Patriotic Duty Outerlimits Breaks San Francisco-To-Marina Del Rey/Long Beach Records – Speed on the Water
Friends from the high-performance powerboating enclave of Discovery Bay, Calif, Tony Adams, Allen Bellinghausen and Steve Seaton entered the offshore endurance racing world a couple of years ago with lofty goals and a brawny 2004 model-year 47 GTX V-bottom from Outerlimits Offshore Powerboats. Now they own two significant Union Internationale Motonautique/American Power Boat Association mono-hull world records as yesterday they ran the Mercury Racing 1350/1100 engine-powered, open-cockpit 47-footer from San Francisco to Marina Del Rey in 4 hours 55 minutes 33 seconds.
The Patriotic Duty team smashed two long-held offshore endurance racing records yesterday in California. Photos Erick Bryner copyright Fast Loud Photography.
The team continued from the famed Southern California harbor to the Port of Long Beach and established a new San Francisco-to-Long Beach record of 5 hours 18 minutes 39 seconds.
The run was part of the Ocean Cup Series of offshore endurance contests.
The Patriotic Duty triumvirate bested the existing mark for the 400-plus-mile San Francisco-to-Marina Del Rey open-ocean run of 5 hours 27 minutes and 22 seconds. Set by then-Powerboat-magazine publisher Bob Nordskog and Bob and Norm Teague of Teague Custom Marine fame, that record stood for 35 years.
“The water conditions, swells and saves were good—the largest issue was fog,” said Bellinghausen, who manages the team. “Visibility got down to 1,000 feet in spots.
“We kept to more of an offshore route until after Point Sur, and then switch to a more-inshore route,” he added.
Erik Nordskog was on hand to present the checkered flag for the run earned by his late grandfather to the new record-holders.
A look at a couple of segments from the Patriotic Duty’s course.
“I am very proud to be standing here with you during your celebration,” said Nordskog. “Your team had a flawless run. Of course, records are meant to be broken—and I’m already starting to plan.”
Reached by phone this morning, Dan Kleitz, the national sales manager for Outerlimits and the public face of the Bristol, R.I., company, congratulated the Patriotic Duty trio.
“Breaking a record set by a legend like Bob Nordskog—a record that stood for over 30 years— deserves a lot of praise,” he said. “It’s quite an undertaking to pull off more than 400-mile ocean run and not only to complete it break the record by over an hour. Its and honor that they did it in their 47 GTX.
“It’s pretty cool a boat we built 20 years ago is still breaking records,” he added. “ Just goes to show what Outerlimits powerboats are capable of.”
There’s more to come for Patriotic Duty this year as the team is signed up for the upcoming Ocean Cup Series Pacific Rum Run, a 112-plus-mile course that begins in Huntington Beach, Calif., rounds Catalina Island return to its starting point. In 2022, Adams, Bellinghausen and Seaton set a UIM/APBA record of 1 hour and 24 minutes for the open-cockpit V-bottom class.
But for now, the team is savoring yesterday’s dual record-setting effort.
Said Bellinghausen, “It was absolutely the most amazing thing I’ve ever done.”
Yesterday’s open-water run from Northern to Southern California left Adams, Bellinghausen and Seaton with plenty to celebrate.
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