Written by TERRY TOMLIN
Tampa Bay Times
BRADENTON — Powerboat racer Terry Rinker stays calm, cool and collected flying across the water at 120 mph. But the Formula One icon does get a little nervous watching his sons race.
"It is kind of nerve wracking," said Rinker, who has been a fixture on the professional powerboat circuit for 20 years. "Sitting it out on the sidelines is hard. Our sport has a great safety record, but in racing anything can happen. You just never know."
Today, the American Power Boat Association Hall of Famer will be standing on the side as thousands of fans watch Rinker's sons, and 10 other top F2 "pilots," race deck-to-deck in the inaugural Bradenton Area Riverwalk Regatta.
With aerodynamic hulls and super-charged outboard engines, F2 boats can literally lift off the water, yet maintain their speed with minimal deceleration in the turns. The drivers sit in an enclosed cockpit and can only go in one direction — forward — as they run full force with non-shiftable gears.
