Jerry Jacoby

Who is Jerry Jacoby?

Jerry Jacoby is a former UIM Offshore PowerBoat World Champion and APBA American Champion.

His first race was in the 1978 Tampa Bay Race, where he rented one of current US Champion Joel Halpern's 38' Cobra's. Finishing 3rd in this race despite suffering from an extremely slow start that saw him five minutes behind the leaders after lap one, he soon after purchased the 35' Cigarette Anheuser Busch from Rocky Aoki,. Named the 'Ajac Hawk', after his Elmont NY based transmission business, Jacoby finished 3rd in the next race, the Bacardi Trophy Race, after Preston Henn in his 38' Bertram was penalized five minutes for a jumped start and was demoted to 4th position.

In 1979 Jacoby started a hi performance marine engine company, Hawk Marine Power. Hawk Marine Power became the supplier to several of the world's premier offshore racers. In 1981 HMP's engines were in 4 of the 5 class of boats entered in the World's Championship . All four of the boats with Hawk's engines won their class' World Championship. Also in 1979 Jacoby had close friend Don Aronow build him a 37.6 foot Cigarette racer, also named Ajac Hawk; this was the first of the 'Top Gun' line of Cigarette power boats.