Speedboat events bring thousands to LaPorte County shores.

by Rick A. Richards

A warm, sunny day, the roar of powerful engines and the thrill of speed is all a race fan needs. But this racing isn't taking place at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It's happening just offshore from Michigan City on Lake Michigan, and this year, the roar of racing engines also will be heard on Stone Lake in LaPorte.

Huge 50-foot offshore racing boats will zip past the Washington Park Beach the first weekend in August in the fifth annual Great Lakes Grand Prix, and from May 31 to June 2, tiny but powerful 18-foot tunnel boats will race on LaPorte's Stone Lake.

Jason Miller, sports marketing director for the LaPorte County Convention & Visitors Bureau, has organized both events. He says the Lake Michigan race features offshore power boats from 28 to 50 feet long that can travel up to 200 miles per hour. The Great Lakes Grand Prix is part of the nine-race Superboat International series that holds races in Mississippi, Florida, Indiana and New York City.

LaPorte's Maple City Grand Prix features boats just 18 feet long, but they're more maneuverable and travel up to 130 miles per hour. It is part of the 10-race F1/PROP series that holds races in Texas, Missouri, Indiana, Michigan, Washington, Colorado, Illinois and Quebec in Canada.

“When I was young my dad and I used to go to Grand Haven and Saugatuck (Mich.) and watch these boat races up there. It was great,” says Miller. “I loved it. I had a lot of fun.”

But those races left the Great Lakes for the Southeast. Now they're back.

“I wanted to find something really cool to bring to LaPorte County,” says Miller. “I had a pretty strong thought that Washington Park wasn't being used to its full potential.”

Remembering those boat races he enjoyed as a youngster, Miller called John Carbonell, the president of Superboat International about coming to LaPorte County. Miller's timing was perfect. Superboat, which is based in Key West, Fla., had just lost a race event in North Carolina and needed something to replace it.

A deal was struck, and Superboat International headed to Lake Michigan. Carbonell says the stop in LaPorte County is one of the most popular on the tour.

“A lot of it has to do with the people. They are so great,” says Miller. “They like coming to a community and making an impression. Well, the community has made an impression on them as well. They're so used to racing these boats in Florida and everywhere you turn in Florida, you see these boats. They're not anything new. Up here, you don't see these kinds of boats. It's a big deal.”

Carbonell is a former boat racer and has promoted events for more than three decades. “I knew it would take about three years for the event to become really established, but we were astonished by the number of people the first year.”

Miller says a lot was at stake for the first race in 2009. “There was a hefty sanctioning fee, and we were bringing potentially thousands and thousands of people here. It could cause an uproar, especially with traffic and getting people to the beach.”

Miller says “we would be over the moon happy with 25,000 people,” but that first year, 80,000 people showed up. And the crowds have continued to grow.

“That wasn't even a pie in the sky number for us,” says Miller. Last year, more than 30,000 people showed up for the Friday night boat parade in downtown Michigan City; on race day there were 100,000 people on the beach.

Carbonell praises the fan base in LaPorte County, pointing out that high waves on Lake Michigan cancelled last year's racing. “But the people stayed. They came to the beach to have a party and they did. I can't say enough about them.”

Because of that response in Michigan City, Miller wanted to provide a similar experience for LaPorte, and he contacted Jose Mendana of the F1/Prop Series. “As the county tourism bureau we love having Michigan City to offer to visitors, but we also love having LaPorte to offer to visitors,” says Miller. “LaPorte has three inland lakes within two miles of downtown.” Miller says Stone Lake was chosen because it's the right size and has plenty of places for spectators.

Mendana was in much the same position as Carbonell when Miller called. The F1/Prop Series, based in Miami, had just lost an event and was looking to fill a void on its calendar. By chance, Mendana was visiting Northern Indiana when he got Miller's call and the two met in Warsaw, where a deal was worked out for the race in just a couple of hours.

“I got a very positive vibe from Jason,” says Mendana. “We offer a very different kind of racing event than what's on Lake Michigan. We think it's a good bookend to what's offered there.

Mendana, who also competes in the series, is a fourth-generation boat racer. He says he's excited about the opportunity to bring a race to Indiana since many of the racers in the series are from the Midwest.

“I want the people in LaPorte County to know about the economic impact of events like this,” says Miller. “Over the past four years of the race in Michigan City, visitor spending has put over $20 million into the local economy.

“We don't do anything that's not going to end up being a real positive,” says Miller. “These guys have been doing races for a long time and they aren't going to go someplace where it's not going to benefit them and the community.”