Very sad news. Yesterday was the first day of racing and they did not get off to a good start. Big Thunder Marine owner Bob Morgan and his throttle man Jeff Tillman were both killed when their boat flipped during the third race of the day. The boat was a 46 foot Skater catamaran with four 1200 HP engines powering it. According to witnesses, the boat was going about 130 mph when it caught some air and flipped, completely damaging the right front hull of the boat. It took less than 60 seconds for rescue divers to be deployed but they were unable to save the two men who both died upon arrival to the Lower Keys Medical Center.
Even with this sad turn of events, the races did continue before the Superboat International President John Carbonell stopped the race after a second accident occurred. Fortunately, the Motley Crew driver and throttle man both escaped with their lives.
So, who is in the lead? In the Superboat Unlimited Class the CMS took first place with an average speed of just over 120 mph.In the Superboat Vee Extreme Class the Outerlimits took first place with an average speed of almost 99 mph. And in the Turbine Class the Miss Geico ran alone and ran an average speed of just over 122 mph, which was the fastest speed of the day.
Our condolences go out to the family and friends of those that perished in the Big Thunder Marine crash. We hope that the rest of the races are tragedy free. Good luck to all the teams!
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Island Genn – Your Key West Concierge
