Experts Expand Eastern Entries – Unlimited Hydroplanes Carefully Charting China Course

For someone who feels like they are attending Hydroplanes 101, any news is big, and big news is huge. I’m a rookie at this, but can certainly grasp the magnitude of a recent agreement that may have our beloved boats visiting China as early as the fall of 2012.

Why is this huge?

It goes way beyond the fact that China has 1.3 billion people, and since even a small fraction of a very large number can support an eventual commercial model. No, it is more about the potential for fiery dynamics if at some point Doha isn’t the only exotic location on the H1 circuit.

But first, some basics.

Based on recent meetings between H1 Unlimited Chairman Sam Cole, Chinese Motorboat Association General Secretary Wan Hongjun, and Beijing Kingolym President Zhengmin Shi, an agreement was reached to expand H1’s presence in the country. This would include working with the Chinese Motorboat Association through a recently-opened office in Beijing.

This story was posted on the H1 site and incidentally, also as an uninspired, truncated, nearly word-for-word copy on the KNDU/KNDO web site. To quote from each source:

“Cole acknowledged that there are several hurdles to clear:

• A working agreement with UIM to allow for additional international events
• Changes in shipping procedures for the teams; converting to containers
• Invitations from the appropriate municipalities in China for the exact race location(s)
• Scheduling resolution within the H1 Unlimited series
• Ensuring no conflicts with the UIM World Championship Oryx Cup event in Doha, Qatar”

My purpose is to simply stress that this isn’t a done deal and isn’t close to being wrapped up with a bow, in spite of the aggressive 2012 potential target date.

Back to why this is huge.

Remember, I’m still learning how all the players play and the boaters boat. But what I’ve learned very quickly is just how much ego is associated with the fastest boats in the world. And while the U.S. venues are all very impressive in their own right, the exotic allure of Doha, Qatar is hard to beat.

The Gulf Times reported last week that “Sheikh Hassan bin Jabor al-Thani on Thursday announced at the Miami International Boat Show that the Qatar Marine Sports Federation (QMSF) has agreed a partnership with Mystic Powerboats and Whispering Turbines to build the ultimate turbine-powered racing boat for the 2013 racing season. The exciting new ‘Spirit of Qatar’ boat will be entered in the 2013 Extreme/Turbine – Unlimited class in the United States of America.”

Please notice the key words in that quote from the article: Ultimate, turbine-powered, “Spirit of Qatar” and extreme. This tells me there is a considerable amount of pride, drive, and confidence coming from that part of the world. Some would call it ego, but it could also be known simply as passion.  Deep, committed passion.

So my question is simple. “How will Sheikh Hassan and the good people of Qatar feel about sharing the stage with a new, mysterious, and relatively unknown China?

In spite of a challenging list of hurdles Mr. Cole cited above, I would argue that there is really only one that needs to be addressed. Preventing conflicts with the UIM World Championship in Doha could be the ultimate deal-breaker for the ultimate race boats. Don’t spill anything from the Oryx Cup.

What do you think? Is this a good idea, or is this the beginning of what might be the equivalent of a multi-boat crash, three-quarters into a turn?