Events
It was billed as the “Outboard World Championships” 58 years ago, a promotion hype to bring people to Lake Havasu and maybe sell some real estate. Undeniably, Robert McCulloch had dreams for this desolate piece of desert including buying a bridge in London and reassembling it stone by stone in...
The 33rd Annual Lake of the Ozarks Shoot-Out just concluded with multiple noteworthy achievements, possibly none greater than side-stepping the Covid hysteria which continues to grip ‘woke’ portions of the country and big people gatherings. Without interruption, the week-long festivities went on...
A little over 3 years ago I stumbled upon a group on line named the ‘Lower River Outboards’. Having always loved the lower portion of the Colorado River down near Yuma, I was very curious what they were about. A short time later they had posted a ‘Lower River Run’ event that was to take place...
A little over a year ago, just before the pandemic, I was browsing through YouTube videos and came across a video from an event in Texas. It contained lots of performance boats speeding across a beautiful lake that wound like a snake through lush, green, rolling hills. Being a freelance...
Most boaters, especially those with a penchant for high performance and racing, are at least somewhat aware of the annual Grand National Catalina Water Ski Race held in Long Beach, CA. Afterall, a 71-year history tends to make people pay attention.
And although the 60+ mile ski race in the open...
It was October 22, 1972 and world speed ski record holder Danny Churchill was attempting to up his own mark of 126 miles an hour in the quarter mile on a single ski. Churchill was at the top of his game, winning the overall Grand National Catalina Water Ski Race title the preceding August...
In celebration of Lake Havasu City, Arizona’s famous London Bridge and its 50th anniversary, powerboat racing will once again dazzle the shores of the city with the running of the beloved Lake Havasu Classic Outboard Championships. The powerboat racing event will be held October 15-17, 2021, and...
Story and photos by DinaRella / Additional photos by Florida Powerboat Club, Stephen Miles Design & M. Boyle
Let's be honest, technically a poker run is a boat show, the only exception is everyone's there not for the show but to show off their go-fast goods and glitterati of guests along for...
What does 100,000+ horsepower look like? Maybe something like this….over 100 of the hottest hot boats in the country lined-up gunnel to gunnel along the beach of the oh-so-popular Pirates Cove Resort just south of Needles, California on the Colorado River.
September 21, 2013 was a special day...
IHBA officially bowed out of the drag boat racing business at the conclusion of the 2009 World Championships at Firebird Lake in Phoenix and turned the reins over to Lucas Oil. Here’s Part 2 of that final IHBA race.
As for the 2009 IHBA World Finals, they went out in style. Although the total...
26th Annual IHBA NAPA Auto Parts World Finals 2009 — IHBA Bows Out, Lucas Oil Products Drag Boat Racing Series Steps Up
The changing of the guard….sometimes for the better, and then again, sometimes not. That’s kind of the mixed feelings that the elite of drag boat racing had at Firebird...
Starting in 2010, Irvine Lake in Orange County, California Hosted Some of the Wildest V-Drive Regattas on the Planet!
For 363 days a year, Irvine Lake, located in the rolling hills of eastern Orange County, California is a quiet, calm and serene reservoir where the loudest audible sound might...
Billy Berkenheger.....Boat Painting Rembrandt
You can sometimes spend months, and even years, restoring a great old flatbottom or hydro. Countless hours of garage time can go into meticulously fabricating and machining every custom part and piece of hardware. And the repair of every nick...
What Better Way to Start a New Year (2014) and Honor One of Their Own Than to Have a Meet-Up.
While two-thirds of the country is locked in a deep-freeze with sub-zero temperatures, Southern California jet boaters were breaking out the sunblock for a day on Lake Elsinore at the annual Tom...
Top Sprint Boat Racers from Seven States Battled for 2013 Championship Titles in Long Beach
Most power boat racing fans just refer to it as “the beach.” Eighty–one years ago there wasn’t a motorboat to be seen at Long Beach Marine Stadium, a city icon now recognized has a historical landmark...
