Million Dollar Superboat Chase on Okanagan Lake (Gallery)

A very unique and jaw dropping boat was tested out on Okanagan Lake on Thursday morning as a helicopter raced behind.

It looked like something out of a high speed chase movie but it was actually a photo shoot for the brand new Martini racing boat. Vector Powerboats of Kelowna was contracted to build the boat for Bacardi Martini. Vector President Rex Jardine says the boat is worth around “seven figures”.

The boat is now headed to Monaco for its new owner to use. “It will run some VIP’s around Monaco and then from there it will head to London for a very famous race called the Venture Cup. It’s a 2,500 mile endurance race over 14 days,” says Jardine.

The boat was built in Kelowna and testing needed to be done locally before being shipped off to Monaco says Jardine. Rubicon Aerial Cinema was contracted by Vector Powerboats to capture aerial photographs and video of the brand new Martini racing boat.

Local photographer Shawn Talbot stood on the skid of the helicopter and operated a camera mounted to a gyro stabilizer to capture the footage. His partner Jan Vozenilek was tasked with communicating with the pilot to coordinate helicopter position.

"There's no thrill quite like that of standing on the skid of a helicopter chasing down one of the world's fastest and most beautifully designed powerboats at over 100mph," said Talbot.

The power in the boat include twin beacon Gilmore 725’s and it will go around 110mph.

“It’s not an all-out speed boat, it’s an endurance boat for that 2,500 mile race,” adds Jardine.

Jardine says he could not have built such a spectacular boat without his team.

Behind the scenes shot of Shawn Talbot at work

Behind the scenes shot of Shawn Talbot at work

Behind the scenes shot of Shawn Talbot at work

Behind the scenes shot of Shawn Talbot at work