Powerboat Race Scheduled Sunday

VENTURA — The low roar of powerful boats will rumble across Ventura waters this weekend with the return of the Ventura Offshore Powerboat Grand Prix Festival.

About two dozen powerboats, ranging from 24 to 42 feet, will lap a 7.2-mile course during the 11th annual race, which begins at 1 p.m. Sunday. The event is the season finale of the eight-race Pacific Offshore Racing Assn. series and features three new national champions, said Ben Curtis, race director and association president.

The race will offer spectators clear views, with boats leaping across waves from south of the marina breakwater to north of the Ventura Pier and fairgrounds and back again. The days when boats headed off in the direction of Channel Islands only to be seen again at the end of a race are long gone.

“We come within about a quarter-mile of the beach and come within 150 yards of the Ventura Pier,” Curtis said. “The intent is to get the boats as close as possible to the spectators and still have a safe race. The other thing is the water gets a little rougher the closer you get to the shore, so it makes it more exciting.”

There could be more thrills than usual with a storm system heading toward the county expected to kick up 3- to 5-foot swells, said Kevin Stenson,a meteorologist with WeatherData Inc.

Good visibility is expected, with temperatures peaking in the mid-60s to low 70s, Stenson said.

“It will be kinda breezy, kinda cool and partly cloudy,” Stenson said.

In addition to the race, other activities are scheduled from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days in and around the harbor.

Wet pits will be open, allowing spectators to see the sleek craft up close. Admission at the wet pits is $2 for adults and free for kids under 12.

There will also be live music, marine-related displays, pony rides and face-painting at the harbor.