First Lucas Oil Ocean Cup Record Attempt Set for Saturday

On Saturday a team in a 48-foot APISA Sport Yachts will attempt to set a record from the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco to the Queen Mary in Long Beach.

In what title sponsor Lucas Oil expects to become a series of endurance run record attempts, the California team of Nigel Hook, Dan MacNamara and Lance Ware is preparing to break the existing world record from San Francisco to Los Angeles and continuing on to set a new world record for a 435-mile run from San Francisco to Long Beach.

With the new more landmark-identifiable start and finish lines of the “Lucas Oil Ocean Cup – Golden Gate to Queen Mary” run, the team is planning to end up in front of the famous Queen Mary cruise ship in Long Beach, some 35 miles past the San Francisco to Los Angeles final destination in Marina del Rey. Saturday’s record attempt, which can be followed online via satellite tracking, is being sanctioned by the American Power Boat Association (APBA).

Hook and MacNamara, along with Rique Ford and Johnny Lindstrom, were part of the Team Scarab crew that set the previous mark of 6 hours and 43 minutes in 2003 aboard the Cummins-powered 48-foot Scarab. This time around the team is using the same hull, which is the foundation of the new 48-foot APISA Sport Yachts V-bottom outfitted with two of the latest Cummins QSB 6.7 550 diesel engines and ZF Trimax surface drives.

The team is planning to depart the St. Francis Yacht Club accompanied by the official America’s Cup umpire boat, a 43-foot Willard Marine Interceptor carrying APBA Assistant Referee Gloria Crim and APBA Inspector Franck Banducci, who are responsible for marking the exact time the endurance boat passes beneath the Golden Gate Bridge. Sunrise is 7:16 a.m. and, barring fog, the team plans to pass under the Golden Gate at approximately 8 a.m. What’s interesting is that both boats—the 48-foot APISA and the 43-foot Willard—were designed by Larry Smith and built under a license agreement with Smith’s  Team Scarab Inc.

“This boat is fantastic and with these new diesels, we have improved reliability and efficiency,” said MacNamara, who rigged the boat from start to finish and was at the helm for more than 60 hours of testing prior to the run. “I expect to shave up to an hour off of our current time into Los Angeles.”

If that happens, the team, which broke the previous diesel-powered record set by actor Chuck Norris in 1988, could challenge the overall record of 5 hour and 57 minutes held by the Bob Nordskog-led team in a gasoline-powered boat.

“I’m excited to be taking part in this history-making event and even more excited for our customers and potential customers,” said Ware, who owns the boat owner and is co-founder of APISA. “This event will further validate the true pedigree and design excellence of our vessels.”

Dan Wiener, the executive director of APBA who has been working closely with the team, extended his well wishes. “APBA wishes the team the best of luck,” he said. “I anticipate hearing about the successful completion. This is a well-prepared team using state-of-the-art satellite tracking and they have been coordinating their course with the U.S. Coast Guard.”

Expecting to average 70 mph on the endurance run, the team will be met by the APBA Chief Referee aboard the Sunseeker finish boat with designated checkered flag holder Mike Reagan—a radio host and the son of Ronald Reagan who set the record in 1984 that Norris broke four years later.