PUBLISHED: Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Local man races to world championship
BY JOE GRAY
VOICE SPORTS EDITOR
It's not often someone can be hailed as a world champion after about a year-and-a-half in a sport, but Dean Howard can after he earned that title in offshore boat racing last November.
Howard of Columbus Township drove his boat Wahoo with throttle man Dave Sikorski of Toledo in the Offshore Performance Association World Championships Destin, Florida and took home the championship in Class II.
"It's a great honor," Howard said. "Not a lot of people accomplish it."
The championships consisted of two races and Wahoo finished second and first, respectively, for the win. In Class II, the top allowable speed is 105 mph, but choppy water and four- and five-foot waves slowed the boats considerably and made Sikorski's job more important.
That's because high waves throw the boat out of the water and the throttle has to be pulled back or the motor could be blown when the boat comes back down into the water.
"In smooth water, the driver is more important and in rough water the throttle man is more important," Howard said. "Dave did a great job. He's very experienced."
Set up is also very important when racing a choppy course because the weight has to be distributed evenly so the boat lands flat, which prevents the nose of the boat from dipping under the waves.
Howard and Sikorski also ran a boat in Class V, but an engine malfunction forced them out of the race. A Class II race tops out at 70 miles per hour and the boats are about 24-feet, while the Class V boats are usually 30-footers.
Last year, was the first full OPA season for Howard and Sikorski, but they raced in Class V and entered Class II midway through the eight-race season. They managed a couple second-place finishes in both classes.
The OPA crowns a national champion based on points earned in all eight races. Howard hopes to add that title to his young resume next year and that would mean a little more than his world championship.
"It's an honor to be a world champion, but it's won in one event," Howard explained. "The national championship is a little better because you have to do it over the whole season."
The 2007 OPA season opens June 2-3 in Algonac and Howard and Sikorski plan to be there in Class II. They've decided to concentrate on that class and get out of Class V. Before that first race, they have some work to do on their boat, which took damage during the OPA World Championships.
"It's not cheap," Howard said of the costs associated with racing, "but I have a lot of fun with it."
