APBA Offshore Racing

PRESS RELEASE

2007 Entry Form

Fax Entry Form - 1803 Morgan Lane, Redondo Beach, CA 90278 Phone (562) 633-6200 Fax (562) 633-8789 Rossdbos26@yahoo.com

Contact:  Ross Wallach - 310-318-4012  rossdbos26@yahoo.com  |  Mike Follmer 714-241-9600  mfollmer@aol.com

REDONDO BEACH, CALIFORNIA – May 2, 2007 - RPM Racing Enterprises released today the final details, plans and schedule for the 2007 APBA Offshore National Championship Long Beach 2 Catalina & Back PWC Race. Three separate racing events will comprise the Long Beach Power Fest which will take place over the weekend of July 21st & 22nd, and are an integral part of the City of Long Beach’s summer long Sea Festival. In addition to the very fast Personal Water Crafts on Sunday morning the Long Beach Power Fest will feature the 59th Annual Long Beach to Catalina Water Ski Race on Saturday morning, and the 76th Annual Offshore Power Boat Challenge on Sunday.

Ross Wallach, president of RPM Racing Enterprises said, “We’re very excited to be promoting two of these three events, the PWC race and the Offshore Power Boat Challenge, and being able to work with everyone involved to make this unbelievable event become a reality. The combining of forces offers a plethora of new opportunities to make this entire weekend an overwhelming success”.

Five classes of personal water craft are expected to swell to over 100 boats as the news of the weekend of racing stirs interest in the entire personal water craft community to enter and be a part of this momentous weekend. Offshore PWC racers from across the country are clamoring to get their entries in and compete with the elite West Coast group of offshore endurance experts try to break the new records in every class set last year for the challenging channel crossing. 

The 2007 overall winner, Patrick Roque of Huntington Beach, CA will be back again to defend his title on a Sea Doo RXP. Among the early entries is Johnny Anick, Newhall, CA on a SeaDoo RXT, John Belton, Marina Del Ray, CA on a Kawasaki Ultra 250, Billy Womack, Long Beach, CA on a Sea Doo RXT, Mike Follmer, Newport Beach, CA on a Yamaha FX HO, Steve Friebe, Clovis, CA on a Sea Doo RXP, Paul Phan, Fountain Valley, CA on a Sea Doo RXP, Tracy Malan, Barstow, CA on a Kawasaki Ultra 250, K. C. Heidler, Santa Fe Springs, CA on a Yamaha GP1200R, Lee Phan Fountain Valley, CA on a Sea Doo RXP, Nick Vanis, Los Almitos, Ca on a Sea Doo RXT, Kim Bishong, Huntington Beach, Ca on a Kawasaki Ultra 250, Tony Beck, Lake Havasu City, AZ on a Kawasaki Ultra 250, Cheng Leu, Fresno, CA on a Sea Doo RXT, Steve West, Phoenix, AZ on a Sea Doo RXP, 

This race for the APBA Offshore National Championship will start off in a land rush start in Los Alamitos Bay near the Queen Mary in Long Beach at 8:00 AM by a flagman on an official vessel anchored in the harbor. The PWC’s will proceed from the start out through the Queens Gate entrance to the Los Angeles Harbor into the Pacific Ocean on a straight line across the channel to Catalina Island. Navigation always plays a large part in any offshore race but particularly here where racers lose sight of land and all fixed reference points at some time going in both directions. PWC racers are required to have a GPS system, compass, radio, cell phone and numerous other safety items in order to make the potentially dangerous crossing as safe as possible. When the PWC’s arrive at Catalina, they will have to negotiate around a three masted schooner with a large marker flying overhead that will be anchored one mile offshore and have race officials on board documenting their passage. With helicopters overhead guiding and filming the event, the fleet of PWC’s will proceed back to Long Beach along the same route they just traversed the channel on to reach the finish line just off the stern of the start/finish vessel. The entire event, as well as the other two events this Long Beach Offshore Power Fest weekend will be filmed for later editing and broadcast on the new, national Water Channel. The race is also expected to garner the largest and most diversified media coverage ever for boat racing because of the popularity of the three completely different types of races being run and the importance the City of Long Beach is placing on this weekend of events. 

The renewed national interest in PWC racing and the emergence of the American Power Boat Association (APBA) as the sanctioning body and driving force in PWC racing have contributed to the promoter’s expectation that over 100 riders will be vying for titles in this race. In addition to the safety equipment required by the APBA rule book, several additional safety items will be required of the racers to insure a safe trip across the channel to Catalina and back, and the United States Coast Guard (USCG) and Long Beach Lifeguards will be providing support for the events. An announcement will be made soon regarding which emergency water service has been contracted with to provide racers with towing and on the water emergency service, as well as the announcement of a host hotel that will serve as race headquarters.

Promoter Ross Wallach said, “I can guarantee everyone involved that I intend to raise the bar even higher with this event after what we learned from last year to ensure that every racer, fan and sponsor carries away enough memories to last them until next year along with some fantastic trophies for overall and class winners”. Race specifics and entry forms are forthcoming so be ready to enter soon because there will be no race day entries accepted.

All the components are converging to make this weekend of events the most talked about and must participate in extravaganzas of all time. Come to the Long Beach Sea Festival, Long Beach Power Fest, and race in the 2007 APBA Offshore National Championship Long Beach 2 Catalina & Back PWC Race and create your own memories.

1803 Morgan Lane, Redondo Beach, CA 90278 Phone (562) 633-6200 Fax (562) 633-8789 Rossdbos26@yahoo.com

Additional equipment requirements for 
Long Beach 2 Catalina & Back Participants:

The following items are requirements in addition to the standard rules as identified in the APBA racing rule book:

All vessels MUST have current registration (Proof to be shown at registration)
Bottled Water, Power Bars, or some type of food ration
Fire Extinguisher, Signal Flares, Mirror, Orange Flag, Compass (NO wrist compass) GPS and Cell Phone in waterproof case.
ALL racers MUST purchase a one day Vessel Assist or Sea Tow membership card.
ALL Racers MUST turn in a valid Drivers License to Registration prior to the race. It will be returned after the race to verify that entrant returned.
All of the above items must be presented at time of registration check in on race day and/or be presented and verified at time of tech inspection.

2006 APBA PWR Offshore National Championships
Long Beach to Catalina & Back
July 9th, 2006
Official Results
Overall Winner/National Champion
#77 Patrick Roque, Huntington Beach, CA - Time:  53:29