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The super power boats have been in town for over a week now, you see them at the harbor, out the condo window, on trailers going down Duval Street, or at the races.

airborn at 125+ mph

watch the action on the rocks

or from your yacht

or beachside at Fort Taylor state park

or up close from the tour boat

sometimes they stop

but mostly they just fly

The similarity to NASCAR is obvious, the expensive and powerful toys, the bright colored paint, the sponsors, the competition, the tents set up selling t-shirts, they go round and round real fast, they break down or flip over, the towtruck(boat) hauls them out of the way, they even do a burn out and victory lap.



Unfortunately when you have boys and their toys and lots of speed, danger is part of the thrill. Tragically 3 of the racers lost their lives this week. Five helicopters followed the boats around the course with rescue divers on the edge, ready. One local newspaper columnist described it:

They are like teens hell bent on outpacing their guardian angels; the racing boats laying wakes on a 6-mile path through Key West Harbor. The accuracy of the analogy is proven with one glance at the guardian helicopters, dubbed Angel 1 and Angel 2, as they cut across the race course to follow the boats and protect their occupants.

The races are over for another year, hopefully more than just a good time was had, hopefully lessons were learned. But as I write this on Monday, I can hear the engines roaring, the white spray catching the sun as they speed by my window.

most of my pics look like this, I like still targets...

but if you want more boat race pictures, check out Buddy's album HERE