Offshore race boats, onshore rock bands to light up St. Clair – New Baltimore Voice Newspapers

If the wind is out of the east, the offshore race boats and the onshore rock and roll bands will be audible as far west as Wadhams Road.

There is very little that is quiet and unobtrusive about St. Clairs annual Riverfest, set to run Friday to Sunday in downtown St. Clair.

The event will be generating all manner of electrifying noise pollution as three dozen offshore race boats compete for trophies in the St. Clair River Classic, eight rock and roll bands crank up the riverfront over two nights and a newly expanded mini-midway full of inflatables for kids blooms along M-29, also known as North Riverside Avenue, which will be packed with food, beer, wine and souvenir vendors of all kinds.

The inflatables replace last years carnival, which did not impress organizers.

Weve had a hard time attracting carnivals, which dont want to compete with other events, said Steve Brunner, president of Blue Water Offshore Racing Association. Last year, the carnival didnt bring what it said it would bring, and what it brought was no good.

The two biggest draws of Riverfest are the free music concerts and the boat racing.

Live music

The bands play on the giant Malcolm Marine barge moored to the Palmer Park seawall near the Voyageur Restaurant.

The Kings in Pieces kicks off the concerts, playing from 5:30 p.m. to 6:15 p.m. Friday, followed by Los Gringos at 7 p.m., Heavens Wish at 8:30 p.m. and headliner Skid Row at 10:15 p.m., a metal band that peaked and then was overshadowed by the rise of grunge in the early 1990s.

On Saturday night, Slander get things rolling at 5:30 p.m., with Ezra at 7 p.m., local favorites The Gobies at 8:30 p.m. and headliner The Guess Who at 10:15 p.m., a band with a flurry of psychedelic and blues rock hits in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Admission to all sets is free.

Not everyone will attend the concerts, no matter which bands open and which classic rock acts headline.

I hate to say it, but I usually go hide, said Bob Currier, secretary and treasurer of BWORA. Im home in Marysville and in bed by 10 p.m. each night.

Currier works the on the control platform at rivers edge for the test-runs on Saturday and the races on Sunday.

All of our officials go through the same physicals and Breathalyzers as the racers, said Currier. I need to be sharp with my feet on the ground in the mornings.

Currier coordinates all the resources on the water during the races.

Offshore boat racing

The 23rd annual St. Clair River Classic offshore boat race will take place at noon, 2 p.m., 4 p.m. and, if needed, 5 p.m. Sunday.

The races are sanctioned by the Offshore Powerboat Association.

We wont know exactly what teams will be here until they roll into town, said Currier. But it looks like the boat count will be on the high side of three dozen, which would put us on the topside of counts around the county so far this year.

Race fans can look forward to many of their favorite teams again this year, such as Strictly Business and Wazzup.

After a year off, the Class 1 boat Lightning Jack will be back, said Currier. Chip Millers Team 227, out of Lake St. Clairs Miracle Mile, had some mechanical issues last year, but theyre back strong.

The old Popeyes boat has been sold and is now Bull on the Beach and should be in town as will the black Bat Boat.

There will be a good number of smaller boats in Classes 4, 5 and 6 and a half dozen in the Super Stock class, said Currier. Weve got our fingers crossed that well see Cat Can Do, which had some structural issues after Key West. Miss Geico is confirmed for St. Clair and were hoping for one or two others in the Extreme Class.

Those boats are brawlers, powered by upwards of 3,000 horsepower and capable of 160 mph on good water.

Local driver Ed Smith is unlikely to race this year.

It doesnt look like it, said Brunner.

The boat Smith drives, Cleveland Construction in the Super Cat class, has been racing the Super Boat International circuit, which had a race in Mentor, OH, outside of Cleveland, the week before St. Clair and has one in Michigan City, Indiana the week after. The boats owner is afraid of damaging the boat in an unsanctioned competition, said Brunner.

Racing before the races

There are plenty of boat-related activities leading up to race day. The police department closes off North Riverside at 6 p.m. Thursday, and set up for Riverfest begins in earnest.

The race teams arrive in St. Clair all day on Friday. Race teams and their boats will set up in the dry pits along North Riverside, known as Race Village, which opens at 4 p.m. and closes at midnight. On Saturday, Race Village and the concession stands are open from 10 a.m. to midnight.

All kinds of race-specific activities take place on Saturday, beginning with the setting of buoys marking the four-mile course in the St. Clair River at 7:30 a.m., followed by swim and dunker tests at the city pool, which crew members must pass once a season, ongoing racer registration at the plaza, a racer meeting at the fire hall, and boat inspections in Race Village. The boat ramp in the harbor opens for racers and the crane swings into action on the Pine River at 10 a.m.

BWORA volunteers for the race-side of Riverfest will number 200 to 250. Three dozen private boats will be on the river as volunteer patrol boats, keeping their eyes and ears on pleasure boats and the integrity of the four mile course. The St. Clair Fire Department will coordinate at least six medical rescue boats that will each feature a captain, crewmember, two divers and two medical people. Angel 1, the rescue helicopter, will work the sky with two rescue divers aboard. All of the resources should translate into response times of under a minute in the event of accidents on the water.

The excitement on Saturday starts when the racers test their deep-throated boats on the big river, 12:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m., thundering around the course at speeds ranging from 70-160 miles an hour depending upon the classes of the boat.

Race teams sign autograph and take photos with fans from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday in Race Village.

Race day is Sunday and a slew of activities lead up to the opening ceremony at 11:45 a.m. and the first heat at noon. Course buoys are set at 7:30 a.m. Racers take their physicals at the fire hall at 8 a.m. followed by a racers meeting at 9 a.m.

The patrol commander of the race, known as the PATCOM, is Pablo Mendoza, head of the U.S. Coast Guards Station Port Huron. Mendoza of the local U.S. Coast Guard will lead the law enforcement meeting that starts at 9 a.m. in the harbor. The Coast Guard permit for the race is in effect 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The fleet of volunteer course support boats takes to the water at 11 a.m. The post-race award ceremony will take place at 6 p.m. in Plaza Park. In the event of bad weather, the ceremony moves to St. Clair River Lanes.

Brunner is expecting a big crowd at Riverfest 2017.

Attendance has been really good, Brunner said.

Weekend totals topped 120,000 in 2015, according to Fun Fest Inc.

The official hours of Riverfest are 4 p.m. to midnight Friday, noon to midnight Saturday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday.

The only thing we cant control is weather, said Currier. Lets pray for 75 degrees, light wind and sunshine.

Jim Bloch is a freelance writer. Contact him at bloch.jim@gmail.com.

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Offshore race boats, onshore rock bands to light up St. Clair - New Baltimore Voice Newspapers