Lake Havasu Boat Show & Desert Storm Performance Boat Event

Once again Havasu will fill up with some of the most outrageous performance boats from around the country. Although this event will be one of next month’s featured stories, we wanted to remind you that the boating event of the year happens April 20-28. Starting the nine day event will be the 21st Annual Lake Havasu Boat Show April 20-22 which promises great displays and plenty of action with the Offshore Boat Races, Water Ski Races and Legends of the Lake Hot Rod Show.

The Desert Storm Performance Boat Event once again fires up the action with the Street Party on McCulloch Thursday April 26th from noon to 9:30 PM. Friday the 27th is one of the countries largest Poker Run events, followed by the King of the Desert Speed Shootout Saturday the 28th. This year this high speed challenge of various boat classes will make there high speed passes out in front of Site Six launch ramp area. Mark your calendars and plan on spending some time at the events.

Easter Weekend, 2012

Move over Easter Bunny! The Lake will shake with the sounds of the Big V8 engines powering the Grand Prix Hydroplane racing boats to speeds of over 150 miles per hour as they race for the finish. The Havasu World Cup is the inaugural east vs. west challenge for these waterborne rocket ships and the action in Thompson Bay is sponsored in part by El Centro Motors, Big O Tires, Mohave State Bank, and Trafficade Work Zone Services. Racing will begin Friday, April 6th, 2012 and will feature the Holiday Motorsports Dash for Cash. The competition will continue with racing on Saturday and Sunday.

Jim Russell, president of DSM Events of Lake Havasu City announced today “these boats are among the fastest purpose built racing vehicles in the world and thanks to Dean Rojas (Havasu resident and owner of one of the competing teams) we expect to see the largest field of them to Compete in the United States in decades, right here on Lake Havasu”. He expressed appreciation to local sponsorships from the Lake Havasu Convention & Visitors Bureau, Radio Central, Romer Beverage, the Lake Havasu Marine Association, ETS Fuel, Days Inn and The Nautical Beachfront Resort (the host hotel) for their help with this undertaking.

In addition to the Grand Prix Hydroplanes select classes of APBA Inboard racing will take to the water. The Havasu World Cup promises to be a weekend of boat racing not seen since the days When McCulloch used boat racing to promote the City. Dean Rojas said “Grand Prix racing will thrill all of your senses…if you don’t come down to the Nautical to watch the action at least you will hear them all over town… they are that loud and Fast”.

BLUEWATER “2012 SPRING CLASSIC” Championship Circle Boat Races April 14 -15

The Southern California Speedboat Club (S.C.S.C.) is proud to present Championship Circle Boat racing at the beautiful Bluewater Resort & Casino. Join S.C.S.C. and The Bluewater Resort & Casino in putting on this prestigious American Power Boat Association sanctioned event along the Colorado River. Race fans will be treated to an exciting two day event watching Championship Boat Racing featuring some of the fastest boats in the nation.

The schedule will feature Round # 2 of the Grand National Racing Series featuring the big bad “Blown” Grand National Endurance Boats. The Western Formula Light Series stop # 3 will feature a tough field of competitors from across the country. The wild and crazy Cracker boxes provide some of the most intense competition and this year it will be even greater as they will be racing for bragging rights for the 2012 APBA Western Divisional Championship! The Super Stock flatbottoms will be
a crowd favorite with plenty of tight, deck to deck racing action. The Comp Jets will duke it out as 10 evenly matched jet boats chase the APBA Western Divisional Championship. Let’s not forget the awesome power and speed of the 130+ mph K Racing Runabouts and Pro Stock Flatbottoms!

Take a trip back to an earlier era of boat racing with the meticulously restored race boats get set to compete in the Nostalgia Flatbottom & Nostalgia Endurance classes. Last but certainly not least, the Stock Outboard Racers return to the Bluewater Resort & Casino as some of the best racers in the country get set to compete for the 2012 APBA Western Divisionals!

There will be great racing action as all the racers will be competing for their chance at victory and prize money. Top racers from all over the country will test their driving talents against other drivers and the waters of the Colorado River. Come and enjoy this annual spectacle of boat racing at the prestigious Bluewater Resort & Casino. Admittance is free! Spectator parking is in the Resort parking lot area (please, no spectator vehicles allowed in the pits). Walk down into the pit area and watch this close up racing action from the beach. Enjoy lunch from the patio of the Bluewater Cantina right on the beach and don’t miss any of the action.

If you have not seen any of the classes race in the past DO IT THIS TIME. What a great spectator sport and great way to spend the day. FOR FREE. So, grab some sunscreen and treat the family to this annual event on the river! Racing gets underway at 9:00 a.m. both days!!! For more information please contact Ross Wallach (310) 318-4012, email rpmracingent@yahoo.com or The Bluewater Resort & Casino. (888) 243-3360. Visit us on the web at www.scscracing.com, www.bluewaterfun.com, www.rexmar.com or www.teaguecustommarine.com.

This is the longest PWC (personal watercraft) race in the world, covering a total of 300 tough miles in 30 successive laps of a ten mile course, starting off the beach at Crazy Horse and running north along the Arizona shoreline, turning towards Havasu Landing and running down the California shore nearly to Site Six, and back to Crazy Horse to complete a lap. The race features the only true Le Mans start currently in motorsports of any type. In this, the racers are lined up along the beach, holding up their safety “key” while their crew chief holds their PWC in the water with the engine off. At an undetermined time during a two minute window, a shot gun is fired and the riders run to the water, jump on their PWC, start their engine (hopefully quickly) and race off toward the north turn, a few miles up course. This start not only adds excitement (the atmosphere is so heavy with adrenalin before the starting gun that you can cut it with a knife) it also provides a level of separation for the racers adding a safety factor.

