Roar by the Shore

VENTURA —  Richard Granville’s Warlock racing boat crested a wave and rocketed 15 feet into the air.

Then everything went black.

For a moment, the 50-foot-long seagoing missile was submerged. It surfaced but with a smashed nose, the hull hammered by the Pacific chop.

“We could see the pieces were gone,” Granville said. “We said hell with it. Let’s keep on going.”

Granville of Atlanta was among 30 boat racing teams competing along the Ventura coast Sunday during the Teague Custom Marine Ventura Offshore Grand Prix. Despite the smashed nose, Granville’s Warlock Powerboats team finished first in its class.

The event, now in its 12th year, attracted an estimated 5,000 racing fans to Ventura Harbor on Saturday and Sunday. A flotilla of yachts and sailboats drifted in the haze near the course for a close look at boats as they zoomed along the seven-mile racecourse. A large crowd also gathered at the recently reopened Ventura Pier for what was the best land-bound view of the race.

Sunday’s event was the third in a series hosted by Pacific Offshore, a racing federation that sponsors races along the West Coast. In these races, 10,000-pound speedboats slice through ocean waters at 110 mph, launching into the air and jockeying for position along wide-open racecourses.

There is no prize money. Racers do it for the love of the sport.

“It’s awesome,” said Jim Richardson of Oakland, who drives Streak Free. “We’re all adrenaline junkies. This is our drug.”

Racers like the Ventura course for its technical turns and challenging, choppy water. “It’s one of the rougher races out of the year,” said Chris Smahlik, also of Oakland, who controls the throttle on Streak Free. “It’s one of the more technical courses.”

The custom, high-tech boats can cost as much as $500,000. In some cases, the crews ride in enclosed cockpits--fighter-jet-style bulges that envelop leather seats and countless gauges. Many of the boats are powered by two 1,000-horsepower motors. And most have a crew of three--a navigator, driver and throttle operator.

With the thrills comes danger. Helicopters hovered above Sunday’s racers, ready to drop rescue divers into the water should a boat tumble out of control. But no one was injured during the race.

The thrill, danger and sheer technological genius of these boats attract race fans. Carole Sihilling of Laguna Niguel just likes the noise.

“We just came out for the sound of the engines,” she said. “Most people in the pits cover their ears when [the boats] fire their engines. We ask for more.”

Josh and Tamara Wooley of Ventura could see the races from their shoreline home. They came to the docks of Ventura Harbor for a closer look as the boats drifted into the harbor after the race. Josh Wooley, a foreman for an electrical company, and his wife, a secretary, dream of owning their own race boat someday.

“I told [Josh] I want to be the navigator when we get ours,” Tamara said with a laugh. “He told me absolutely not.”