ROAR Offshore powerboat races returning this weekend to Fort Myers Beach
World champion boat racer Shaun Torrente organizing and competing in the event
The roar is back on Fort Myers Beach as the ROAR Offshore powerboat races return this weekend with world class boat racing for the first time after a five-year layoff due to Hurricane Ian.
The race this Sunday afternoon will feature the event’s defending champion, world champion powerboat racer Shaun Torrente, who has also taken over the operation of the event after purchasing it from the former operators Tim and Cyndee Hill.
“We are excited to bring it back,” Torrente said.
Torrente is not only the defending champion of the ROAR Offshore powerboat races on Fort Myers Beach, but is the defending UIM Formula 1 H20 super stock powerboat racing world champion. It is a title he has won four times, competing in races as far away as China and Kyrgyzstan.
Torrente races internationally for Team Victory, a racing outfit based out of Dubai in the U.A.E. He didn’t even know where Krgyyzstand was, until competing out there last month on a lake surrounded by snowcapped mountains. “It was gorgeous,” he said.
In the meantime, Torrente runs three boatmaking and boat part companies in Fort Myers. When does he sleep? “Never,” he said while making preparations for the event at the Margaritaville Beach Resort.
This weekend’s racing is an independent showcase, where the boat racers compete for prize money, but is not part of the larger international racing competitive season. Qualifying races will take place on Friday and Saturday to determine position for the championship.
Torrente will be racing an STR 966, a 32-foot catamarans with twin 300R racing engines built by Mercury racing. In the super stock class, the boats typically range from 28-40 feet long.
Torrente said he expects that his boat will be exceeding 100 miles per hour during the race on Sunday.
He has been involved in boat racing since he was 12, having grown up around boat racing since he was 12. His dad was involved in boat racing, and also owned a power equipment store. “I was always around the water,” Torrente said. “I like the competition.”
Shaun Torrente, the defending Formula One H20 super stock world champion powerboat racer, will be competing and organizing this weekend’s ROAR Offshore powerboat races on Fort Myers Beach.
Photo by Nathan Mayberg
Torrente almost quit the sport before after an injury after a racing accident. A bad accident in Dubai in 2023 caused a bad head injury which knocked him unconscious. He credited his local personal trainer Greg DiRenzo in getting him back into racing condition to get back into competition. He ultimately returned last yea rand won another world championship. He intended to only race for one more season last year, but decided to race one final year plans to hang up his professional racing duties after this year’s championship season is over. “I just don’t have the time,” he said. He is currently leading in the standings despite a couple more crashes along the way.
His last race will be Dec. 22 in Dubai. “I will know whether I will be world champion again” on that date, Torrente said.
To be successful at boat racing, requires constant work on his boat, and making the proper adjustments to the propellers of the boat to adapt to course conditions, the wave action, and weather conditions. Torrente will make changes to engine height and the balance of the boat in order for his boat to have the smoothest ride during a race. On any given day, he will have 10 sets of propellers to choose from. His propellers are like tires for a racecar driver.
Torrente’s job during the races is to handle the balance of the boat and to set and adjust the mechanics, while accompanying the driver of the boat who steers the vessel. Torrente will trim and maintain the angle of the engine by adjusting the settings on the boat during the races.
“Every day is a new adventure,” he said.
Torrente said boat racing is similar to lessons he has learned in life. “You can do everything right and still not get the result you want,” Torrente said.
Torrente credits his family with allowing him to pursue the competition and travel.
The main race on Sunday, a five-mile course with 12 laps, for 60 miles, will start at 2 p.m. in the Gulf in front of the Margaritaville Beach Resort on a race course that will go past the Lani Kai Island Resort, with racers turning around at the Diamondhead Beach Resort and heading down towards the Pink Shell Beach Resort, where will they turn around again.
The qualifying races will take place on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. There will also be a qualifying heat on Friday from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. There will be a pit party Saturday afternoon in the parking lots near Margaritaville Beach Resort, where folks can see the boats up close.
On Saturday, there will be a high-speed exhibition of drag racing boats competing against each other in single-elimination matches beginning at 3 p.m. out on the Gulf.
The festivities begin on Thursday night with a welcome party at Margaritaville Beach Resort. Bonita Fish Company will be holding a dock party on Friday from 4:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Torrente said he is thankful for the community’s support in putting on the race, and the Town of Fort Myers Beach Council and government officials who approved the event.
“I just hope the beach benefits the way we want it to. Although (Fort Myers Beach) has changed since Ian, it is beautiful. We are trying to put new eyes on it,” Torrente said.