Powerboat Engines Roar in Long Beach

The sounds of high-speed powerboat engines reverberated throughout the shores of Long Beach and Lido Beach this past weekend.

Follow Long Beach Patch on Facebook.

Fans lined up on the new boardwalk and along the sands to Nickerson Beach to watch “The Great Race on the Sea,” a series of three races on Sunday.

The six-time world champion Miss Geico powerboat-racing team was among the race participants, finishing first in theExtreme class, which includes larger boats racing at higher speeds. Last year, Gieco's boat was destroyed in a fire.

“This year we are on a mission to reclaim our world championship status and show our fans and the offshore racing community that Miss Geico is back,” said Gary Goodell, the insurance company’s marketing director, in a statement.

While the Miss Geico exceed 180 mph, the class was capped at 135mph for Sunday's race to keep the boats competitive.

The Offshore Power Boat Association staged the three-day event, which featured “Meet the Racers” parties at Kennedy Plaza in Long Beach on Saturday and Seabreeze Park in Freeport on Friday. The dry pits, where the boats were staged, were at Nickerson Beach and open for public viewing.   

Sunday’s races were the first of their kind on Long Island since Hurricane Sandy last October.