The 45th Annual XINSURANCE Key West World Championship runs from Sunday, November 1 to Sunday, November 8, 2026, at Truman Waterfront Park, Key West, Florida. It is the season finale of the Race World Offshore calendar, and racing runs across three separately titled days: the Truman Waterfront Cup on Wednesday, November 4, the Southernmost Continental Championship on Friday, November 6, and the Conch Republic Championship on Sunday, November 8.
Key West follows Atlantic City, Michigan City and Clearwater as round four of the Race World Offshore UIM World Championship Series. General admission is $25 per day; children 12 and under and military personnel (with ID) get in free.
What Spectators Will See
The course runs a lap of just over four miles that cuts through Key West Harbor, mixing calmer inshore water with rougher open stretches, and boats top 140 mph on the fastest legs. Race Week opens with the First State Bank World’s Fastest Boat Parade down Duval Street on Sunday, November 1, followed by two days of registration, inspections and testing before the first race day on Wednesday.
Each race day carries seven races in the same order, starting at 10:00 AM with the bracket classes and building through Class 2, Super Cat and Super Stock to the Class 1 and Super Vee race, scheduled from 3:00 PM to 3:45 PM. The harbour reopens to public traffic between Race 3 and Race 4, from 11:30 AM to 12:30 PM. On Sunday, the VFC-111 “Sun Downers” squadron from Naval Air Station Key West is scheduled to fly over Truman Waterfront Park at 12:20 PM.
Popular vantage points beyond the Truman Waterfront Race Village include Mallory Square, Fort Zachary Taylor Historic State Park, Sunset Pier and Simonton Street Beach, along with harbourfront hotels overlooking the course.
Race World Offshore’s own course diagram marks three turn buoys off Mallory Square and Sunset Key, but does not publish GPS coordinates for Key West the way it does for Michigan City and Clearwater. The map above shows the confirmed shoreline landmarks rather than exact turn positions.
Race Order (Wednesday, Friday and Sunday)
| Race | Classes | Key West Time | Your Time |
| Race 1 | Bracket Class 6; Bracket Class 7 (separate starts) | 10:00 AM EST | |
| Race 2 | Modified Vee; Bracket Classes 2 & 3 and Vee Limited (separate starts) | 10:30 AM EST | |
| Race 3 | Bracket Class 4; Bracket Class 5 and Cat 300 (separate starts) | 11:00 AM EST | |
| Race 4 | Class 2 | 12:30 PM EST | |
| Race 5 | Super Cat | 1:15 PM EST | |
| Race 6 | Super Stock | 2:15 PM EST | |
| Race 7 | Class 1; Super Vee (separate starts) | 3:00 PM EST |
Race Week Schedule
| Sunday, November 1 | ||
| Race Village Open, Truman Waterfront Park | 10:00 AM EST | |
| Parade Participants Lineup | 3:30 PM EST | |
| First State Bank World’s Fastest Boat Parade, Duval Street | 4:00 PM EST | |
| Racers & Fans Sunday Funday (venue to be confirmed) | 5:30 PM EST | |
| Monday, November 2 | ||
| Registration, Credentials and Race Boat Inspections, Truman Waterfront Park | 10:00 AM EST | |
| Smokin’ Tuna Welcome Party presented by Good Boy Vodka, 313 Duval St | 5:30 PM EST | |
| Tuesday, November 3 | ||
| Official Drivers Meetings & Opening Ceremonies | 8:00 AM EST | |
| Official Testing | 11:00 AM EST | |
| Tiki House Party presented by Key West First Legal Rum, 203 Duval St | 5:30 PM EST | |
| Wednesday, November 4 (Race Day: Truman Waterfront Cup) | ||
| General Admission Gates Open, Truman Waterfront Park | 9:00 AM EST | |
| Racing (7 races, see Race Order above) | 10:00 AM EST | |
| Podium Awards, Outer Mole | After racing | |
| General Horseplay Tomfoolery, 423 Caroline St | 5:30 PM EST | |
| Race World Pole Position Party, Teasers, 218 Duval St | 9:30 PM EST | |
| Thursday, November 5 | ||
| Official Testing | 11:00 AM EST | |
| Speed on the Water & Greene Street Party, 511 Greene St | 7:00 PM EST | |
| Official Racer’s Party, Hog’s Breath Saloon, 400 Front St | 7:30 PM EST | |
| Friday, November 6 (Race Day: Southernmost Continental Championship) | ||
| General Admission Gates Open, Truman Waterfront Park | 9:00 AM EST | |
| Racing (7 races, see Race Order above) | 10:00 AM EST | |
| Podium Awards, Outer Mole | After racing | |
| Keystar Construction Duval Street Party | 6:00 PM EST | |
| Bali Bar Official Racer’s Party, 325 Duval St | 7:30 PM EST | |
| UIM World Champion Crowning | 8:00 PM EST | |
| Saturday, November 7 | ||
| Build a Boat Contest, waterfront by USCG Ingham (building starts) | 9:30 AM EST | |
| Build a Boat Race | 11:00 AM EST | |
| Official Testing | 12:00 PM EST | |
| Rick’s Upstairs Championship Party, 202 Duval St | 8:00 PM EST | |
| Sunday, November 8 (Race Day: Conch Republic Championship) | ||
| General Admission Gates Open, Truman Waterfront Park | 8:30 AM EST | |
| Racing (7 races, see Race Order above) | 10:00 AM EST | |
| VFC-111 “Sun Downers” Flyover | 12:20 PM EST | |
| RWO Awards Ceremony, Coffee Butler Amphitheater, 21 Quay Rd | 6:00 PM EST | |
Times shown are Eastern Standard Time (Key West local time; clocks fall back on November 1). Race World Offshore marks its published schedule as subject to change. The “Your Time” column converts automatically to your device’s local time zone.
