UK Powerboat Racer Shelley Jory Back behind The Wheel in P1 Superstock

We've highlighted Shelley Jory's efforts before - back in 2009, well before before a pair of dramatic accidents last July left her with some very serious injuries. Earlier last year, the 40-year old had become the first woman to win a Powerboat P1 Grand Prix event, but when her boat Spirit of Belgium sunk in Sardinia, she and throttleman Patrick Huybrieghts ended up in the hospital, wondering if they would ever race again.

Describing the accident, Shelley said it was easily the worst of her career: "The front of the boat just dipped into the water and shattered on impact. It's like driving a car into a brick wall at 83 mph," she recalled, recovering from head injuries and a broken nose.

After an extended leave of absence, Shelley has decided to return to powerboat racing, planning to announce her entry into the Powerboat P1 Superstock series in the UK. Though the boats don't have the power and speed of her previous P1 championship boats, they will offer her a significant challenge.

“P1 have always been a great support to me through my career, she says. "This will take me back to my Honda race days, which were by far the most competitive and fun racing I have done.”

Jory & Huybrieghts - the first wreck in Malta. PHOTO CREDIT: motorboatsmonthly.com

From Hampshire England, Shelley has always been a fan favorite, and when she's not boating, runs a very successful bridal business. Her first race event is scheduled for Jersey on June 11-12, and I'm sure we're not the only ones wishing her the best of luck. For more information on that race, go HERE.

Powerboat Magazine Ends Regular Publication Upon Aquisition by Bonnier Corp.

Long established as THE source for news, boat reviews and features covering the world of high performance boating, Powerboat Magazine will cease regular publication in August after being purchased by Bonnier Corporation, one of America's largest consumer publishing groups. With over 1,000 employees and more than $350 million in annual revenue, Bonnier Corp. ranks in the top 10 nationally among publishing companies. The company was formed in March 2007 when Sweden's Bonnier Group purchased 18 magazines from Time Inc. and combined those assets with its U.S. magazine partner, World Publications,

Rumors of a purchase offer had been floating around performance boating forums for about a week, but only today has the announcement of Powerboat's sale been officially announced on the Powerboat Facebook web page:

"Surely hope this isn't an end of an era, but it's still a sad day. After the July 2011 issue, which is being sent out this week, it looks like Boating will be coming your way if you're a Powerboat subscriber."

Bonnier currently publishes a number of marine-relate titles, including Boating, Sportfishing, Yachting and WaterSki, among others. Reportedly, Powerboat and Trailer Boats (also acquired from Affinity Media Group) will be offered from time-to-time as "special issues" during the boating season.

Of course, I enjoyed Powerboat as much as anyone else, and it has been hard to watch the magazine gradually shrink as the performance boat industry has taken a beating over the last few years. While the content has always been first-class, the fewer number of advertising pages sold has clearly had a significant impact on the cost of operation. While on the surface, it seems like the end of an era--it may be a sign that media coverage of performance boating is simply changing to reflect new technologies, new publishing models and new times. We're looking forward to being a part of that.

2011 Oneida Lake Swamp Run - Good Fun for a Good Cause

Lots of Poker Runs are run to benefit a worthy non-profit cause, and few are more worthy than the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Once again, New York State Power Boat Inc. is organizing another great Swamp Run on New York's beautiful Lake Oneida. Set for Saturday, July 30th, the run is known for its excellent water, fun destinations and top-notch organization.

PHOTO CREDIT: Sharkey Images.

This year the Swamp Run will follow the same course as last year, starting and ending in Brewerton at The WaterFront. From there, the group will run to Sylvan, have lunch and relax for about an hour and a half at Harpoon Eddie's. Afterwards, everyone will line up in front of the beach (South Side) and run in line across the front of the beach for everyone to watch.

Following this will be a run to ChMarker 117 for a card stop, then to ChMarker 135 for another card stop, then to 3 Mile Bay for a raft off with some fun and Bikinis. At 5pm, the whole group will run back to the Waterfront for dinner at 7pm with banquet and plenty of refreshments.

Last year, the event was able to raise over $10,000.00 for Make-A-Wish, and organizer Nolan Ferris has set an even more ambition goal of 21,500.00 for this year. If you've ever wondered how big a difference a contribution can make for an event like this, check out the touching story that Nolan has posted on Offshore Only.com.

To find out more and reserve your spot, contact Nolan at NysPowerBoat@yahoo.com.

Boat Tech: Pocket Gadgets to Make Your Life Easier

We recently came across a couple of items that could come in handy on your next boat trip; the first is the Freeloader Personal Solar Charger - especially useful because it's one gadget that can help keep the rest of your gadgets running.

It's true, you can always use your 12v cigarette lighter outlet to charge a lot of your items like cell phones, MP3 players and other small items. But if you're dedicating that outlet to your iPod to play music while you're running the boat, or powering a portable Nav unit, you might want some extra charging capacity. This might especially be the case if you've got a boatload of friends along on a poker run.

