Our member Underdog88, Mark Underwood, has achieved amazing results without spending amazing sums. Not only has he turned heads with what he has accomplished with his boat, but the extremely interesting (and strictly budgeted) way he has done this reminds all of us what can be attained when someone with smarts, a strong desire, and intense drive puts their mind to it. This first story has been a pleasure to work on with Mark and Becky, and certainly deserves to be the leader of our Member Spotlights. Congratulations to Mark and Becky for being the first in this section of our Inside Magazine!! Sit back and enjoy…..

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Most knowledgeable people agree with the basic concept, operating high speed powerboats carries a certain amount of danger. Based on recent experiences, the danger involved has been brought even more to the forefront than previously. What this series of articles will try to review, and possibly cause some intelligent thought and discussion about, is what has been the difference causing this increase of terrible consequences during the recent few years? And, more importantly, maybe some ideas of what could be done to improve the situation for the safety of all involved? In this first article we’ll visit the issues involving Offshore Racing because of the proximity to the OPA and SBI World Championships.

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After a great lunch at the Weather Vane in Charlevoix, it was time to head back to the marina to run the second half of the course. While getting ready to go, we found out that the 12 boat raft off at the marina was a new record according to the harbor master, (the old record being held by sailboats at one of their events, can’t let that stand!!!!), so another “number one” record for Boyne Thunder 2012!
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Although picking up in popularity over the past few years, the Boyne Thunder Poker Run had been one of the undiscovered gems among the big boy poker run crowd. The traditional Boyne Thunder run has included a trip out around Beaver Island, a distance of over 30 miles each way across what can be a rough stretch of water in the open part of Lake Michigan. This year the course changed to stay a bit closer to the west coast of Michigan’s Traverse, Charlevoix, and Harbor Springs areas. The organizers have found some of the most beautiful scenery to be viewed from any waterway in the country, all stunning as you wind around the lakes and bays of this portion of western Michigan.
The course starts in Boyne City, foreground in the following picture with Lake Charlevoix closest to the camera, and Lake Michigan in the far distance, and it is the focal point of many of the events scheduled throughout Boyne Thunder.

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I am pretty sure that was the first question that popped into most of the racers heads when the event was first being discussed. I know it was my first thought, and I live in Michigan. I doubt it will be a question that is ever raised again, certainly not by anyone who pays attention to offshore racing events.

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Sarasota Florida will be the epicenter of offshore boat racing this weekend. The Suncoast Super Boat Grand Prix Festival in Sarasota will offer non-stop excitement for every offshore boat racing fan that can possibly be there. There will be competitive, side-by-side, action from many different types of machinery on Sunday’s race day, featuring some established stars and some rising talents. This will for sure be another unforgettable event in the waters off Sarasota, with things to talk about again and again.

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The first very first race in Tawas Michigan will be held this weekend. To say the area is excited would be an understatement. Here is a photo of one of the posters they have placed all around the area announcing the race.

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While doing the research on Vincenzo, and chatting with those who had the opportunity to recall his amazing life and career, it is interesting what they remember. We ended Part 1 of his Offshore history with one of Vincenzo Jr’s memories of his father assisting another competitor in the very first race his father ever ran;

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Just recently we lost one of the all time greats in Offshore Racing and Performance Boating History. Vincenzo Balestrieri as everyone knew him, his full name being Count Vincenzo Balestrieri Cosimelli, is one of the most accomplished offshore racers to ever hold a boat throttle and steering wheel in his hands. He not only won the World Championship twice, he also was the very first European to win an American offshore race. He started out his working life as a lawyer, but went into business early on instead of specializing in law.

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Note: Paul Rose comments on the Phenomenot appearance at Biloxi

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In our second installment on OSS Racing, Publisher Paul Rose talks with Biloxi race site promoter Woody Bailey about the race, the events and the biggest purse in offshore in this century.

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SeriousOffshore Publisher Paul Rose recently caught up with John Brunner, Director of Operations at Offshore Super Series, better known as OSS Racing. Paul talked with John about OSS history, the economy’s effect on racing and what the future holds for the organization.

