Watch: Racers thrown from powerboat during Offshore Grand Prix in Florida
Officials deemed the race safe to run after a Tornado Watch expired in the early afternoon, but the wind-churned waves and gusts proved too much for the powerful speedboats.
Watch: Two racers thrown from boat in Florida Keys Offshore Grand Prix
A spectator caught 2 separate boat accidents Sunday on camera during the 7-Mile Offshore Grand Prix boat race off Marathon, Florida. A boat flips over in the first section of video. The second section shows 2 racers ejected from the boat before it flipped over.
MARATHON, Fla. – Several boats flipped over on Sunday, cutting short the 7-mile Offshore Grand Prix boat race off Marathon, Florida. Spectators watched as two racers were thrown from their watercraft.
After a beautiful day 1 race day on Saturday, day 2 started out under a Tornado Watch. Organizers postponed the rounds of racing as winds gusted to 40 mph as several rain squalls moved through. The NWS canceled the watch in the early afternoon for the Florida Keys, but the bad luck never left.
Spectators watched and took videos of the wild races between weather delays. Speed on the Water Magazine reported five crashes during the abbreviated day. Video shows the choppy water launching the powerboats into the air.
File: A photo of a powerboat racing in the Portuguese Grand Prix under smoother circumstances.
(NICOLAS ASFOURI/AFP / Getty Images)
DRAMATIC VIDEO SHOWS CAR TOSSED INTO THE AIR LIKE TOY DURING TORNADO IN FLORIDA
One of the boats flips up on a gust of wind and then comes crashing down on its transom before landing in the waves upside down. Boats have no steering out of the water, and these boats clearly were out of control. Racers behind the tossed boat scrambled to avoid a deadly collision. Speed on the Water reported that the two men in the boat were not injured.
The 27-foot-long boats seen racing weigh about 5,000 pounds and can hit speeds of 75 mph, according to Team Farnsworth. Any small piloting mistake could be tragic for the racers.
The Coast Guard finally suspended the race after the chop and speed threw the two racers out of a boat, seen clearly on video. The boat then wavered and spun, narrowly missing the ejected driver and throttle man. Another boat, trying to escape harm’s way, also came close to the ejected men.
Take a look at the black dot above the lead boat. That is one of the 2 men being thrown out of the cockpit.
(Bing Zirkelbach via Storyful / FOX Weather)
Neither man was seriously hurt. One reported a minor foot injury to Speed on the Water. The magazine states that two other boats flipped over as well.
A Florida law firm calls offshore racing "the sporting world’s most hazardous competition," with a death rate of 85% of those in accidents. The firm claims at least one racer dies every year while racing.