I had seen these powerboats roaring by while Down-The-Islands in Trinidad many years ago, and what a thrill that was. The boats were crashing through the waves, often airborne, and the blast of those engines was something else. But I had never witnessed the Great Race finishing in Tobago, until now. I decided I wanted to experience the excitement that was building up on the island.
This is one of the longest powerboat annual races in the world at approximately 90 miles from Port of Spain to Store Bay in Tobago. There are a number of different speed classes ranging from pirogues to high-performance racers. It is a very demanding event with the navigation of rough seas between the two islands at great speed being the most challenging. Many boats never finish the course. In fact, this year the defending champion, Mr Solo Too, broke down two miles from the finish line and did not finish. Another eight boats out of thirty also did not finish. Very disappointing after all their hard work. That day, there was a yellow-level weather alert because of a passing tropical wave system, creating some of the roughest conditions ever.
I had heard that the Crown Point/Store Bay area would be very crowded with difficulty in parking safely. But my friends and I planned to have breakfast at Blu Restaurant in the Crown Point Hotel and watch the race from there. Their car park was closed off but we found a parking spot outside. We got a table overlooking Store Bay and I was surprised at how uncrowded it was with unrestricted views, despite a few hospitality tents erected by the cliff’s edge.
I noticed that a lot of people chose to get a good view of the Great Race finish line from the old Fort Milford next to the hotel.
The leading racers took over an hour and a half to get to Store Bay, much longer than expected to traverse the 80 mile course, because of the rough waters. So, it was a thrill to witness the first boat and class winner, Heatwave, arrive and cross that Finish Line in front of us. Congratulations to the two-man crew for winning the Tobago Great Race!
Other speedboats began arriving and we walked down to the beach area to sample the vibe. There was pleasant soca music blaring from a DJ tent and quite a few people liming on the beach. I had heard that a giant leatherback turtle had laid her eggs on the beach a few days ago, but I saw no evidence of the promised cordoned-off area to protect the eggs.
The bay was filled with sailboats, motorboats, reef boats and even a house boat, as well as the famous Tiki Craft, anchored off shore. It looked like a fun family time, and not too crowded either.
We returned to lime at the bar at Blu that evening where many of the racing crews and supporters were hanging out. Unfortunately, the beach music was now full blast in our direction, and it was hard to carry on any conversation until it shut down abruptly at 7pm. I’m glad I got to witness the event and its vibe and I do recommend that you try to experience the Tobago Great Race at least once.
