Racers look to Ice for another title

Hugh Fuller hopes three is his lucky number.

For two years the racer started the American Power Boat Association Offshore national season with a win in Daytona Beach, and for two years he went on to win national and world championships.

"We are ready to do it again," the sport's most accomplished driver said from the patio of his Clearwater home. "We have been doing a lot of testing, and I think that makes all the difference."

Fuller and teammate John Tomlinson of Miami have in two years become the dominant force in offshore powerboat racing. They hope to start what could be another record season with a win at Daytona Beach, a rough-water venue that has taken its toll on racers and machines, at the season's first event today-Sunday.

"Daytona has always been tough," Fuller said as he studied reports from offshore sea buoys. "After the race you can't help but feel pretty beat up."

The Super Cats, 40-foot, twin-engine catamarans, are APBA Offshore's premiere class. A typical Super Cat race may be close to 100 miles and last nearly an hour.

"In the old days the boats used to just take off and run 10 miles offshore then turn around and come back," Fuller said. "Today, each race course may have five or six turns, so it is a lot more like car racing."

Fuller, who broke into the Offshore circuit after a brief career road racing, is an aggressive driver who carries speeds of close to 100 mph into turns.

"You have to take the turns hard," he said. "You are always hanging it right out there on the edge, but that is what you have to do if you want to win."

Tomlinson runs a performance boating shop in North Miami called T-N-T Custom Rigging. Tomlinson, the throttleman, is widely considered to be one of the best "set up" men.

"In car racing you live at the track just trying to find a 100th of a second," Fuller said. "But in boat racing the track never stays the same. You can set up for smooth water and then the wind starts blowing and you are out of luck."

That happened last weekend when Fuller and Tomlinson's Drambuie on Ice won a regional event in St. Cloud. They started fine, then the seas picked up.

"There is nothing you can do," Fuller said. "In boat racing there are no pit stops."

That is where Tomlinson comes in. A good "set up" man knows what propellers to use (and a top team such as Drambuie on Ice may carry 12 or more) and how to position the weight inside the boat.

"We have different drive shafts, and in certain water conditions we'll move the engines around," Fuller said. "That is why testing is so important."

But in the end, no matter how finetuned the machine, it takes two humans to make it work. Fuller, like other professional athletes, sees physical training as a key to success.

"After a rough race like Daytona, and I know it is going to be rough, you really feel it in your back, neck and shoulders," he said. "Sometimes we run in 6- or 8-foot seas. If you turn into one of those waves, you go from 60 mph to zero just like that.

"It will knock the wind right out of you. But all you can do is try to catch your breath and keep on going."

Fuller's fitness regimen includes bicycling and working with a personal trainer several times a week.

"Being in shape really makes a difference," Fuller, 48, said. "This sport has gotten so competitive that you need a little edge to stay out front."

And fans will find it much easier to follow the action this year. The new format features six premier classes instead of 10: Super Cat, Super Cat Light, Super Vee, Super Vee Light, Factory II and Factory I.

The Offshore tour returns to Tampa Bay in September after a one-year hiatus when the sport's national championships will be along the Gandy Bridge.

"Holding a race along the Friendship Trail is more than symbolic," said APBA Offshore's chairman Michael Allweiss. "I think it helps bridge any gap that may remain between the communities of Tampa and St. Petersburg. We are looking forward to what we think will be another great event."

_ For a complete 2003 powerboat schedule, go to http://www.apbaoffshore.com.