The Trinidad Tobago Great Race is not simply a dash between two islands. It is an offshore test of speed, preparation, nerve and teamwork — followed by one of the most Caribbean finishes imaginable.
We met one of the young racers in Trinidad while the teams were moving their boats through the marine yard. In our short interview, he explains the 525-horsepower race boat, the run from Trinidad to Tobago and what it feels like to be part of an event that combines serious engineering with family tradition, competition and celebration.
What is the Trinidad Tobago Great Race?
The Great Race was first held in 1969 and has become one of the longest-running offshore powerboat races in the world. Today, boats compete in several speed classes rather than as one undivided fleet. Staggered starts allow slower classes to leave first, creating the possibility of boats from different categories arriving in Tobago close together.
The current route covers roughly 90 miles. It begins in the Gulf of Paria, passes through the First Bocas, follows Trinidad’s exposed north coast via Maracas and Grande Riviere, and then crosses open water to Tobago. The finish is at Store Bay, where boats complete the final section before crossing the line. The course can move from relatively calm Gulf water to confused seas in the Bocas, heavy Atlantic swell and rough shallow water near Tobago. That variation is why simply finishing is regarded as an achievement. Read the official course description from the Trinidad and Tobago Powerboat Association.
525 horsepower — and still one of the smaller stories
To most people, 525 horsepower sounds enormous. In offshore racing, it can still place a boat among the smaller or more tightly regulated classes. The Great Race includes categories built around different speed limits and technical rules, allowing lighter boats and emerging teams to compete alongside the spectacular 95, 120 and 130 mph machines.
That class structure is important. It keeps the event from becoming only a contest between the biggest budgets. Set-up, navigation, throttle control and reliability matter enormously. A boat that is theoretically faster but cannot handle the sea, remain within its class limit or stay mechanically sound may never reach Tobago.
Watch the interview: inside the Great Race
The video is available with English and German subtitles. On this English page, the player opens with English captions selected.
How long does the race take?
The answer depends on the class, starting time, sea state and whether the boat completes the course without problems. The official world-record course is 80.5 miles, excluding the starting and finishing circuits. Motul Monster, a 46-foot Skater catamaran, set the recognised record in 2018 at 47 minutes and 43 seconds.
Race-day elapsed times are often longer. In 2024, Mr Solo Too recorded the fastest class time at 1 hour, 2 minutes and 33 seconds. Because the starts were staggered, the first physical boat to arrive was the 60 mph-class Limitless, which reached Tobago in 1 hour, 37 minutes and 53 seconds. That distinction — first to arrive versus fastest elapsed time — is part of what makes the format interesting.
From Cam-Ena to Mr Solo Too
The first Great Race was won in 1969 by Lennox Tang Yuk aboard Cam-Ena, a 21-foot wooden deep-V boat. The race and its machinery have changed dramatically since then.
Among the legendary names are Mr Solo, Motul Monster, Total Monster and Energiza. Mr Solo became the first boat to complete the traditional race in under one hour in 2008. In the modern class era, recent winners have included Kraken, Limitless, Extreme Measures, Heatwave and Mr Solo Too. The official Great Race winners archive records the evolution from a single overall winner to today’s class champions.
For 2025, the listed class winners were Kraken in S-Class, Hooligan in 50 mph, Limitless in 60 mph, Extreme Measures in 70 mph, Heatwave in 80 mph and Mr Solo Too in 130 mph.
What happens when the boats reach Tobago?
The finish is not a quiet technical formality. Store Bay and the surrounding area become part sporting venue, part family outing and part island party. Spectators gather at viewpoints, beaches and the finish area. Picnics begin early, music carries through the day, and the atmosphere often continues well after the final boats arrive.
Organisers have increasingly presented the Tobago finish as a cultural experience rather than only a race result. Plans have included live entertainment, Carnival elements, moko jumbies and fire performers — a deliberately Trinidad-and-Tobago welcome for crews after a hard offshore crossing. Tobago’s tourism authority describes the day as a high-energy land event with parties running from morning into the night.
The social side: more than drivers and horsepower
Each visible race boat represents a much larger group: mechanics, fabricators, navigators, throttlemen, safety crews, family members, sponsors, transport drivers and volunteers. Many teams are built around long friendships or several generations of the same family.
The race also links the islands in a very direct way. Trinidad provides much of the preparation, engineering and launch-day energy. Tobago receives the crews, spectators and celebration. For one morning, the sea between the islands becomes not a separation but the centre of a shared national event.
What does an offshore race boat cost?
There is no meaningful single average because the field ranges from smaller controlled-class boats to large carbon or composite offshore cats with highly specialised engines and drives.
Current used-market examples show how wide the range can be. Older 46-foot Skater race boats have been advertised around US$275,000, while a later high-spec 46 with twin Mercury Racing 1350 engines has been offered at approximately US$850,000. Exceptional machines can approach or exceed US$1 million. Smaller-class boats can cost far less, but engines, steering, hydraulics, safety equipment and trailers still make them serious competition projects.
The cost of one Great Race entry is equally difficult to reduce to one honest number. The association does not publish a reliable average team budget. Beyond any entry fee, a team must account for fuel, test runs, engine and drive servicing, propellers, replacement parts, trailer transport, safety equipment, crew logistics and the possibility that a single mechanical failure may create a major repair bill. For smaller local teams, sponsorship and skilled friends are often as important as the boat itself.
Speed is only the visible part
From the roadside, the boats look theatrical: huge trailers, polished hulls, sponsor flags and engines built to turn fuel into noise and speed. But the race is won — and safely completed — through preparation.
That is what made the interview interesting to us. The young racer was not standing beside an abstract showpiece. He was part of a working team taking a real boat across exposed Caribbean water. The glamour lasts for race day. The learning, maintenance and teamwork continue throughout the season.
⚓ Aurelia Blue’s view from the yard
We usually experience the sea at sailing speed. Watching these boats arrive gave us a completely different view of the same water.
The Great Race is loud, fast and spectacular, but underneath it we recognised something familiar: preparation, respect for conditions, trust in the crew and the knowledge that the sea always has the final word.
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