S.C.O.P.E…..All About Big, Fast Boats and Fun
When you call yourself the Southern California Offshore Powerboat Elite, better known around west coast boating circles as S.C.O.P.E., you better be able to back up that moniker with some solid credentials. Fortunately for the stalwarts of...
Last Saturday evening I was sitting at the bar at Sundance Saloon having a beer with my buddy, Daren Van Ryte ( @OCphotographics ). I had just signed Amanda Ames' pants (a whole other story) and was relaxing after shooting the Outlaw Nationals V-drive event that “DIDN’T” happen at Sundance...
Story and photos by DinaRella / Additional photos from TNT Marine Sales, B. Chrisco & M. Boyle
Eta didn't know what she wanted to be... a tropical storm, a hurricane, or just a pain in the ass for powerboaters who waited all the Orwellian-year-long for the 28th Annual Key West Poker Run...
Story and photos by DinaRella / Additional photos by Nor-Tech and Sunsation
Inked up sales contracts state the obvious; serious spenders trumped strolling pretenders on the Bahia Mar docks during the 2020 Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show (FLIBS). Never have I covered a show where so...
Desert Storm is the Biggest, Baddest Poker Run in the Country –Since We Missed It in 2020, We Can at Least Take a Walk Back Down Memory Lane.
It's called Desert Storm, and it's arguably the biggest, most over-the-top poker run, shoot-out and street/-party/show-and-shine display of exotic...
San Francisco to Long Beach – Non-Stop
There’s something very enticing about the ocean and traveling great distances in a high-speed offshore boat. Some very well known celebrity-types have even tried their hand at it like Chuck Norris, Michael Regan (son of President Ronald Regan), Betty Cook...
V-Drives Reclaim Respect At 2009 Parker 300 Enduro
The 2020 Parker Enduro just happened last Saturday, October 30, keeping America’s oldest marathon boat race still alive although it is a mere fragment of its once great self. Still, the Enduro remains competitive and entertaining to watch as a...
The Real Story How Boat Racing Lost the Best Competition Venue in the West - Part 2
After the crushing news from the November 1975 Parks and Recreation meeting, things were left up in the air on many fronts. Racing in 1976 wouldn’t be that much different than before except for the new 5:00pm...
The Real Story How Boat Racing Lost the Best Competition Venue in the West
Occasionally the subject of Long Beach Marine Stadium comes up during conversations among boat racers and fans. Inevitably someone offers up their version of how and why boat racing got aced out of the Stadium, and...
Not everything in 2020 has been a bust. Just ask the 92 registered Hallett owners who attended the 5th annual Halletts in Havasu event here in Lake Havasu last weekend. Yes, even with a modified event due to COVID restrictions, the loyal Hallett owners showed up in droves to support the event...
The Storm is Here
Tsunami of Red, White and Blue Hits NY and Beyond
Story by DinaRella / Photos from DinaRella, Carlos Gavidia, TrumpStock and 617images.com
"Red spirited" New Yorkers had the right idea by ditching their Midtown-turned-ghost-town workplaces and swapping their Zoom meeting...
The last day of the LOTO shootout opened up in complete contrast from the day before, with bright sunshine and perfect temperatures. We got to the docks early for a planned photo shoot of the new 46’ Black Thunder Raised Deck which turned out great (feature article on this boat coming soon)...
If you haven't been to the LOTO Shootout, theres something you should know. The action never stops. Its constant. From day-to-night, every day from the time you arrive its a constant schedule of parities, street shows, bar hopping, races, poker runs, fun-run's, boating, and more parties. If you...
The Lake of the Ozarks shootout officially kicked off yesterday with the famous street party in Osage Beach, Missouri. If there was a global pandemic going on, you wouldn’t have known it by walking the strip. Boats lined the street on either side from end to end, and thousands of people showed...
As we ramp up to the Lake Of the Ozarks Shootout, we wanted to take a look back to 2013, which we consider to be one of the best years of the event!
It’s become performance boating’s most important mile. And why not? After 25 years, the Lake of the Ozarks Shoot-Out competition is the place...
