January 1978: Legendary driver Betty Cook claimed the title at the first offshore world championship race in Key West 30 years ago.

By Jason Johnson

As the most recent Key West World Championships came to a close in Florida in November, many of the drivers were thrilled to be a part of the competition. For some, it was easily the best world championships they had participated in. For others, they recalled more memorable races, although they acknowledged the 2007 Super Boat International and American Power Boat Association event was a huge step in the right direction.

And of the few who brought up the good old days, there’s probably not many who remember firsthand the first world championships held in the southernmost point in the United States. We don’t either, but with the coverage from the January 1978 issue of Powerboat, it was easy to look back on the historic World Championship Offshore Power Boat Race that took place on November, 13, 1977.

Yes, exactly 30 years ago from the most recent world championships.

Much has changed since 1977, but we thought it would be fun to reminisce about the occasion where racers from five different continents gathered in Key West to try to win the Sam Griffith trophy.

Generally a rough course, the first world championships treated racers to giant seas. So much so that the race committee shortened what was supposed to be a 183-mile race to 127 miles.

The prerace favorite was two-time U.S. champion Joel Halpern in his famed Kevlar 38-foot Cobra Beep Beep. Built in Halpern’s Florida shop, Beep Beep was supposed to handle the roughest of conditions. Unfortunately, about halfway through the race a trim tab broke, leaving Halpern and his crew—throttleman Wayne Victor and navigator Leo Fredricks—with a wild ride the rest of the way.

The problems opened the door for “Bounding Betty,” offshore racing’s darling, Ms. Betty Cook. Driving her 38-foot Kevlar Scarab Kaama, Cook averaged 54.8 mph and smoked Halpern and the rest of the field, which included Powerboat magazine founder Bob Nordskog in his 39-foot Cigarette. Nordskog was the mastermind behind creating the one-race world championship during his tenure as president of the APBA in the mid-1970s.

With throttleman John Connor and navigator Don Holloway at her side, Cook finished the race in 2 hours, 19 minutes, which was 31 minutes ahead of Halpern. Finishing in third, 9 minutes after Beep Beep, was Italy’s Guido Niccolai in his 38-foot Picchotti Alitalia Due. Niccolai kept his streak of finishing every race he entered in 1977 intact when he crossed the finish line. Sister boat, Alitalia Uno did not finish. In fact, more than half of the field didn’t complete the race.

No surprise there as even today’s racers will gladly share stories of boat-breaking conditions in the waters where the Gulf of Mexico meets the Atlantic Ocean.

Who would have thought 30 years ago, that Key West would still be hosting races into the next millennium, especially with boats averaging 110-plus mph as the Superboat Unlimited class did in November. Here’s to another 30 years at the most remarkable offshore racing destination in the world—Key West.

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