Photo Essay: Miss GEICO Gutted

Although the Miss GEICO team leased the Zabo team’s 41-foot Victory catamaran for last weekend’s St. Clair Classic and this weekend’s Great Lakes Grand Prix, the Riviera Beach, Fla., the Class One outfit is continuing to repair its own Victory-built 41-footer. As previously reported, the boat was damaged in a rollover incident during the Sarasota Powerboat Grand Prix in early July.

Repairs to Miss GEICO’s own raceboat—now mostly skeletal—are underway (click image to enlarge). Photos courtesy/copyright Miss GEICO offshore racing team.

Led by crew chief Gary Stray, the Miss GEICO team is working to repair the boat’s deck and hullsides in time for the October 10-12 Roar Offshore event in Fort Myers Beach, Fla., which is the final contest in the six-race American Power Boat Association Offshore Championship Series. That’s their goal, at least.

“We were looking to have it ready for Fort Myers Beach, but that could be tough,” said Stray. “But if for some reason that doesn’t happen in time, we’ll carry on with the boat we have running now.”

To replace the deck of their 41-foot catamaran, the Miss GEICO group is using another 41-foot Victory cat owned by Steve Curtis, the team’s throttleman, to create a new deck mold. Once the boat is repaired, its original Mercury Racing 1100 Comp engines—currently at Mercury Racing being inspected and refreshed—will be reinstalled.

While repairs to the damaged catamaran are ongoing, Stray and his crew also have to prepare their leased 41-footer for this weekend’s Great Lakes Grand Prix. The boat is close to being in competitive form, he said.

“A lot of good stuff came out the race in St. Clair,” said Stray. “Victory’s top speed was 149 mph. The 222 Offshore team ran 150 and we ran 150. Our fastest lap time was one second slower than the Victory team, which won in St. Clair. We have a great foundation to build on going forward for this weekend’s race in Michigan City (Ind.),”

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