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Quick- name two 40-year-old performance boat companies still owned and run by their founder.  Don sold Cigarette- twice. Reggie is gone from Fountain.  Formula?  Nope.  The Porter’s have owned it a long time but didn’t start it.  Your list is stuck at one.  Pantera.
I began thinking about this as I traveled to visit Pepe and Jo Nunez at Pantera.  After close to 40 years, how are they still at it?  After a brief time there, I think I found out.  Family and enthusiasm.  While this story began with the idea of a more »

We caught up last week with Steve Stepp, founder and president of Velocity Powerboats.  Steve was kind enough to share with us a look into how this long-time boatbuilder has been weathering the storm of this tight economy and some of the things they’re doing now and in the future.

In looking through the photos from the Miami Boat Show, something caught our eye.  Among the million-dollar megaboats was one little, but very more »

All too often when someone dies in a boat racing accident, the various websites have several postings of condolences, with many saying “they died doing what they loved”. While there is no doubt that those of us who race do love racing, I don’t believe any of us want to die. Racing in fact, is more a celebration of life and living it fully by our self definition. To others it’s too risky, or simply a waste of time. Just look in the newspapers after a racing tragedy. The comments section are strewn with people who find what we do thoughtless, selfish, etc. In part they are right, but we’ve made the decision and we can’t be angry with those who see it differently.

There is the assumed risk, but there is also the assumed safety aspect. As boat racing has progressed over the decades, the safety advances have been significant. I’m alive more »

While attending the Miami Boat Show last month, I took a break from the crowds and spent a day hitting some spots around Miami. First on my list was the place that seems to be “ground zero” of the South Florida performance powerboating scene, Johnny Tomlinson’s TNT Custom Marine.

Pulling onto the TNT lot, I immediately found myself in a traffic jam, with forklifts buzzing back and forth launching and racking boats. This is not your usual middle America-style boatyard. With the price of land on the water these days, there are no sprawling parking lots. But the space that is there is put to good use. The first more »

One of the most respected teams on and off the water is Team CRC, sponsored by Columbia Rim Corporation. Their current MTI 850 Supercat has been a mainstay on the offshore racing circuit and has carried the teammates Tim McDonald and Mike DeFrees to more than a few podium finishes.

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Win, or Die Trying

When Don and I would talk, we often spoke about becoming the Open Class World Champion. Nothing else mattered. Win, break or die trying. If you didn’t have that attitude you had no business being on the racecourse. It was a man’s sport, where only the strong survived.

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Editor’s note: Banana Powerboats CEO and HORBA founder Charlie McCarthy had a long and unique friendship with Don Aronow. In this two-part series, Charlie revisits the story of that friendship

Meeting Don Aronow

I fell in love for the first time in my life during my freshman year at Saint Leo University, just north of Tampa Florida. But this relationship was no ordinary one- the object of my passion was offshore powerboat racing.

My roommate at Saint Leo’s, who came from a family of boat racers out of Chicago, introduced me to this great sport and I was invited to join the pit crew of Mike Gordon. Mike raced an 18 foot Rayson Craft endurance boat with a big 427 Ford engine. As pit crew members our job was mainly to be gofers. We’d go for food, we’d go for beer, we’d go for parts, whatever was needed. We were more »

I am very excited to be working with the people here at Serious and look forward to sharing some great stories of the past with all the members.

I know they had planned on reprinting an article I wrote about Don Aronow a few years ago and maybe that is a good place to start. Tomorrow, March 1st, would have been the 85th birthday of Don, had he lived. It has been 25 years since he was shot to death on the very street he made famous, NE 188th ST, in Miami.

Over the years, many people ask me…”What was he really like?” or “What did he do, or really like, that no one ever talks about?”

The answer is easy…Don Aronow loved the sea. He loved being near it, in it, on top of it, you name more »

Reggie Fountain not only found his way onto our 11 from 2011 list, he missed a podium finish by just one spot, coming in at #4. Always the competitor, Reggie is off to a strong start in 2012 and it looks like he’s aiming to best his performance in 2012.

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Charlie in the Top Banana 38

We are exceptionally pleased to announce that boatbuilder, racer and HORBA founder Charlie McCarthy has joined us here in an official capacity at Serious Offshore. As the founder of the Historical Offshore Race Boat Association, Charlie has been at the forefront of keeping the history of this sport alive for many years.

