(Second in a four part series)
On Monday. 9 April, the annual Million Dollar Run race will take on the waters of the North Sound and Seven Mile Beach. With boats reaching speeds in excess of 100 miles per hour, safety is the number one priority to both organisers and race marshals.
Monster Media has enlisted the input and help of Cayman marine local yacht management company Pro Yacht in making the race fun and worry-free.
Pro Yacht has been involved in the event from the outset in 2001, providing the set-up of the race course, marshals and the pace boat for the race. For the roughly one hour when all boats are on the water on Easter Monday, the Pro Yacht team plans to run as a well-oiled machine; patrolling the waters, noting any rules violations and/or incidences and calling updates back to the venue and the radio stations.
‘Tim and Joe of Pro Yacht are our eyes and ears on the local and international racing scene,’ said Kenny Rankin of organisers Monster Media. ‘They keep us abreast of trends in the racing world and are an important connection between the event and the boat owners of Cayman.’
MDR began in 2001 as a powerboat race from Kaibo through the North Sound to the waters off, what would be, The Ritz-Carlton. Captains compete for prizes such as Best Time, Best Crew, Best Craft and Outlaw Class (boats under 500 horsepower). Along the way, Captains play a poker game by pulling cards at various stops.
At 1pm sharp, the race will pit some of the fastest boats in the Western Caribbean and North America against each other in an intense hour of cross-island boat racing. The race starts and finishes at Kaibo, where the event has always hosted a day-long party with music and up-to-the-minute radio coverage from chosen points around the race route.
Just west of turn number two, which is Million Dollar Point, spectators can see the crafts hit speeds in excess of 100 miles per hour as they make their way around the point.
The Million Dollar Run race has historically been run in the following way: the racers start in the waters of the North Sound, off Kaibo. The racers will take the turn around North West Point, continuing up the coast to the Ritz Carlton-Grand Cayman Hotel. At that point, they retrieved a second card. After a second lap, they would return to the waiting spectators at Kaibo and randomly retrieve their final three cards.
In 2007, a new format is being introduced to the race, which will make the race even more exciting to spectators, said Managing Director Tim Bradley.
‘By eliminating the second card stop completely at The Ritz-Carlton, the race will be a non-stop ride,’ he said.
‘Each Captains poker hand will unfold as the race does, because a card checkpoint feature has been added to the race. Three of these checkpoints will be marked along the race course with a spotter boat. In the order which the boats pass the check point, a designated team representative will pull a new card and add it to the Captain’s hand back at the venue. By the time Captains pull back into Kaibo, four of the five poker cards will be posted on the board, showing the crowd who is in the running for the Best Hand title.’
According to Mr. Bradley, MDR has the potential to become an internationally-recognized poker run. ‘MDR is a young event, but has grown substantially and gained quite a bit of exposure over its history. It has the potential of becoming a signature event for Cayman. Each year we are seeing bigger and faster high-powered boats entering the race.’
Boating enthusiasts can look forward to seeing crafts ranging from twin outboard engines totalling 500 horsepower to in excess of 1,050 horsepower twin turbo diesel engines. According to the Pro Yacht managing director, however, it’s the Captain with the ‘gutsiest crew’ that will likely walk away with the Best Time Prize.
REGISTERING
MDR Classes
Open Water
Outlaw Class (boats with less than 500 HP)
Prize Categories
Best Time – sponsored by Crighton Properties
Best Craft – sponsored by Watler’s Metal Products
Outlaw Class – Massive Equipment
Best Crew
Best Hand
Registration Price
US$1,000
For registration forms call 949-8423 or email
EVENT SCHEDULE
Thursday, 5 April 6.30pm
Captain’s Meeting and Cocktail Reception, at Ritz-Carlton, Lobby Lounge
*Attendance required by all Captains and team
**Final registration opportunity
Friday, 6 April, 7pm
MDR Gala Evening, at the Ritz-Carlton’s Periwinkle restaurant.
* RSVP required
Belvedere Ice Palace Kick-off Bash at Next Level nightclub
Saturday, 7 April, 7pm
Morgan Gallery and Monster Media present the MDR Art Exhibition. Nautical art by fine Cayman artists at the Morgan Gallery.
Monday, 9 April, 12pm
Race Day
Check-in: 11am
Race start: 12pm
Up Close: 2006 winner Attlee Bodden
Going from doing ‘a couple of round island races in my twenties’ to winning the Best Time prize in the Cayman Islands’ biggest powerboat race might seem like a huge step for some, but for 2006 Million Dollar Run winner Attlee Bodden it was all in a good day’s work.
The native Caymanian business owner ran into a clean first place in Million Dollar Run 2006, trailed closely by 2005 champion Andreas Ugland, of Ugland Offshore Racing. Joined in the cock-pit by Norwegian throttle man Jorn Tandberg, Attlee rode a pristine 2004 European champion title holder, sold to him ironically by his competitor, and friend, Ugland. The craft, powered by a single engine twin turbo diesel engine, put out an astonishing 1,050 horsepower.
‘Although I was a bit nervous,’ he says. ‘The fact that I had Jorn sitting behind me at the throttles gave me confidence. I attribute my success in winning mostly to him!’
You could say he has come a long way since his humble beginnings as a boat owner.
But hitting the water in such a craft wasn’t necessarily easy.
‘I was a bit aprehensive, but once we started I was too busy trying to win to worry about anything!’ he says incredulously.
Attlee’s earliest boating memory is slightly more humble. ‘My Aunt Vee gave me a dug-out canoe when I was about fifteen years old and my father took it on the ship with him and transformed it into a pretty canoe.’
Later on, he would upgrade to a Cobia with a 65 horsepower Mercury. After one round-island race, you could say he was hooked. He has been involved with the Million Dollar Run ‘from the first race’ and looks forward to hitting the water again this year in a craft proudly emblazoned with the brands of his company, Vampt and Ford. (Vampt and Ford are also sponsors of Million Dollar Run.)
Attlee’s biggest hopes for this year’s race are as kind as he is. He wishes Monster Media organizers good luck, wishing them a large crowd of spectators and a safe race. And although he will likely hit the water in one of the most incredible machines out there, his advice to aspiring competitors is simple.
‘Prepare your boat well, learn the course, write the compass headings on something water proof and place them where you can see them at a glance. Above all, drive safely.’
Spoken like a true champion.
Next week: The parties, the celebrities and the international racing stars of Million Dollar Run
Next week: The parties, the celebrities and the international racing stars of Million Dollar Run
Related Videos
