Powerboat racing is, for lack of a better term, a sport for the filthy rich.
“Fewer than 15 percent of race teams have any official advertising,” boasted a 2008 Daily Mail exposé. “They don’t need it.”
It is also an exceedingly dangerous sport; the world water speed record, the gold standard of powerboating benchmarks, has an astonishing 85% fatality rate since the 1940s.
Which all adds up to the fact that a guy like you or me cannot — and further, should not — be going anywhere near one of these horsepower-drunk death machines.
But a new offering from Vector-Martini Racing is fixing to change that.
For the first time, the powerboat racing team is giving regular landlubbers the opportunity to hit open-water speeds of more than 120 MPH aboard its Cowes Offshore Classic-winning boat, the Vector 40R.
Once on the 40R — a 40-feet vessel powered by twin 1,100 HP Mercury QC4v engines — racing suit-clad guests will be given intercom headsets and strapped down with five‑point harnesses into seats that are each served by a bottled air supply in case the boat goes belly up.
Don’t reach for your diaper bag quite yet, though: even though the Vector-Martini crews will be prepared for the worst, the speed of client-aboard rides will be determined by the weather and conditions of the sea in order to minimize risk but still provide a memorable experience.
“When we’re not racing, it’s all about safety,” team CEO Malcolm Crease told How To Spend It. “If you’ve never done it before, even 75 MPH in a boat is unbelievable.”
Rates start at $66,640 per day for a maximum of 20 passengers and inquiries can be made here.
Given that the pound isn’t doing so hot due to the whole Brexit thing, could be a good time to book.
This article was featured in the InsideHook newsletter. Sign up now.
