Mike Davis

@byMikeDavis

POINT PLEASANT BEACH - When Mark Henderson was a kid, he'd sleep on the rocks of the Manasquan Inlet the night before the annual Benihana Offshore Grand Prix.

When the boats came through the inlet and out to the race course, he'd have the best vantage point. This drew him to a stern conclusion: One day, he'd be in the race.

"All of us grew up going to the race," said Henderson, owner and driver of the 22-foot Aquaholic powerboat. "It was always my dream to put my boat out there on the race course."

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On May 22, Henderson will be behind the wheel of one of more than 40 powerboats in eight classes descending on the tiny Shore borough for the Point Pleasant Beach Offshore Grand Prix. The boats will compete in races beginning at 12 p.m. and follow a four-mile course between Point Pleasant Beach and Bay Head.

"The noise, the size and the speed of these boats is amazing," Point Pleasant Beach Mayor Stephen Reid said. "You don't have to look at them in the water. The best thing is seeing them in the parade, touching the boats and talking to the racers.

"Every little kid loves speed. We all love the speed and excitement — and you're going to see that," Reid said.

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In the 1970s and 1980s, the borough was a powerboat racing destination. It was the site of the Benihana Offshore Grand Prix, then a 200-mile course between Fire Island, New York, and Seaside Heights.

But the course — known as the "Indy 500 of Offshore Racing," according to the Offshore Powerboat Association — shrunk in size and popularity over the years.

"Point Pleasant Beach as a race site isn't known just to us, but all around the world," Henderson said. "Back in its heyday, you had boats participating from England, Italy, Australia ... The sport right now doesn't have that international element, but we're hoping it gravitates back to that."

While races continued through 2009, they were never to the size or scale of the Benihana Offshore Grand Prix, Reid said.

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"The Benihana was the last time that I remember that it was big and the whole town was involved. We're bringing that back," Reid said. "I wanted to bring something back for the businesses of the town, something for the family where people would come for two or three days."

There will be parades and block parties and chances for kids to take photographs and meet boat racers, Reid said. It was that kind of accessibility that turned so many onto the sport back in the days of the Benihana Offshore Grand Prix.

"We race in Maryland, we race in Florida but most of the teams are from here," said John Haggin, a Point Pleasant native who founded the Miss GEICO racing team. "New Jersey is the nucleus."

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Mike Davis: 732-643-4223; mdavis@gannettnj.com

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

Thursday, May 19

Meet the Racers (Wharfside Patio Bar and Restaurant, Channel Drive)

Friday, May 20

Open pit area (Silver Lake parking lot, Arnold Avenue)

Block party, 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. (Arnold Avenue at Route 35 South)

Saturday, May 21

Open pit area at the Rotary 90th Anniversary Festival

Boat testing at Ken's Landing, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. (Broadway)

Dunk test at the Amethyst Beach Motel (Arnold Avenue)

Parade of boats, 4:30 p.m. (Arnold Avenue and Ocean Avenue)

Fireworks display (Boardwalk)

Sunday, May 22