Edward W Smith learned all about from his adopted father, Al Smith. Al was building a speedboat in his backyard all the while Ed was helping his dad. Ed fell in love with speedboats from that moment on. Ed grew up in Port Huron, Michigan and graduated from Port Huron Northern High School in 1973. Ed is not a beginner at this sport , he has been racing the majority of his life. Rather it be a car, motorcycle, or boat, Ed is no stranger to the “dangers” of racing. As a young man, Ed became a master mechanic and built himself hot rods, racing with the locals up and down Griswold Street in Port Huron and Ubly, Michigan.

You can say that Ed has been very successful in accomplishing his dreams; he started working at the St. Clair Marina and Racquet Club in 1972, which was owned by the Andreae family. Then in 1993, Ed made his dream come true, he purchased the marina that he was working at, Rivers Bend Marina Inc.

Ed has been racing offshore boats since 1997 to date, and has been very active in putting together the St. Clair River Classic Race for the last several years. Besides racing here in the Great Lakes, Ed also races in international waters. As far as California’s west coast to Maryland’s east coast, Ed has raced in between.

In Ed’s first year of racing (1997), he had a V-Bottom boat called the “High Speed Amber A-29.” He raced six times that year with seven boats in his class and placed second overall and earned “Rookie of the Year.”

In 1998, Ed purchased a 32’ Great American Concept from Imco Marine, which he named “Traffic Light P3-29.” Ed took the Central Division High Points Championship along with the National Championship that year.

In 2003, Ed purchased a 1995 37’ Catamaran from Dennis Saviano, and kept the name “Traffic Light P1-29.” Ed has won the World Champion title with this boat in 2003,2005, and 2009, along with the OPA East Coast Championship.

In 2014, Mark and Ed purchased a 2008 388 Skater, which was named Cleveland Construction #4 and only was only a 1x World Champion and a 3x National Champion.

In addition to winning all of these titles, Ed was inducted into the Port Huron Sports Hall of Fame in 2013 for his accomplishments and how he has worked to get to where he is today.

On to another chapter in Ed’s life. In February 2019, Ed purchased a 42’ Fountain called “Instigator” from Julie and Peter Meyer. Ed started a new team name for 2019 called “Knucklehead Racing.” The team will be racing the APBA & Powerboat P1 Circuit.