Getting There and Getting Around
Truman Waterfront Park sits at the end of Southard Street on the western side of the island, and official race viewing on the Outer Mole is on Navy property. There is no parking within several blocks of the entrance and no motorised vehicles are permitted; organisers point spectators to rideshare, bicycles (helmets are mandatory under Navy rules) or the free Duval Loop bus. Handicap parking is very limited and requires credentials. Race World Offshore does not run its own shuttle in Key West.
Race World Offshore’s prohibited items list for Key West covers firearms, fireworks, pyrotechnics, drones, rolling coolers, scooters, tents, backpacks, pets and outside alcohol, and no animals are allowed on Navy property. Ticket and VIP sales are final and non-refundable.
The XINSURANCE Outer Mole VIP package costs $650 and covers hospitality on Friday and Sunday (breakfast, lunch buffet, cash bars and race simulcast) plus VIP area access on Wednesday, a Fury Water Sports water shuttle, Winner’s Circle access on Wednesday and Friday, and admission to Sunday’s awards.
UIM Points, and a Title of Its Own
Key West is not a round of the APBA National Championship, which holds its final round at the Englewood Beach Waterfest on October 10-11. Wednesday and Friday at Key West count toward the UIM Offshore World Championship, and the UIM world champions are crowned on Friday evening. The four UIM classes are Class 1, Class 2, Super Cat and Super Stock.
Key West also carries its own standalone Key West World Championships title, scored separately across all three race days. Wednesday and Friday are worth 1,200 points to the winner; Sunday, which Race World Offshore describes as the highest-value race day of the season, is worth 2,400. A competitor who wins all three days collects up to 4,800 points toward that title alone.
APBA and Continental Titles, and Who Can Score
Two further championships run through to Sunday. The APBA World Championships cover the 10 classes outside the UIM umbrella, and the four UIM classes cannot earn points towards them, according to Speed on the Water, which had the title structure set out by Rodrick Cox of Race World Offshore and Ryan Beckley, chairman of the APBA Offshore Racing Commission.
The UIM North American Continental Championships, a UIM equivalent of a national championship, also run through Sunday. Class 2 teams are racing for both that title and the UIM world title.
Any team can enter Key West, race and take home a trophy. Championship points in any class go only to teams that have run APBA or UIM events in the past 12 months, and prior-year APBA/UIM world champions get automatic entry under APBA rules. Last year’s Key West Worlds ran under the World Powerboat Racing Association, not APBA/UIM, so a 2025 Key West title is not the same as a 2025 APBA/UIM world title.
Follow the 2026 Race World Offshore Season
Powerboat News is covering the full XINSURANCE UIM World Championship Series season, from Atlantic City through to Key West.
Race World Offshore Standings
John Moore is the editor of Powerboat News, an independent investigative journalism platform recognised by Google News and documented on Grokipedia for comprehensive powerboat racing coverage.
His involvement in powerboat racing began in 1981 when he competed in his first offshore powerboat race. After a career as a Financial Futures broker in the City of London, specialising in UK interest rate markets, he became actively involved in event organisation and powerboat racing journalism.
He served as Event Director for the Cowes–Torquay–Cowes races between 2010 and 2013. In 2016, he launched Powerboat Racing World, a digital platform providing global powerboat racing news and insights. The following year, he co-founded UKOPRA, helping to rejuvenate offshore racing in the United Kingdom. He sold Powerboat Racing World in late 2021 and remained actively involved with UKOPRA until 2025.
In September 2025, he established Powerboat News, returning to independent journalism with a focus on neutral and comprehensive coverage of the sport.