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Closing out our 11 from 2011, our number one story is the unprecedented number of mishaps and the tragic loss of three competitors occurring during the Key West World’s. Nothing hits any closer to home nor any harder than the tragic passing of friends. We wish this story wasn’t being written. For now we can only hope it doesn’t have to be written again sometime in the near future.

We’re not qualified to speculate on the root cause or causes of these tragedies. Other much more qualified and informed professionals will do that, and we wish them God’s speed in discovering why this happened. What we will do is continue to ask questions and persist as best we can in doing what we can to help prevent these accidents from happening in the future.

The Key West Worlds 2011 now holds the distinction of being the event with the single-most loss of life in the history of the sport. Adding to the picture is the sheer number of non-fatal more »

Our choice for the number two story of 2011 finds us in the courtroom instead of on the water.

It seems that there’s always some piece of litigation floating around the world of powerboating. Litigation is a fact of life in our present times. No industry or group of people is immune. We’ll leave the discussion of why this trend is curving upward for another time, but for now let’s take a look at some recent events.

Over the last few years we’ve all read about various boating events landing in court. Often, and sadly, the litigation has centered around operator negligence and in way too many more »

If one were to be told the story of the last year of the life of Powerboat Magazine, not knowing the story, they would surely think they were being put on. It is hard to believe that a magazine with the history of Powerboat would be purchased, pumped for upgrades and pushed to get more subscriptions, then be terminated, then be reopened with bigger and better plans with fewer issues, pushed for more subscriptions, then after investing in content for the 2012 year be closed once again.

Judging from the disappointment among the magazine’s fans at the first closing announcement an their excitement upon hearing of its resurrection, one can easily assume more »

One word.  Reggie.

No single name in this industry so rapidly conjures up such a wide variety of mental images and recollections at its mere mention. And you’ll never hear someone ask “which Reggie”.

The saga of Reggie Fountain and his endeavors, past, present and future, is our number four story for 2011. While Reggie cuts a wide swath each and every year, 2011 will go down as one of his most dramatic yet.

No story about Reggie Fountain is complete without at least a small glance to the past. A champion powerboat racer, Reggie founded Fountain Powerboats over three decades ago more »

In March of 2011 Powerboat P1 announced that the Liberty Associates production facility in North Carolina was in full production on the new 28SS Panther. For those of you that may not immediately recognize the Liberty name, this was the group in possession of the ex-Fountain production facility. The race sites announced were being led by the Madison Indiana joint venture with the Unlimited Hydroplanes. The second race for the series would be at the Detroit Gold Cup races, with the winner hoisting the Gar Wood trophy. Then in August, there would be a race in Morehead City, followed by an event in Huston, and finally the championship in San Diego California. Unfortunately, the event in Houston had to be cancelled due to the extremely low water levels caused by the drought. At the end of the season, the Father & Son combo of Mark and Cody Kowalski were crowned P1 SuperStock USA National Champions. The JD Byrider crew became the first P1 SuperStock USA champion in the inaugural 2011 season and finished by winning round 10 in San Diego.

The 28 foot P1 Super Stock boats feature a 250HP Evinrude outboard. They are unique in that they can be a legal race boat for an event, then the back cowling can be removed and more »

One of the bigger stories of 2011 was the dramatic market shift towards center consoles. What was a few years ago looked upon as a way to pick up a few extra sales by re-decking an existing sport boat, these boats have become significant profit centers for many builders. We believe there are several factors at play in driving this trend. There’s no doubting the utility of this type of boat. They’re not only capable of respectable speeds, they’re certainly more family and group-friendly.

A strong factor in this shift is the change in how performance boaters view these utilitarian boats. We like to think of it as “The OK Factor”. For a long time center consoles were an more »

The cat is out of the bag at Checkmate.  The Ohio boat manufacturer, now owned by ex-Baja CEO Doug Smith has now constructed the largest boat they’ve ever produced.  This boat, dubbed the Punisher 43, is the first hull out of the original Apache-derived Chief molds.  As everyone remembers, Chief was intended to be the progression of the venerable Apache 41.  That hull featured some groundbreaking innovations such as a reverse step and a negative chine design that ended up on many a boat soon after the Chief’s introduction.

