Fort Myers Beach approves Roar Offshore powerboat races

Fort Myers Beach town council voted unanimously on Monday morning to approve the final details of the Roar Offshore powerboat races and to waive the town's noise restrictions for the weekend, bringing the event back four years after Hurricane Ian put it on hold

Money & World

The Editorial Team · August 24, 2026

An aerial photograph looking down on a white powerboat running at speed across deep blue open water, throwing a broad white wake that splits into two long arms behind it. There is no land, no shoreline, no horizon and no other vessel in the frame. Nobody in the boat is identifiable, and there is no hull number, no name, no flag, no sponsor livery and no lettering of any kind anywhere in the picture. Stock photograph, not a photograph of this event.

Stock photo

Stock photo. Not the actual scene. Photo: 天玑不器 / Pexels

What it changes

Roar Offshore is back on Fort Myers Beach from September 11 to 13, and as of Monday morning it has the votes it needed. The council approved the final details unanimously and waived the town's own noise restrictions so the boats can race just off the beach, which was always the piece that had to be cleared for the event to happen where it happens. Two changes are worth knowing if you live on the island. Open containers across the island were in the original request and are not in the approved plan, with the organiser telling the council they are not needed because most of the event sits on closed property. And the boat parade, which in past years snarled Estero Boulevard, is not coming back. That is a smaller, tighter event than the ones islanders remember, with 16 to 18 teams and the activity concentrated around the beach rather than spread down the island. The council also signed off on 22 parking spaces on Westina Way for two race teams. For the local economy this is the September question answered. September is the deadest month of the year on the island, between the summer families and the winter season, and it is the month hotels, restaurants and bars have historically leaned on this event to fill. Four years without it, in the same four years the island has been rebuilding from Ian, is a long time to go without the one weekend that reliably fills a slow month. Businesses now have about two and a half weeks to staff and stock for it, which is the tight part. One caution on how firm this is. The town's own channels have not caught up: its live posting on the event still reads as pending permit approval, which is the pre-vote wording rather than a contradiction, and its agenda system does not publish readable minutes this desk could reach, so there is no agenda item, motion wording or recorded tally to point you at yet. Everything above about Monday's vote is WINK News reporting, credited to them, and it is the only account of it this desk has.

The Fort Myers Beach town council voted unanimously on Monday morning to approve the final details of the Roar Offshore powerboat races, WINK News reports, clearing the way for the event to return on September 11 to 13 for the first time since Hurricane Ian.

The council also waived the town's noise restrictions for the weekend, so that racing can run just off the beach.

Two things in the approved plan differ from what was originally asked for, and from what islanders will remember. A councillor asked whether organisers still wanted open alcohol containers permitted across the island, which had been part of the original request. The organiser said that is no longer part of the plan. Randall Tuesdale of Roar Offshore told the council the event does not need them, because the majority of it sits on closed property.

The boat parade of previous years, which caused traffic problems along Estero Boulevard, is not returning either. Organisers expect between 16 and 18 racing teams, with most of the activity concentrated around the beach rather than strung out along the island. The council also approved the use of 22 parking spaces on Westina Way for two of the race teams.

Teams are expected to arrive on the Thursday, with racing and events running through the Sunday.

The town's own channels have not caught up with the vote. Its live posting on the event still carries the pre-vote wording, that Fort Myers Beach is getting ready to Roar offshore pending permit approval, and its agenda system publishes no readable minutes this desk could reach. So there is no agenda item number, motion wording or recorded vote tally to cite yet, and Monday's vote is reported here on WINK's account of it alone.

The distinction matters for one earlier detail that is now out of date. WINK carried a piece on this event on August 5, before the vote, which said the town was still reviewing the special event permit and put the field at 15 to 20 boats. Today's figure of 16 to 18 supersedes it.

No economic impact figure and no attendance forecast are offered here, because neither is on the record this desk has read.

Where we read it: Bridget Bruchalski at WINK News. Read their story.

The document: No public filing has been released.

Fort Myers Beach town council voted unanimously on Monday morning to approve the final details of the Roar Offshore powerboat races and to waive the town's noise restrictions for the weekend, bringing the event back four years after Hurricane Ian put it on hold

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