The third annual Sunny Isles Beach Offshore Powerboat Challenge delivered a weekend full of vintage boats and engines, legendary parties, fundraising events and exciting racing. The south Florida event lured the best racers and fans alike to experience the dynamics of competition in the birthplace of open ocean racing.

While event benefited the restoration of the Miami Marine Stadium, the Platinum Powerboat Club made wishes come true for families of the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Southern Florida as members provided 170 boat rides to children on Friday, June 11.

Saturday’s Bimini Ocean Challenge featured a format revised from the bluewater days of powerboat racing with a Miami to Bimini and back run across the Atlantic Ocean. Jeff Stevenson and Joe Skrocki clocked 51 minutes, 57 seconds aboard JBS Racing in the 106-mile race. The turbine-powered 50-foot Mystic catamaran averaged 122.42 mph to garner first overall honors. The seas, unlike last year’s “smooth as glass” conditions, offered a rough ride that put the skids on JBS Racing when the boat incurred enough damage to force Stevenson and Skrocki out of Sunday’s race. Check out www.offshoreevents.net for complete results.

The second round of the Offshore Powerboat Association (OPA) Racing Tour presented by GEICO turned up the heat for Sunday’s two-race competition along the shores of Sunny Isles Beach. A fleet of 38 teams from around the country and the world blasted along a 6-mile course, generating an afternoon of high-powered action.

Marc Granet and Scott Begovich captured the Turbine Class win in Miss GEICO. The pair eased their 50-foot Mystic catamaran through the 11-lap contest, averaging speeds near the 140-mph notch. (Click here to read Marc Granet’s blog on powerboatmag.com.) Sheikh Hassan Bin Jabor Al-Thani (a member of the Qatar royal family) and throttleman Steve Curtis clinched the Super Cat victory in Spirit of Qatar 96, while Paul Whittier and Bob Teague took the Super Cat Lite checkered flag in Team AMSOIL.

The 2010 OPA Racing Tour will be aired on the VERSUS sports cable network beginning Sunday, Nov. 14 at 4 p.m. EST, running eight consecutive Sundays at 4 p.m. EST through January 2, 2011. The Sunny Isles Beach race is slated to air Nov. 21. For complete race results and latest information, log onto www.oparacingtour.com.–Bobbye Kenyon