The Sting Offshore Racing Team

With the twin canopy 28ft Skater sporting a pair of Mercury Racing 300x outboards looking to be retired by the TCR Offshore Racing team at the end of the 2021 season due to the twin canopy not meeting current canopy rules and the team purchasing a new boat the quest was what to do with the boat,

With lots of talk of what could be done with the boat a deal was done to sell it to Mike Ratcliffe who wanted to get into offshore racing and planned to upgrade the boat with a single canopy.

Within a week of the boat arriving on the Gold Coast the twin canopies had been removed and a single canopy from Maritimo Racing was being prepared to be grafted to the Skater.

Once the canopy had been fitted then came the full refit of the cockpit, seats, electronic, safety harnesses and tunnel escape hatch, once finish the result was fantastic.

Mike enlisted Karl Wall to be on the throttles and they got on to getting Mike seat time before their first race, having missed the first 2 rounds of the season (with the refit) the season turn into learning sessions at each race.

The team are looking forward to the 2023 offshore season.

With the 2022 season coming to an end at Lake Macquarie, we would like to thank all of the competitors for their time and effort on and off the race track this season and all of the people who volunteered there time as course boats and helpers.

Here are the 2022 Class Champions

Supercat Extreme, Maritimo #12 Tom Barry-Cotter & Ross Willaton

Supercat Outboard, AMT Racing #77 Andy Taylor & Paul Fowlds

Sports 85, Special Edition #07 Mark Pecherzewski & Amy Preston

Sports 65, Gigglin #116 Mark Sutherland & Liam Sutherland

AUS1, AMT Racing #77 Andy Taylor & Paul Fowlds

The proposed 2022, round 5, Gold Coast event has been removed from this years calendar and the 2022 season will end at Lake Macquarie.

From Powerboat Racing World

Chris Davies on 12th March 2022

Flat calm conditions awaited the competitors taking part in the opening round of the Australian Offshore Superboat Championship based at Melbourne’s newest marina suburb, Wyndham Harbour.

It probably wasn’t the ‘come-back’ that Mat Humphrey and Simon Isherwood had hoped for as the former NOTAREAL Cougar catamaran made her racing revival in the Supercat Extreme class. Mirror like water conditions were never what this raceboat was designed for, so it was always going to be a struggle against the smaller, lighter Supercat Outboards.

Humphrey had earlier said

This weekend is still really a test. But what better way to test a race boat then in a race.

Mechanical issues with one of the 800hp Sterling Performance V8 engines meant the crew just about managed to limp home and take maximum points for the class.

Andy Taylor and Paul Fowlds from AMT Marine Racing in their latest Shifty Cat design hull took maximum points for the Supercat Outboards class although they didn’t cross the finish line in first place. That honour went to the local entry of Saracen driven by Antony De Fina and Matt Kelly, but they received a one-minute time penalty for failing to round Mark D on one occasion, which dropped them back to second place.

Earlier in the race Scott Richardson and Stephen Kelly in TCR Offshore, who were competing in a brand-new hull, stopped after only five laps with a mechanical issue.

The contest gets back under way around Port Phillip Bay on Sunday with two further thirty-minute races in the Offshore Superboat Championship, either side of lunch.

As you know, COVID-19 has plunged most, if not all, of us into various stages of lockdown with no end in sight. As a result of these lockdowns the APBA Offshore Council committee has made the difficult decision to cancel Rounds 4 and 5 (both scheduled for Lake Macquarie) of the 2021 Offshore Superboat Championships. With the requirements of the rules having been met with regards to minimum races, the Offshore Council is pleased to confirm the following 2021 Champions:

Supercat Extreme: Dynamic Racing #128 Andy Smith & Hayden Wyld

Supercat 1000: Global Racing # 54 Mark Gilbert, Ross Willaton & Steve Jellick

Supercat Outboard: Saracen #22 Antony DeFina & Matthew Kelly

Sports 85: Special Edition #07 Marius Pecherzewski & Patrick Boyle

Sports 65: Risky #225 Mark Swain & Josh Bossong

AUS 1: Dynamic Racing #128 Andy Smith & Hayden Wyld

The Offshore Council is also very pleased to announce that Messrs Bruce Harris and Kevin Wyld have reaffirmed their support for the Offshore Superboat Championships by agreeing to re-gift the perpetual trophies donated by them many years ago. These trophies have now been gifted as follows. The Offshore Council and the broader offshore racing community that Bruce and Kevin for their support and affection for the sport.

Sports 85: The Shark Cat Trophy

Sports 65: The Kevin Wyld Trophy Accordingly, the Offshore Council will make plans for a formal, in person, presentation of the following trophies for 2021. Details of this presentation will be announced as soon as VOVID-19 lockdowns permit.AUS 1: The Mark Lee TrophySupercat Extreme: The A.O.P.C. TrophySupercat 1000: The Challenger TrophySupercat Outboard: The J R Gilbert TrophySports 85: The Shark Cat TrophySports 65: The Kevin Wyld TrophyCongratulations and thanks to everybody that competed in the 2021 Offshore Superboat Championships.

We regret to advise that the 2021 Lake Macquarie Offshore Superboat Races, scheduled for the weekends of 16-17 & 23-24 October 2021, have been cancelled. The APBA Offshore Council and the Offshore Superboat Club have reached this decision as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 situation in NSW, Qld and Vic and uncertainty around the opening of state borders.

The Offshore Council and the Offshore Superboat Club will reach a prompt decision as to whether a replacement event can be arranged or if the 2021 Australian Offshore Superboat Championships will be decided on the results to date.

Navico Australia and the APBA (Australian Power Boat Association) Offshore Council are pleased to announce a multi-year partnership between Simrad and the Offshore Superboat Championships (OSC).

Under the partnership, Simrad will be exclusive supplier of Marine VHF Radio equipment to the OSC for race day communications between Race Control, Race Boats and Rescue Boats. Commencing at Wyndham Harbour in Victoria on 27 & 28 March 2021, the Offshore Superboat Championships will be conducted over 5 rounds in Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland.

President of the OSC, Antony DeFina, commented “Simrad’s world renowned Marine VHF Radio equipment will add a further layer of professionalism to the OSC’s race management and strengthen the all-important communications between race boats, safety boats and race control. We are grateful to Simrad for their support and their ongoing commitment to offshore powerboat racing.”

Further information on Simrad’s range of electronics can be found at www.simrad-yachting.com

Further information on the Offshore Superboat Championships can be found at www.superboat.com.au or www.facebook.com/OffshoreSuperboats

Exciting News We have Proposed Race dates for the 2021 Offshore Superboat Championships.

All to be confirmed.

Race 1, Wyndham Harbour, Vic, 27th-28th March

Race 2, Geelong, Vic, 10th-11th April

Race 3, Hervey Bay, Qld 29th-30th May

Race 4, Lake Macquarie, Nsw 16th-17th October

Race 5, Lake Macquarie, Nsw 23rd-24th October

Yes that is not a typo, Geelong is back and 2 rounds at Lake Macquarie.

Excited to get back to racing.Reminder,

Please do not book until dates are confirmed.

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With the current state of Covid 19 there will be no Championship races in 2020

We will have to move our focus to a 2021 season.