St Kilda Festival revs up

St Kilda and surrounds will be a magnet for all types this weekend (9-10 February), as hundreds of thousands of people flock to the bayside area for the coinciding events of the St Kilda Festival and the Hobson’s Bay Offshore Powerboat Classic.

The Hobson’s Bay Offshore Powerboat Classic is a free spectator event and marks round three of seven in the Offshore Superboat Championships – Australia’s ‘Formula One on water’.

The race will see over 20 superboats across several classes rip around a coast-hugging 14.2km (7.7 nautical-mile) course within excellent view of the shore. The Class One boats are capable of reaching speeds over 220km/h and typically complete about 13 laps (185km) during the hour-long race. Other championship classes competing in Melbourne include the Supercat Outboard, Supercat Outboard Lite and Super Vee Lite.

Spectators can take in the action from numerous viewing areas, with the best vantage points being anywhere along Beach Road / Marine Parade – particularly Station Pier, St Kilda Pier, St Kilda Marina and within the St Kilda Festival.

The main event of the Hobson’s Bay Offshore Powerboat Classic will rev into action at 12.20pm on Sunday 10 February, commencing an hour-long relentless pursuit of speed across the water.

Internationally, Superboat events of this kind are big business. Crowds of 900,000 have been known to gather along shorelines in Europe for the intense spectacle, according to Class One Superboat Impact Steel owner Tony Low.

As a six-times Australian Championship winner and 32-year veteran of the sport, Low – who recently exchanged his cockpit position for that of Crew Chief – has watched the sport of powerboat racing develop and grow in Australia. With the expectation that a round of the upcoming World Championship will be held in Australia, he predicts public interest in the sport will surge.

Round four, the Williamstown Offshore Powerboat Classic, will take place in Melbourne the following weekend (16-17 February), before the series progresses to New South Wales and Queensland for rounds five to seven.