Don Aronow Around Long Island Race August 22, 2015



UNEXPECTED FOG CAUSES CRASH DURING RECORD RUN AROUND LONG ATTEMPT

Following Stu Hayim's and Joey Imprescia's attempt of breaking the NPBA-Sanctioned Record Run Around Long Island record this morning, unexpected fog caused the team to hit a buoy at Orient Point, ending the event approximately one hour and 16 minutes into the race. Nobody was injured in the accident.

According to Billy Frenz executive director of the NPBA, the team was off at full throttle out of Manhasset Bay at 7:26 a.m. and were making record time until the accident took place.

“The conditions were flat and this was the day we were waiting for and then fog came out of nowhere,” said Frenz. “Running at 150 mph, they were way ahead of the record. There’s a ten-foot gash from where the US1 is number down the port side of the sponson. The boat is all broken up.”

The team was riding in Hayim’s new 52’ MTI, Recovery, powered by 1650 hp Mercury Racing Engines and Number 8 drives. They were attempting to beat Hayim’s previous record of two hours and 11 minutes he set in 2012.

The team safely made it into Sag Harbor and is currently accessing the damage.


http://www.pokerrunsamerica.com/gal...s-crash-during-record-run-around-long-attempt
 
Boaters' Around-L.I. Record Attempt Ends With Crash in Fog
By David E. Rattray | September 4, 2015 - 5:28pm

A collision with a steel buoy left a long gash in the port side of the race boat Stuart Haymim and Joey Imprescia were riding in during their record attempt.

stu boat crash.jpg

An attempt to set a record for circumnavigating Long Island ended abruptly Thursday when the 51-foot-long racing catamaran crashed into a buoy south of Plum Island while moving at 148 miles per hour.

The two men aboard, Stuart Haymim and Joey Imprescia, were not hurt. They were seeking to break Mr. Hayim's own 2012 record for the 271-mile trip, which began at 7 a.m. at the Manhasset Bay Marina in Port Washington.

Reaching Plum Gut about a half-hour later and accompanied by a seaplane with medics and Mr. Haymim's wife and son aboard, the men noticed that it appeared cloudy ahead. Mr. Haymim radioed the plane, asking it to scout the route, but the fog instantly enveloped it and the boat.

At about the same moment Mr. Imprescia spotted the rapidly approaching buoy he yelled a warning. Mr. Haymim turned the boat's wheel hard to starboard, avoiding a potentially fatal collision that would have split the twin hulls down the middle.

He said he took full responsibility for the crash.

The boat sustained damage to its port-side hull and was hauled out of the water after being towed to Ship Ashore Marina in Sag Harbor.

Mr. Haymim said that striking the buoy could have been a blessing in disguise, because other potiential obstructions, including the Ruins, a wrecked fort north of Gardiner's Island lay somewhere ahead in the fog.

His time for the Long Island trip in 2012 was two hours, 11 minutes, set in a 42-foot MTI catamaran that was powered by two 1,350-horsepower Mercury engines. Thursday's attempt was in a new MTI boat with twin Mercury 1,650-horsepower engines. Mr. Haymim's goal was a sub-two-hour time for completing the 271-mile route.

Mr. Haymim, a champion speedboat racer and Great Neck luxury auto dealer, had hoped to donate at least $250,000 to the Boomer Esiason and Don Monti foundations for medical research if he broke his old record, matching donors' pledges.

The boat was in Babylon on Friday getting cleaned up to be sent to Green Bay, Wisc., where its builder will decide whether to repair it or scrap it and build a newer and faster version, Gwen Wunderlich-Smith, a spokeswoman for Mr. Haymim, said.




http://easthamptonstar.com/News/2015904/Boaters-Around-LI-Record-Attempt-Ends-Crash-Fog
 
I'm surprised the spotter seaplane with the medics, didn't alert the crew of the boat that fog lay ahead. They had to have seen it from the air.
 
I think that 10' gash is more like 30' long......

There are a lot of saw cuts there. They probably cut the loose stuff back so nothing would fall off on the road.
The damage was probably beyond what was initially peeled off in the water.
 
I am a bit surprised they had not slowed down if the visibility was that low. What if it had been another pleasure boat?
 
Powerboat racer Stuart Hayim has built a reputation for speed -- but he hit a bump in his attempt to set a record for fastest race around Long Island.

The 52-foot MTI catamaran Hayim was driving hit a buoy off the East End on Thursday, about 30 minutes after he began the race, ending his latest attempt.

The Sands Point resident wanted to beat his 2012 record of racing around Long Island and Manhattan in 2 hours and 11 minutes, with $125,000 raised for cancer research.

Hayim, a lymphoma survivor, was hoping to double the amount of money raised to $250,000 for the Boomer Esiason Foundation, which supports those with cystic fibrosis, and the Don Monti Foundation, an advocacy group for those with cancer.

Hayim, 68, said the launch began with clear weather at 7 a.m. at Manhasset Bay Marina in Port Washington.

"It was pretty drama free," he said. "The sun was up, life was good."

He was hopeful as the boat's speed reached 148 mph -- putting him on pace to meet his goal. But as he and friend Joey Imprescia turned into Plum Gut, off Orient, visibility waned, and they sent a plane following them to check the weather ahead.

Then, they found themselves surrounded by fog.

The plane "vanished like the Bermuda Triangle," he said, adding that visibility was down to between 50 and 100 feet.

Hayim swerved to the right to avoid hitting a buoy head-on. Both men survived without injury, but the boat's bottom was destroyed. With help from friends in Sag Harbor and the Coast Guard, they towed the vessel to a Sag Harbor marina, he said.

Hayim said they only raised between $50,000 and $75,000 this time, and while it will be some time before his boat is repaired and his nerves are calmed, the attempt wasn't disheartening.

"We still gave hope and inspiration," he said. "The fact that we didn't break the record is little effect on people's lives who need money raised."


http://www.newsday.com/long-island/...long-island-in-bid-to-break-record-1.10811874
 
Oddly enough, I'm not inspired.

Running at that speed, with shorts, a T-Shirt and no helmet is of slight concern.

Running into a fog bank without nav notes is another issue.

What do I know?

The commentator said he is legendary powerboat racer and raising money for a Cancer charity.

It's all good then.
 
Yep, I'm with you. Except I believe even with Nav Notes, another boat in a fog bank with a family fishing or idling slowly, gives me even greater concern.
 
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