Unlike the original Chief and the Nu-tech hulls that preceded it, this boat is of cored laminate construction.  Those original hulls were laid up using the original Apache lamination more »

In the world of racing, one of the most anticipated stories at the beginning of 2011 was coming from the Super Vee Light class.  A large group of SVL owners had pulled together in 2010 and joined forces, assembling unofficial association of like-minded SVL owners. At the beginning of that season it looked like they just might have a shot at pulling it off, with 9 boats participating in the season opener and large turnouts through the first half of the year. But putting something like this together is easier than keeping it together.

It’s of no surprise that when you fill a room full of Type-A personalities for the sole purpose of assembling an ongoing agreement about a topic they’re passionate enough to spend big more »

An issue that’s definitely been putting the pinch on boaters everywhere is the general unavailability of ethanol-free gasoline.  The issue’s roots dates back to the mid-90′s when Congress buckled to lobbyists in the 11th hour and saddled us with ethanol-oxygenated gas.  The petroleum industry had long extolled the virtues of MTBE as an oxygenator.  But agrobusiness saw dollar signs in this potentially enormous new market for their corn-based product and the rest as they say is history.

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No list of the top events of any year in this sport would be complete without the inclusion of the topic of racing.  In the best of years there are no shortages of points of contention to be found in the stories coming out of the competition side of our sport.   The 2011 season will certainly be one that’s remembered.

Two events that particularly caught our attention in this past year were the rules changes in the class rules of  Cat Lite (Super Cat), and Class 4 and the loss of race dates on the OSS calendar.

Cat Light and the formerClass 4 two classes that have always been quite popular with the true offshore racing fans.  While certainly not as dramatic as the 3,000+ horsepower Extreme more »

2011 was an “interesting” year for performance boating events across the country. Of all of them, the NPBA-sponsored Aronow Memorial race ranks pretty high up on the interesting scale. After a twenty-one year hiatus, the Around Long Island Marathon quickly became one of the most anticipated events of 2010.

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Our number 11 story in the countdown of the top 11 stories of 2011 is the launch of the 557HP Seven Marine Outboard. Introduced in February at the Miami Boat Show, the 557 could prove to be a major change in the marine-propulsion industry. Aside from the before unimaginable power packaged in an outboard motor, one very attractive attribute of this power package is it’s ability to deliver automotive reliability and ease of service to the outboard market.

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The Bravo Shop, Inc. Releases New Gear Oil and Engine Oil

The Bravo Shop, Inc. recently unveiled its new synthetic marine outdrive gear oil which offers superior gear wear protection, lower operating temperatures, and less friction. “We spent over a year working with one of the top oil producers in the nation to develop a synthetic oil specifically designed for increasing the durability of marine outdrives”, said John Pfahl, owner of The Bravo Shop. When asked about the difference between his oils compared to others on the market, John stated: “We saw a need to produce oils that can stand up to the increased demands high-horsepower engines place on their internal parts as well as the stress placed on the outdrive—so far our testing has shown up to 10 degree cooler drive operating temperatures, a 2-3 mile per hour speed increase, and an decrease in gear wear over conventional oils, which is significant.”

Formulated with grade 5 based stocks and the best extreme pressure additives on the market, the new oils are manufactured to increase longevity while lasting longer than ordinary oil. “Changing conventional outdrive oil is recommended every 20 hours, but with our oil, we recommend changing it each boating season or every 100 hours, depending on which comes first—ultimately saving customers time and money”, said John.

For more information about The Bravo Shop, please visit us at www.bravoshop.net.

PF Marine Offers Custom Intercoolers  

PF Marine is proud to announce the addition of the following items to their product lineup:

• Custom cut inlets and outlets on Mark 6 & Mark 6 XTREME Intercoolers
• Custom finishes on Mark 6 & Mark 6 XTREME Intercoolers

 
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Board member Clark Bird (Griswald) takes us along on his journey to discover the basics of DIY electronic fuel injection modifications.

 
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Joey Gratton

Last week in Key West we lost some people very dear to us. One of those, Joey Gratton, throttled two of the boats participating. I was with some of the Page Motorsports team watching the race and I was the one who informed them the boat had rolled in Turn One. Although concerned for our friends, we were confident in the team, the boat, and the rescue teams. Little did we know……

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A memorial service for Bob Morgan and Jeff Tillman will be held this saturday. The service is being held in the Arrowhead Ballroom at Port Arrowhead Resort in Lake Ozark.

