The Australian Offshore Superboats will be under the control of an iconic Australian boat manufacturer as they prepare to make a start in the second round of the 2024/25 Championship at Wyndham Harbour, with a stunning Whitepointer 263 powered by twin 450 Mercury outboard engines pacing the competitors.
Manufactured by Whitepointer Boats Australia from Cann River in Victoria’s East Gippsland, the full fibreglass hull is recognised as one of the toughest offshore fishing boats on the market. Hand-made, new owner David Trimble admits that the boats are about maintaining a reputation, with plans to produce just six or seven hulls a year, none of them with any composite material or plywood in their construction.
“The transom for instance contains 40-odd layers of fibreglass and is 50mm thick, so they’re a solid boat,” Trimble explained. “I took on the business six months ago from Erick Hyland who built a fantastic reputation in the industry, and our aim is to maintain that old-school approach to the way we construct our boats moving forward.”
“Whitepointer boats have a fantastic reputation in the industry, we’re just disappointed that Dave didn’t enter the boat in the field as a competitor,” Australian OffShore Powerboat Club Commodore Antony De Fina jokingly admitted.
“Everyone I speak to asks me that same question,” Trimble laughed. “The sport looks incredible, we work on occasion with Shane Paton (currently leading the Supersports 65 category alongside boat owner Hary Bakkr), and he got me interested. We’re swamped with orders for new boats at the moment, so can’t commit to racing, but we’re excited to be a part of the program and keen to see these impressive boats up close.”
With 900-horsepower on tap and plans to develop the twin Mercury powerplants beyond that, the stunning all-black Whitepointer 263 will have no trouble pacing the field ahead of the start at Wyndham Harbour.
“This just adds another element of excitement for the fans, having a boat like this as part of our Series shows just how flexible our sport is, whilst also allowing the fans to see another different style of boat that they can get up close to and talk to David about fishing and the business of building boats,” De Fina added.
“Wyndham Harbour is set for one of our biggest fields in the history of the sport, something we’re really excited about. There’s been a lot of interest from ski racing teams, and renewed interest from some teams that haven’t been a part of the Series recently, so we’re really looking forward to the event, and then Geelong just three weeks later – both rounds of course going to air on 7mate and 7plus in the weeks following.”
Round two of the 2024/25 Australian Offshore Superboat Championships gets underway at Wyndham Harbour, 40-kilometres south-west of Melbourne’s CBD on Saturday, 22 February with six half hour races scheduled across the two days (three races each for the Supercat Extreme + Supercat Outboard, and three for the Supersports and Super V combined categories). Access to the event is free, with fantastic viewing opportunities for fans to both watch the action and get up close and personal with the boats and teams.
2024/25 Offshore Superboat Championships – calendar
R1. Lake Macquarie, NSW – 19-20 October, 2024
R2. Wyndham Harbour, VIC – 22-23 February, 2025 (sponsored by Hornet Property Services)
R3. Geelong Harbour, VIC – 15-16 March, 2025 (sponsored by Hornet Property Services)
R4. Port Adelaide, SA – 12-13 April, 2025
Further dates and locations released soon.
For more information on the Australian Offshore Superboat Championships, visit us at;
www.superboat.com.au
www.facebook.com/OffshoreSuperboats
www.facebook.com/ausopc
About Hornet Property Services
Located in Melbourne’s south-east, Hornet Property Services was born from the market’s demand for a better standard of tradesman. Servicing all of Melbourne, the business is defined by reliability and an extremely high level of customer service with competitive pricing. Simply put, they are your one stop shop for plumbing, electrical and property maintenance for both residential and commercial properties.
For more information, please visit https://hornetpropertyservices.com.au
To learn more about Whitepointer boats, visit;
www.facebook.com/whitepointermarine