Like the Baja 1000, this is a team competition unlike any other PWC race. You need a real pit crew because like NASCAR, this is the only race where the boat is brought onto the shore and refueled during the race–multiple times. One team will walk away with the coveted Sea-Doo Team X Pit Crew award in recognition of their efforts. This is the endurance race to end all endurance races and here you will earn the ultimate bragging rights. Most competitors share the riding duties as it is terribly punishing for the five or so hours it takes for the first boat to complete the 300 miles of the race. School chums, father and son, and husband and wife teams abound.

If you like riding your PWC fast this may be the ultimate personal adventure for you! No special training or experience is required. And a factory stock PWC is the best bet for racing. Stock reliability usually trumps high horsepower custom hot rods in this race. You have to be still running 300 miles after the start to finish the race, let alone win. This is a single-day event, running on the last Saturday in  February (the 25th in 2012) and is in its 8th year. It is run in honor of the late Mark Hahn of Phoenix. He was a PWC endurance racer of note who died during a race at Parker of a non-race related circumstance. It features a great awards banquet hosted by Mark’s long time friend, Mike Follmer. Just to sweeten the pot, there are great giveaways and even a cash purse for the winners to go with the biggest serving of bragging rights in “JetSki” racing world wide.

Although the event was born here in Havasu it is covered by international boating media enhancing the bragging rights even more and our field of 48 racers competing in the 2011 event included an amazing 20 percent from foreign nations. These are people who left their country on a ticket purchased just to come to Havasu to compete in this race! We had entries from France, Belgium, Indonesia, Japan, the UK, Slovakia, Australia and believe it or not Russia! How do you even get a ticket from Vladisvostok to Lake Havasu?

When the shot gun fired signaling the end of the race in 2011, the overall winner was the team of Jean Bruno Pastorello and Pierre Carlier from France. The next boat to finish was the team of Sylvain Ente and Roland Maeck of Belgium. The first US team to finish was the entry of Ross Savage and Andrew Myers of California in third place. So the crowns for the top two positions were taken home to Europe, along with the prize money generously posted by Hot Products, the title sponsor of the event for the second year with help from Days Inn, Sea Doo, Budweiser, Radio Central and more. Perhaps the US riders can regain the title in 2012.

Hot Products Mark Hahn Memorial 300 Mile PWC Race

Everstart Western Division
Coming to Havasu!

The EverStart Series is headed to Lake Havasu Feb. 23-25 when as many as 300 pros and co-anglers take to the water for the second of four stops in the Western Division. Anglers will take off from Lake Havasu State Park at 7 a.m. Saturday. Weigh-ins will be held daily at the take off site beginning at 3:00 p.m. Takeoffs and weigh-ins are free and open to the public. Pros will fish for a top award of $35,000 plus a Ranger Z518 with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard if Ranger Cup guidelines are met. Co-anglers will cast for a top award consisting of a Ranger 177TR with a 90-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard and $5,000 if Ranger Cup guidelines are met.

The EverStart Series consists of five divisions – Central, Northern, Southeast, Texas and Western. Each division consists of four tournaments and competitors will be vying for valuable points in each division that could earn them the Strike King Angler of the Year title along with $5,000 for the pro and $2,000 for the co-angler. The top 40 pros and co-anglers from each respective division will qualify for the EverStart Series Championship that will be held on the Ouachita River in Monroe, La., Nov. 1-4. The EverStart Series tournament on Lake Havasu is being hosted by the Lake Havasu City Convention & Visitors Bureau. For complete details and updated information visit FLWOutdoors.com or Facebook.com/FLWFishing 0r via Twitter.com/FLWFishing.

Bluegrass On The Beach
Coming to Havasu In March

Bluegrass on the Beach returns to the beautiful shores of Lake Havasu celebrating 10 years of southwest bluegrass with this year’s festival again being held March 2-4 at Windsor #4. L&S Promotions is bringing another incredible line-up of world-class award-winning bluegrass music to the shores of Lake Havasu. This year’s line-up brings The U.S. Navy Band, Country Current performing their superb music with 2 great sets, one Fri and one Sat. Also scheduled for both days is one of the hottest & exciting bands in the business today, IBMA’s three Time (including 2011) Male Vocalist of the Year Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out. They have been Vocal group of the year 7 consecutive years. One you don’t want to miss.

The Bluegrass Brothers. Wayne Taylor & Appaloosa, The Spinney Brothers , Brand New Strings, Arizona’s own Thomas Porter & Copper River, The Central Valley Boys, Belle Monroe & Her Brewgrass Boys and more fill out the awesome lineup for the weekend.
To wrap up this great line-up you better be ready for some wonderful fun, laughter and a great act with the Cleverlys who will bring you to your feet or have you laughing with their one of a kind entertainment. This is another one you don’t want to miss! The  wonderful southwest sunshine brings the best out in everyone along with great traditional bluegrass music in the Arizona desert.  With sights and experiences you will not forget, such as beautiful sunsets against the rocky terrain of the desert mountains to the  smooth sights of beautiful Lake Havasu, with the sounds of guitars, mandolins, bass’s, banjos and more in the background.

In addition to the wonderful music and beauty of the lake, we will again feature great band workshops. Our superior art’s & crafts
show returns with dynamite vendors along with the tasty food vendors. With the nice big layout of the park jamming is again expected to be at major levels. Bring your lawn chairs and blankets for grass seating and most important have FUN!

Tickets can be purchased on-line via www.landspromotions.com. Or at the gate For additional festival information and/or  questions call L&S Promotions ~ Larry & Sondra Baker (209) 480-4693 or e-mail us at roaddog@caltel.com