Image Of The Week: Wild Stuff
Mostly flat on Saturday during the first round of the Offshore Powerboat Association World Championships last Saturday, the Gulf of Mexico waters off Englewood Beach, Fla., freshened up considerably for Sunday’s double-points finale on Sunday. The rowdy water led to more than a few spectacular big-air images for speedonthewater.com chief photographer Pete Boden, who was on scene both days to capture the action.
Chris Reindl and Lee Baker shared a drenching during last Sunday’s OPA World Championships Class 5 contest (click image to enlarge). Photo courtesy/copyright Pete Boden/Shoot 2 Thrill Pix.
But there’s more to rough-water offshore racing action than boats flying through the air and splashing down. As proof, we offer Boden’s spectacular image of a 24-foot Class 5 raceboat—a product of Reindl Powerboats—stuffing during Sunday’s wild contest.
We reached out yesterday to Chris Reindl, who shared the cockpit of the 24-footer with Lee Baker, to get his perspective on the wild moment of their dousing and have yet to hear back. But Boden had a perfect view of the entire incident.
“They stuffed and the hatches popped open from the force of the water,” said Boden. “They stopped, closed the hatches and continued racing.”
Boden paused and then laughed. “I’m pretty sure they both got wet.”
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