The service is scheduled to begin at Noon and run until 6 PM.

For those wishing to attend, directions are available on the resort’s website-
http://www.theresortatportarrowhead.com

Team Warpaint

Team Warpaint respectfully requests that individuals refrain from conjecture until further information is received.

The Team Warpaint Apache cat has just been involved in an on-course crash. According to witnesses, the boat launched between turns 2 and 3 and stuffed hard. It was reported the boat submarined for several seconds.

No helicopter was on scene at the time so rescue boats were the first to respond. It was estimated that several minutes passed before their arrival.

We will continue to update you as we lean more.

(stock photo)

A group of boaters from the Key West poker run assembed an impromptu tribute this morning that was halted by the Coast Guard. In a report from the course, the boaters planned a three-lap tribute run, one lap for each of the fallen racers. The run was taking place after the completion of today’s first race. Approximately one lap in, the Coast guard moved a 100-foot cutter and two smaller patrol boats onto the course. Warnings were also broadcast over VHF. After approximately a 10-minute “discussion” between several poker runners and the Coast Guard, the tribute boats were forced to retire from the course. A light airplane towing a banner recognizing the racers continued to fly over the course and above the Key West harbor.

We will have more on this story as we receive it.

Don Johnson

Key West Changed My Life.

At 23 I accompanied a friend to the races at Key West. Awe can’t even begin to describe what I felt as we explored the race camps in Mallory Square. New boats, old ones, wooden, glass and aluminum ones were arranged casually about. Crated engines bagged and ready to be installed for the next day’s race. Engines going in and out, grinders spinning and wrenching in every direction. The sounds of engines running filled the air and seldom stopped. Boats from overseas on trailers the likes of which I have never seen. This is where we both wanted to be, racing here next year. We explored the water ways, restaurants and bars around the island as well. It truly was paradise.

 
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We are very proud to launch our new SeriousOffshore Newsmagazine.

Three years ago, the forum website SeriousOffshore.com was born. The idea then was to build a place where people could come and enjoy themselves with other offshore powerboating enthusiasts. A place where they could come and relax, sharing their interests and friendships in a relaxed and hassle free environment. This newest step for us is nothing more than an extension of that idea.
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As many of you know, one of my favorite classes is SVL. There are a couple of reasons, including the camaraderie of the class and the competitiveness of the boats and teams. These teams will race to win during the day, and have dinner together at night. The part that amazes me is that during the dinner they will not only share the usual stories (fibs?), about how they happened to be better or worse than the other boats, they will also share items that may have helped them win or place on the podium. One of the best attributes of the class is that it’s currently the most reasonably priced Spec Class to run. That equates to more boats per class, per race and some of the best deck-to-deck action you’ll see The single Merc Racing 525 with the Bravo drive has proven to be almost indestructible in these canopied, roughly 30’, 4750 lb packages. Current speeds are approaching the low 90’s, (depending on who you talk to), and the rules are configured such to try and keep them in that range.

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Being a transfer from the West Coast to the “North Coast” was quite a shock when it first happened. Luckily, shortly after arriving, I met some people who had a lot of the same interests I did. To put it shortly, Fast Cars, Fast Boats, and Beautiful Women. (I won’t ever say Fast Women, but I was single when I moved here).

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People make things like this happen. And we’re fortunate enough to have a crew made up of some pretty decent one’s.

Driving this new effort is our Publisher, Paul Rose. Most of you know Paul from his many years of activities on the various internet message boards and as one of the founder’s of SeriousOffshore. Paul is a management consultant by day and is known to most of his friends in the sport as “Mr. SVL”, stemming from his ravenous enthusiasm for that class and all of his friends competing there. Hopefully someday soon we’ll find Paul on the sticks of the newest SVL competitor with his significant other turning the wheel.

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Joe Offshore

We all know him.

He’s that guy. Been there, done that, got the shirt.

In reality Joe Offshore is a little bit of many people in this sport. He’s an enthusiast, he’s a boater, he’s an industry guy and alot of times he’s a racer. And sometimes… well, you know.

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What individual has influenced the industry and sport of offshore powerboating more than any other?

Is it Reggie? Aronow? Kiehaefer? Maybe.

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