Story by Erick Bryner. Photos by Erick Bryner and Daren VanRyte
If you’re local to Havasu or Parker, you’ve probably heard of Scott Steele. Known for his collection of beautiful K-boats, his reputation as a party animal is eclipsed only by his love for the river. And if you’ve paid any...
Story and select photos by DinaRella / Professional Imagery by Foley Loaded Media
Part Two
Seeing 20/20 brings those annoyingly blurry bits into focus – like making out the minute hand on your OMEGA Speedmaster or honing in on that distant Skater transom that reads Roostertails & Cocktails...
Story by DinaRella / Professional photography by Foley Loaded & Cigarette
Part One
Miami is never without a story to tell, and in today's male-gaze driven society, this February the tropical megalopolis delivered with two heavy hitters -- hosting Super Bowl LIV and the Progressive Miami...
Story and photos by DinaRella / additional photos from FL Keys News Bureau (Andy Newman), RWO (R Cox) & Powerboatracingworld (Bob Eddings)
Key West is famous for two types of roosters -- both boisterous magnets for attracting attention. Type A annoy below the hotel terrace window at 3AM after...
Wheeler Morgan from Brawley, CA, races the chopper to the next turn on Friday's race day.
The Parker 425 kicked off the start of the Best In The Desert car and truck racing season last weekend in Parker, AZ with thousands of fans lining up to watch both days of racing.
In a first for the 425...
Story and photography by DinaRella.
HORSEPOWER was as much a part of Halloween weekend as was candy bar overindulging. River Dave, Stacy and the crew kept west coasters busy on Havasu waters during the RDP Regatta and on the other side of the Divide... little kids counted Kit Kats and big kids...
Over the years Lake Havasu City has been host to many a manufacturers regatta. From the early days the regatta has been an institution for both owners and fans of the many builders that have come and gone in the west coast boating scene. In their hay day regattas pulled in huge numbers of both...
I love the smell of two-stroke in the morning and there was no shortage of that when I showed up to Mcintyre Park to meet up with Chase and Chad for their Lower River Outboards 2019 Lower River Run. Boats of all different makes, shapes and sizes on the grass by the ramp for a meet and greet...
They say there’s a Magic regatta every weekend due to their overwhelming popularity out here in Havasu. Any one that’s cruised the channel on any given weekend might think there’s a regatta going on. There was no mistake this weekend though with the Magic Powerboat Owners Meetup!
The event...
The Big Cat Poker Run took place in Northern California last week with great success. As a Northern California native now living in Southern California, I always look forward to covering this event as I grew up boating on the Delta and consider it my hometown event.
Normally very hot this...
Last week, Dave called to tell me he had an event that would be perfect for me to attend. I have yet to be sent on a trip that hasn’t left me stoked, saying “Can’t wait to do this next year!”, so I happily accepted. That’s when I learned about the Damn Dam Run. For those that haven’t heard about...
Part Two:
Following the Make-A-Wish activities the prior day, the Saturday main event finally arrived. Engines were cranked, Fenders were stowed, and ugghh PFDs were zipped and snapped! An orderly procession out of the marina that was no easy feat with 117 speedsters maneuvering about to...
Part One:
As far as poker runs go, just when you think it can't get much better than zigzagging through the coral-lined cays of the Florida Keys, or charging past the sun-drenched, copper-colored canyons of Lake Havasu, suddenly a storybook fairytale fun-run beautified by a backdrop of castles...
IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN PART ONE, BE SURE TO CHECK THAT OUT FIRST TO GET THE WHOLE STORY!
Surrounded by a sea of hardware every which way you looked, lunch and liquid thirst quenchers were consumed in a scene out of offshore heaven; yet as the peel and eat shrimp disappeared from the...
Three passionate powerboaters David Landsman, Jimmy Jernigan of the Chesapeake Bay Powerboat Association, and Victor DiMarco of the Thunder in the City Poker Run pulled it off, putting the spotlight back on Baltimore and the Bay -- and selling out their first-ever Rockin’ The Harbor Poker Run...