The freeloader quickly expands it's solar panels to gather available sunlight, and includes a charging cable that plugs into a USB port or almost any chargeable device with one of its 11 adapter tips. Once charged, the internal Li-Ion battery can power an iPod for 18hours, a mobile phone for 44 hours, PSP for 2.5 hours a PDA for 22 hours and much more. With its tough, rust-free aluminum body, it features a 1000mAh Li-on battery and can be charged in as little as 3 hours. Pretty handy in a pinch.

Our other item here is a floating keyring; nothing new in terms of basic concept, but extremely useful in terms of its added capability. The Waterbuoy Floating Keyring is only 3" long (not nearly as bulky as many floating keyrings) but can float up to 2lbs. That's a whole pocketful of keys, as opposed to the 2-3 that most floating keyrings can support. In fact, it provides enough buoyancy to support many waterproof VHF radios, mobile phones and some digital cameras.

The secret is inside: The Waterbouy has a tiny gas cylinder that inflates a puncture-resistant balloon after submersion. It won't go off if only splashed, and also has an LED light - visible at 850ft and lasting 24hrs - inside the balloon, so it can easily be found even at night.  Pretty cool.

Video: It's 1972 All Over Again as Cowes to Monte-Carlo Race Shapes up for 2013.

They are calling it the longest and toughest offshore powerboat race in the world...and they are probably right. The 2013 Cowes to Monte-Carlo Race will cover 2,400 nautical miles in deep offshore water, from England and then off the coasts of France, Spain, Portugal, through Gibraltar and across the Riviera coast. It has only been run once - in 1972 - and is open to any powerboat from 26ft to 50ft, fitted with diesel or gas, inboard or outboard engines. Since the distance between some of the stopover venues will range from from 190 to over 300 miles, long distance tanks will be a must.

VIDEO CREDITS: cowestomontecarlo.com.

So far, about 40 teams from 12 different countries have signed up to participate, and the UK organizers are hoping USA teams will eventually be among them (we do see a USA Donzi entry on their web site). In any case, it's important to move fast, since the cap for participating boats will be set at 55. We'll keep you posted as news about the race develops - but you can always check out the latest happenings at the Official Race Site. In the mean time , you can check out the video here, posted on YouTube by nauticwebnews.

Available Now: [B3] Powerboat Weekly News for May 16 - 22

Be sure to check out this week's issue of The [B3] Powerboat Weekly. You can read why Cocoa Beach is  ready For The Thunder of Super Boats, discover Lakeside Restorations' Mid-May specials, and find out why the interest deduction for boats as second homes is under fire. Thanks to all our Twitter partners who help make it happen every week!

Boating at Night: Danger Lurks in The Darkness

If you've ever been out on a boat at night, you have to admit there definitely can be something special about it...especially if you're cruising slowly down a quiet lake. Like the old postcard image below depicts, it's an image full of romanticism and mystery; even today, I can remember coming home to our vacation cabin in northern Michigan at night on my dad's rented fishing boat. You watched the old houses and cabins pass by along the shore and wondered what people were doing inside...saw flickering campfires near the docks...occasionally hearing screen doors smacking shut, off in the distance.


Of course, we were just puttering down the lake at about 5 miles per hour, and I'm sure that made a big difference. I'm sure the location did too - for cruising home on a calm lake at night is much different than making your way down a busy ocean bay or river at night, with more traffic--including larger boats, commercial shipping and barges, bridges to dodge and any number of other hidden hazards. Whatever you're in or wherever you boat, it's clear than night boating is a different animal, and requires a much more measured and careful approach than typical daytime boating.

The Day After

You've all seen them - and they tend to stick in our minds because they look so strange: the news photos of powerful boats high up on the rocks, or planted somewhere in the woods onshore after a boater got careless at night. We all look and wonder - how in the hell did they do that?

PHOTO CREDITS: missoulian.com.

Often, the first thought goes to drinking, and that's not a surprise; it is the cause of many boating accidents. and the ones where it plays a role often get the most notoriety. But it's often just plain carelessness, disregard for the dangers at hand, or failure to understand how the darkness can play tricks on our vision that result in tragedy.

This came to mind with an accident I read about within the last week. A guy puts his 30' offshore boat onto the rocks with fatal results to him, but thankfully not his two passengers. One passenger claims he had not been drinking, but the post-mortem blood alcohol results say he was past the legal limit. The same passenger also said the driver had removed his contact lenses, and was having trouble with his vision. To further add to this recipe for disaster, the authorities estimated that the boat was traveling at approximately 65 mph when it hit some "rip-rap" - the rocks that are often pushed up around piers and bridge pilings to help combat erosion. Again, one of the passengers says the boat was only going 35 mph. I say: Does it matter?

35 mph is plenty fast enough to get you killed. A lot of boaters I've talked to refuse to even get their boat up on plane at night; they slow speeds so they can hear and react to what they can see--because at night, there are a lot of things you can't.