(May 28, 2010) Ocean City is the first stop of the Offshore Powerboat Association’s 2010 Offshore Racing Series presented by Geico and activities kick off in the resort today (Friday).

Last year, the course was altered and a section moved closer to the shoreline in order for spectators to get a better view of the action. Ed Smith, president of the Offshore Power Boat Racing Association, said it was difficult for spectators on the beach to see the races in 2008, so after visiting with the Ocean City Council several times, a turn of the rectangle course near the Commander Hotel on 14th Street was moved closer to the shore in 2009. Now 600 yards out at that spot, it was originally about a mile out, Smith said. The course is a total of 5.8 miles from 13 to 35th streets.

“It worked out really well last year being closer to the shore,” Smith said.

Spectators will be able to view Sunday’s races from the beach, but for safety reasons, no one will be allowed in the water from Seventh to 22nd Streets from noon-12:45 p.m. and 2-2:45 p.m.

Participants in the event, which is also one of the Offshore Power Boat Racing Association’s national races, will compete in heats that take them counterclockwise on the course, 600 to 1,000 yards offshore. The start and finish line is across from the Commander Hotel.

Before the races, fans are invited to Sunset Marina in West Ocean City this (Friday) afternoon and all day Saturday to take a closer look at the boats and to meet the crews. Many of the teams will take their boats out for a test run to get a feel for the course on Saturday between noon and 4 p.m.

On race day, boats will leave Sunset Marina behind a pace boat through the inlet to the starting area. The boats will race in different categories based on size, power and speed.

The first race is set to begin at noon Sunday and includes Class 6, 5 and 4 boats, which range in speed from 70 to 85 mph. The second race is scheduled for 2 p.m. The Class 3, 2 and 1 powerboats race speeds of 95, 105 and 115 mph, respectively. The Supercat Class includes boats that can go as fast as 140 mph and Turbine Class, which is made up of boats capable of going 180 mph, will also hit the water in the second race. Each race will last about an hour.

Smith said he expects approximately 40 boats for the Ocean City competition. Sheikh Hassan bin Jabor Al-Thani of Qatar and the Spirit of Qatar 95 and 96 team boats have joined the OPA racing series this year and will take part in the resort activities.

An awards party is set for 6:30 p.m. Sunday at Sunset Grille in West Ocean City.

Ocean City is the first event of an eightrace series. It is followed by races in Sunny Isles Beach, Fla. (June 11-13), Harrison Township (July 16-18) and St. Clair, Mich. (July 23-25), Patchouge, N.Y. (Aug. 20-22), Atlantic City, N.J. (10-12), Solomon Islands, Md. (Oct. 1-3) and Orange Beach, Ala. (Oct 12-17).

For the first time, the race series will air on Versus beginning Sunday, Nov. 14, at 4 p.m. ET and run consecutive Sundays at the same time through Jan. 2, 2011. The first episode will feature an overview of the sport and the series-opening race in Ocean City.

The final episode culminates with the World Championships, held in Orange Beach, Ala. The race series will be filmed in high definition by Tampa Digital Studios Inc.

After a six-year absence from the resort, the once annual Offshore Powerboat races came back to Ocean City in 2006.

The event was discontinued in Ocean City in 2000 because of a lack of sponsors, after an eight-year run each October on Columbus Day weekend. The 2006 event drew about 30 competitors — enough for organizers to bring it back again in 2007, when 40 boats participated. Last year, 40 crews raced their boats in the waters off the resort.

“It went wonderful. Ocean City is just a great place to have a boat race. The whole weekend was absolutely flawless from start to finish,” Smith said after the 2009 resort competition. “All of the racers and everyone involved loved it. When they come to Ocean City they’ve got the Boardwalk, restaurants, shops, amusement park rides and games, and if we can put together events to include the families while the racers are busy everyone is happy.”