Guide to Battle On The Bay

The Battle On The Bay offshore power boat races are taking place all day Saturday and Sunday at Shorefront Park.

Event organizer Louis Giancontieri said that 80 racers are expected to participate. According to the event's program book, racers are coming to Patchogue from as far away as Florida and Ohio to compete.

Spectators attending the event will be able to park off Bay Avenue, on marked streets near Shorefront Park or at the Patchogue Village Hall building, 14 Baker St., where a shuttle will bus visitors to the event starting at 9 a.m. Admission is free at Shorefront Park or $50 at Mascot Dock.

Races will be handled according to Offshore Powerboat Association (OPA) guidelines, in which several classes of boats may race at the same time while not necessarily racing against each other. Up to nine individual classes will compete during the three currently scheduled racing times at 12 p.m., 1:45 p.m. or 3:15 p.m.. A fourth race may be added to accommodate additional entrants said Giancontieri.

Boats are scored by race officials onboard "Turn Boats" that will be stationed at specific turns and buoys recording the boats' distance and speed data using a GPS unit. This information will be calculated after the event to determine the winners.

Giancontieri said that awards will be given out for first, second and third place in each of the racing classes with a cash prize depending on the number of entrants.

With top speeds starting at 70 mph going upwards to unlimited, the boats in the races are expected to be fast and powerful.

After the 2008 accident in which a racing boat flipped over, killing its two operators at that year's Battle On The Bay, Giancontieri said that all standard safety regulations are being implemented including the wearing of helmets, preserves and special marker buoys that will separate the spectator fleet from those racing. 

"I get a good feeling after every race where everyone is safe and no one gets hurt," Giancontieri said.

Test runs for the power boats will be viewable from Shorefront Park from 1-4 p.m. Saturday. On Sunday, the National Anthem will play at Shorefront Park at 11:30 a.m. before the first race at noon.

An awards ceremony at Lombardi's On The Bay, 600 South Ocean Ave., Patchogue, will follow at 7 p.m. on Sunday.

Check the photos to see several of the boats that were on display on Main Street, Patchogue Friday night.