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Fall River native showcases Blokarting at Horseneck Beach this weekend: What to expect

greg sullivan
·4 min read

WESTPORT — Dave Lussier loves ocean sailing. And still does. He's done it for more than three decades, on both double and triple hulls. But when it comes to getting an adrenaline rush for the Fall River native, another form of sailing blows the conventional way out of the water.

Five years ago, in Arizona to check possible spots for retirement, Lussier discovered land sailing. More specifically, he discovered Blokarting. A five-and-a-half foot, three-wheeled kart rigged with a sail and manufactured by the New Zealand-based company Blokart, it gave Lussier the ride of his life. He was hooked.

Fast forward to the present and Lussier, 62, a retired electrical engineer who twice visited the North Pole to test submarine sonar under the ice cap, will be on the asphalt, brand new asphalt, hosting and driving as part of this weekend's Horseneck Beach Regatta, at Blokart-exclusive land sailing event at Horseneck Beach in Westport.

New England Land Sailors bring blokart land sailing to Horseneck Beach parking lot in Westport on Friday The fun continues there all weekend.
New England Land Sailors bring blokart land sailing to Horseneck Beach parking lot in Westport on Friday The fun continues there all weekend.

People are welcomed and encouraged to check out the excitement, starting Friday morning at 10 a.m. and continuing Saturday and Sunday. Between race times, Blokarters will be freestyling on what, Lussier said, is now one of the biggest and best land sailing spaces in New England.

Compared to ocean sailing, Lussier said, Blokarting rates "two or three times more exhilarating."

Fall River native Dave Lussier rides his Blokart at Ninigret Park in Charlestown, Rhode Island.
Fall River native Dave Lussier rides his Blokart at Ninigret Park in Charlestown, Rhode Island.

On the sea, he said, you're racing for an hour, and hour-and-a-half with time to chat as you go along. Top speed, around 25 mph. In a land sailing race, he said, it's all out for eight minutes, reaching speeds of 40-45 mph if the wind cooperates.

"It's totally consuming," he said.

New England Land Sailors race their blokart's around the Horseneck Beach parking lot in Westport.
New England Land Sailors race their blokart's around the Horseneck Beach parking lot in Westport.

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How fast do you go when land sailing

State-run Horseneck Beach recently had its parking lots No. 1 and 2 combined and repaved, creating a rectangular land-sailing area measuring about 1,200 feet on the diagonal, said Lussier, a 1978 Bishop Connolly High School graduate and president of New England Land Sailors.

When a good wind kicks up, Lussier said, Blokarters can zoom 20-25 mph into the wind and 40-45 mph with the wind.

Thanks to a brief, freak wind storm (a Haboob), blowing at 40-plus knots, Lussier, a Southeastern Massachusetts University graduate, and fellow racer in Scott Young of Arizona in 2018 set a still-standing Blokart speed record of 77.7 mph, at California's Lake Ivanpah, in the Mojave Desert, near the Nevada border. The Haboob kicked in during the race.

A vast dry lake bed, Ivanpah is the Indianapolis International Speedway of land sailing.

David Lussier of RI and Bob Hredocik of MA are winning notable races

Lussier, who retired as president of SEACORP, the Middletown, Rhode Island-based U.S. Navy contractor, is a heavy hitter in the world of Blokart racing. This year, the Wickford, Rhode Island, resident won the heavyweight class at the European Championships in Wales and was runner-up in the North American Championships.

This weekend's Horseneck Beach Regatta is expected to feature another Blokart record holder, Bob Hredocik of Cape Cod. In May 2022, at Loring Air Force Base in Maine, he set a 24-hour distance record of 366.1 miles.

Fall River Dave Lussier works on his Blokart, a five-and-a-half foot, three-wheeled kart rigged with a sail that he uses in land sailing competitions.
Fall River Dave Lussier works on his Blokart, a five-and-a-half foot, three-wheeled kart rigged with a sail that he uses in land sailing competitions.

Hredocik and Lussier are both Blokart dealers and co-hosts of the Horseneck Regatta.

Lussier, who grew up on Birch Street in Fall River's south end, said visitors may visit the Blokart center at the Horseneck Regatta, to ask questions or just to say hi.

He said it costs about $4,000 to purchase a basic Blokart, about $7,000 for a deluxe four-sail kart. "Way cheaper than a Laser or a Sunfish," he said.

He emphasized that Blokarts are easily assembled and disassembled, and transported in what resembles a large golf club bag.

Blokarts line up at the starting line of a land sailing event at Lake Ivanpah in Mojave Desert in California.
Blokarts line up at the starting line of a land sailing event at Lake Ivanpah in Mojave Desert in California.

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When to watch the Horseneck Beach Regatta for Blockarting

For this weekend, the daily action at Horseneck runs from about 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday.

Friday is practice and free sailing time.

The two-lap races (6-7 minutes) are on Saturday and Sunday. On each day, land sailors are apt to be out on the course even before 10 a.m.

As of Tuesday, when he was interviewed for this story, Lussier said that Friday late morning had the best winds in the forecast. The last Horseneck Beach Regatta was held in 2021.

This article originally appeared on The Herald News: Horseneck Beach Regatta land sailing competition: What a founder says