Trinidad and Tobago’s Great Race celebrates 55 Years of offshore powerboat racing

Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago: The Trinidad and Tobago Powerboat Association recently shared a brief history of the amazing Great Race as it completed 55 successful years.

As per the update, the Trinidad and Tobago Great Race has been running for well over half a century. It is one of the longest-running offshore powerboat races in the world. Boats in multiple different speed classes all compete to win their class and also for the fastest boat to the Tobago title. The course has changed over the years but not by much.

The course is approximately 90 miles long and starts in the Gulf of Paria in Trinidad and makes its way through the First Bocas, then up the North Coast of Trinidad. The course takes the racers into the famous Maracas Bay, around a marker and then back onto the North Coast to head to Grande Riviere. At Grand Riviere, they then round a marker and take a heading for Tobago. Arriving in Store Bay, Tobago, they complete one lap in the bay and then cross the finish line.

The Association also noted that during each leg of this race, the racers experience totally different water conditions. Flat calm waters in the Gulf, churned up lumps in the first Bocas, head-on swells on the North Coast, side head-on swells from Trinidad to Tobago, very rough conditions in the shallows nearing Tobago, then relatively calm waters once they enter Store Bay.

Every year the attrition rate can be high, so only the best-prepared boats are the ones to finish. Just finishing the race is a massive accomplishment. The crews spend many weeks preparing the boats for this race, so it is truly a rewarding feeling to finish.

In 2018 The Great Race became a UIM-sanctioned event with an official world record course included in the race course. The world record is a total of 80.5 miles and starts from the last marker of the circuits in the Gulf and ends at the first marker in the circuit in Store Bay, Tobago. Motul Monster, a 46ft Skater Cat, piloted by Peter Peake and Joey Sabeeny, became the first boat to set and capture this world record and currently holds the fastest time of 47 minutes 43 seconds.