Fabio Buzzi; Offshore Boat Racer & Inventor Dies in Crash

This is really sad news. They are said to hit this breakwater which is just outside the entrance to Venice and probably very hard to see in the dark, especially at high tide and with other lights distracting. Of course they were also tired after the long race from Monte Carlo. Perhaps this can lead to better marking of ports and breakwaters, I have myself been close to hit them in other places in the dark several times and with some smart use of LED lights it could point you right....

A legend.... Fabio was a great guy who we got to know on the offshore race circuit. A man who thought outside the box, he came up with numerous innovations to keep racers safe.
God speed Fabio Buzzi

1. Buzzi's boat from one of our races in Key West. You can see one of the FB "anti stuff wings" on the bow.
2. A few of his many designs include the SAR 60, a high speed Coast Guard rescue boat

I haven't followed Buzzi's work in decades but the man loved fast boats that belch black smoke. To the best of my knowledge, the first diesel powered offshore race boats AND the first deep-v with an aircraft wing added for lift. Fabio took a slow and steady approach to racing. You don't have to be fast, you just need to finish. He turned attrition into trophies.

No doubt those wings would help deflect a stuff, but they also served another function. Buzzi's boats were narrow beam silhouettes (not Cigarettes) that tended to pierce waves. The wings acted as canards to add lift and stabilize the vertical motion of the bow.

Fabio had an affinity for wings over water, fueled by kerosene...

It was called the Trimax.

Of course, it's the Italian way!

Found this FB Design promo video on the 'Tube. Good recap of his history...

Trimax! I couldn't remember the name. Yes, he was all about finishing. I remember thinking "what the heck is someone doing with diesels" until I saw it run. Wow! Now, I'd take a diesel boat that ran 100 all day long

Buzzi was never exotic. Every detail in his boats had a purpose, from getting more speed to adding more safety.

Apart giving the deep Vee hull and diesel bigger life in the eighties, he also pioneered safety as his 1989 launched Cesa 1882 catamaran was the first to have the jet style cockpits which remove from the boat on impact. Later on this was standard in all Class One catamarans. At the time the speed of the Cats was about 100 knots, now they at 150 plus.
With Seatek in the eighties he also pioneered what we see in many diesel engines today.

The Deep Vee of the Nitro 50 (aka Cesa in 88 and Gancia dei Gancia in 89) thrased everyone in Atlantic city in rough weather, even the so called faster super boats.
That hull was later used with a few updates with Kerakoll dominating the P1 World Endurance Class, and then with Metamarine.

The other two drivers are Luca Nicoloini and Dutch Eric Hoorn, as the two Brits had a mishap and could not make it.
Mario Invernizzi is reported as out of danger and in stable condition.

I think his Seatek Diesels were about as exotic as it came for the times.

He saw a loop hole in the racing engine rules and exploited them to the point they had to change the rules. Lightweight, high rpm, similar power density like a gas engine. Didn't have to last long, just enough to win the race and they did.

Not really sure that much can translate from a race or military application to a modern production diesel that is emissions driven in todays world though.