaluable when escaping to the surface since it is very easy to become disoriented and swim in the wrong direction. Crew members in the past have swam in the wrong direction and found themselves trapped inside the hull of the boat and subsequently drowned. None of the escape procedures can begin until the boat completely decelerates and often the crew has to wait for the cockpit to fully flood and for the pressure to equalize before they can open the top escape hatch due to the water pressure against it. If a crew member is injured or trapped and cannot escape on his own then the rescue teams take over bringing the crew member’s to the surface. There are several types of on-board air systems that crew members may use during their escape from an overturned boat. The simplest but not always the most effective is the use of a Scuba regulator attached to a 15’ hose and a Scuba tank. When the boat overturns the crewmembers must find the regulator, put it in their mouth, clear the water out of the regulator by pushing the purge button, and then begin breathing. This type of system can be problematic and is what was being used by one of offshore racings most notable racers, Tom Gentry, when he drowned during an accident during the 1994 Key West world championships. He was revived but remained in a coma for three years and eventually passed away. This accident lead to the development of several patented products sold by Tiger Performance Products including an automatic breathing system utilizing a fighter pilot helmet and mask fitted for under water Scuba use. The mask is also fitted with an automatic ambient air valve, which enables the racer to breath ambient cockpit air until the boat flips or submerges under water This enables the full scuba tanks to be available once the accident occurs. The valve automatically closes upon rollover or submersion activating the on-board air system. The mask may also be attached to a 15’ hose or connected to a primary/secondary air system. In this configuration the hose from the on-board air tank attaches to the 5-point harness release mechanism with a male air nipple. The crew member is also wearing a small escape air system on his leg in a holster which has a short hose attached that plugs onto the 5-point harness air nipple. The crewmembers mask hose is plugged onto the leg mounted escape air system. When an accident occurs, the air system automatically activates and the crew member breathes compressed air delivered from the primary boat mounted scuba tank. When the crew member is ready to escape he looks for the phosphorous-coated glow in the dark lever for the 5-point harness release mechanism. When the lever is pulled it disconnects his primary air system as well as his communication plug, which has also been plugged into his release mechanism. The air supply instantly transfers over to the man mounted escape system and the crewmember then escapes to the surface. In the event that the crew member is injured then the rescue personnel perform the exit procedure for the crew member and takes him to the surface. These advanced air systems have accounted for many documented lives being saved that otherwise may have become a victim. The safer powerboat racing becomes, the more likely it is that the sport will grow and spectators and television viewers will be able to enjoy an emerging and exciting form of motor sports. For more information on a full range of safety equipment visit www.tigerperformance.com (Page Top) (Close Window)