International Offshore Powerboat Festival to
take place Aug 10-12
friday June
15, 2012
International Offshore Powerboat Festival
August 10-12, 2012
SARNIA, ONT., June 14, 2012. The
Host committee of the Sarnia-Port Huron
International Offshore Powerboat Festival is
putting the final touches on this year’s
event. The International Offshore Powerboat
Festival (Sarnia) will take place August
10-12, 2012 along the shores of the St.
Clair River in Downtown Sarnia and
Centennial Park.
"There is
going to be a lot more racers here than last
year" said Powerboat racer Ed "Evil" Smith
"It's a unique challenge as were racing with
the currents in the river here and
underwater edies. It's not like racing
on the pond or ocean the currents are about
a foot underneath the water and they can
turn the stern of the boat in a split
second, so you really got to be on your
game"
The
organizing committee is expecting over 25
racing boats this year. "The drivers come
from all over the world" said Smith "you'll
even have some drivers come in from Norway
and theirs a chance that there may be a team
from the Ukraine" The event is one of
the official stops on the Offshore Powerboat
Association (OPA) circuit. Many of these
powerboats can exceed speeds of over 210
kilometers per hour. NASCAR on water!
Ed "Evil" Smith
Throughout the
weekend, there will be something for
everyone in the family to do. There will be
live entertainment in the concert area, a
beer tent, a kid’s zone, car show, wakeboard
show, Dux Boat races, vendors, opportunity
to meet the drivers and much more.
Last year,
between Sarnia and Port Huron, over 30,000
people attended the 1st Annual International
Offshore Powerboat Festival, this year, the
organizing committee is looking at even more
people coming down to the waterfront to
enjoy the roar of the engines and the energy
of the festival.
“We are
excited to announce that the Fox Network
will be televising the event showcasing not
only the race, but highlighting the
phenomenal communities of Sarnia and Port
Huron. Our committee has been hard
at work, putting the finishing touches to
the event. We are still accepting vendors
and are working on confirming the
entertainment. Our sponsorship team is
actively working on securing our sponsors
and everything is falling into place,” said
Tanya Wolff, Chair of the 2012 International
Offshore Powerboat Festival (Sarnia)
Tayna Wolff
There is so much to see and do in
Sarnia-Lambton this summer and having such a
great international event such as the
Powerboat races, is a great bonus for our
area.
“We are so
fortunate to have such a great waterfront.
Our waterfront attracts thousands of
visitors to our area, whether it’s to enjoy
the many events that take place on our
waterfront or just to enjoy a relaxing day
at the beach. We are so excited to once
again be part of this event and truly look
forward to welcoming everyone to this year’s
Festival.” said Marlene Wood, General
Manager for Tourism Sarnia-Lambton.
Aside from
the tourism benefit this event has on our
community, two local charities will also
benefit from this event. Even though the
event is free to the public, proceeds from
sponsors, vendors and program sales will be
donated to the Chris Dawson Foundation and
Jim Stokley Scholarship fund.
It’s not to
late to get involved, if you are interested
in being a part of this event, please
contact Tanya Wolff, Chair, IOPF Committee
at Phone 519-384-1740 or e-mail
tanya6330@hotmail.com
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