• Ratickle

    Published on 03-03-2023 10:56 PM
    Categories:
    1. Racing and Poker Runs
    2. Manufacturers and Dealers
    3. Clubs and Destinations
    4. On The Water News
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    The Skater Outboard Fun Run in Sarasota, Edition Three, took place this past week. Beautiful boats in a beautiful setting. Home base, the Hyatt Regency in Sarasota. Nice hotel with a great location. With Skaters out front, an awesome view from the rooms too.



    On Thursday, day one for several of the early arrivers but not the official beginning of the third annual event, a fun run and some lunch at The Shore on Longboat Key seemed like a really good plan.





    Then off to Beer Can Island for some quality sun and sand visitation for catching up.





    After some made outstanding progress on awesome sunburns, back to the Hyatt for relaxing and dinner. ...
    Published on 06-23-2022 07:15 PM  Number of Views: 9955 
    Categories:
    1. Racing and Poker Runs
    2. On The Water News
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    Sometimes in racing an occurrence happens that will stick with you for a long time, and probably live on in infamy long after you're gone. This past Sunday at the P1 Sarasota Grand Prix we are pretty sure we witnessed such an event. Coming down the front straight on the first lap the new, (not one race completed yet), Doug Wright CMR Super Stock boat took a high flyer and stuffed. When the spray cleared, this is what was witnessed by everyone! The old cliché that it looked like a bomb went off seems appropriate. A Fragmentation Bomb in this case.



    Hard to see what happened due to the spray generated, but Shoot 2 Thrill Pix was able to get both of ...
    by Published on 05-02-2022 12:09 AM
    Categories:
    1. Member Spotlight
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    Lost one of my best friends Sunday, someone whom many of you also knew as a good friend. Tracy "Wrinkleface" Nemecek passed away Sunday afternoon after a few days in the hospital. He had fallen and hit his head hard. It caused internal hemorrhaging, which they could not correct in time. I had just spoken with him a couple days before the accident. I am sure gonna miss the crazy guy, as many of you will also. I'm putting up some pictures of different times in his life that we had the opportunity to share. I hope all of you add thoughts and pictures.


    Tracy and Connie's Nor-Tech 47 with twin Ilmor's

    Way back, even though we had chatted on-line on Offshore Only, then on Serious Offshore after we started
    ...
    by Published on 07-06-2021 08:45 AM  Number of Views: 12111 
    Categories:
    1. Clubs and Destinations
    2. On The Water News
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    A couple weeks ago, West Michigan Offshore put on their Muskegon Powerboat Weekend with an entry of 91 boats, and raising money for special causes as they always do. Here are some of those entries heading out Muskegon Lake to Lake Michigan.



    As this Fourth of July weekend comes to a close, remembering where we live and how this became possible for us is something we should all be remembering, especially on these special holidays. Assisting through donations or volunteering, so future Americans can also enjoy and experience what we have today, is something we should all endeavor to do. In honor of that history to gain and maintain our freedom, WMO raised money for the LST 393 Veterans Museum, https://www.lst393.org/ , ...
    by Published on 05-30-2016 09:14 PM  Number of Views: 20002 
    Categories:
    1. Manufacturers and Dealers
    2. Member Spotlight
    3. On The Water News
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    Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence”. Vince Lombardi


    Boyne Thunder 2014

    When Skater Powerboats started the build of the 46’ Race/Pleasure “GOTCHA NOW” back in 2013 they knew they had an owner who was always in search of perfection. He wouldn’t even consider ever letting the boat be used in salt water. The boat was built with Mercury Racing 1350’s, M8 drives, and had every aspect of the build sweated to the smallest detail. When the pursuit of perfection was completed, Lombardi would certainly agree excellence had certainly been caught. But, when a person driven towards perfection gets
    ...
    by Published on 02-23-2015 07:22 PM
    Categories:
    1. Manufacturers and Dealers
    2. Member Spotlight
    3. On The Water News
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    James Kimmel, the original Jimmy Kimmel as he says, is proud of his new 30’ Skater SS and has every right to be. The color scheme, right down to the specially wrapped steering wheel, gauges, gauge bezels, and interior stitching set this beauty off as a performance boat with all of the looks, performance, and custom tweaks that have given Skater their outstanding reputation. I think he was more impatient than he let on while at the show in Miami. Their winter play spot in Florida had to be waiting for this beauty to see what it could do in his hands.




    During ...
    by Published on 02-11-2015 01:50 AM
    Categories:
    1. Manufacturers and Dealers
    2. On The Water News
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    Saber Marine has taken their new 34 off to the 2015 Miami Boat Show. As we have been watching the build, it has definitely shown itself to be a best-of-the-best offering.



    Coming home from paint.



    From the Balsa cored hull,




    To the Balsa Cored Head bulkheads, head walls, and a multitude of other places to save weight and give strength, it has been obvious this is no cookie-cutter offering from a cut and paste builder.




    And to save even ...
    by Published on 07-14-2014 11:30 PM
    Categories:
    1. Clubs and Destinations
    2. Member Spotlight
    3. On The Water News
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    Well, we've been going to Boyne Thunder as a group of friends now for three years. Brooks and Mickie, Carl and Diane, Tracy and Connie, Terri and I all got together for the first time at the 2012 Boyne Thunder event. At dinner we always go for a big round table for us to sit at so we can chat with each other and tell stories about the run while we wait for the poker hands to be revealed. After this weekends event, we were thinking about things and decided we were the luckiest table in the history of poker runs.



    Our first year as a group, Carl and Diane won the second place prize
    ...
    Published on 02-08-2014 08:32 PM
    Categories:
    1. Manufacturers and Dealers
    2. Member Spotlight
    3. On The Water News
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    by Serious News


    Some of the Serious Offshore Sports news team had the opportunity to visit a few of our West Michigan performance boat builders and shops. We started out the day by visiting Precision Power Offshore to see Ben Wiersum at his new location and find out what was interesting there.

    http://www.precisionpoweroffshore.com/

    Ben had the 43 Checkmate, among others, in the shop being attended to.



    Wicked Won was not in the main shop at the time, but it is a sweet boat they are starting to build new engines for.



    Our next stop was Douglas Marine, home of Skater and the incomparable ...
    Published on 10-19-2013 12:00 AM
    Categories:
    1. Racing and Poker Runs
    2. Marine Tech
    3. Historical
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    by Serious Offshore

    Nineteen years ago today a very special racer, and person, crashed in the World Championship Offshore races in Key West Florida. The stories associated with the life and the accident of Tom Gentry are numerous. His accomplishments speak of the type of person he was. His success in Hawaii as a developer allowed him to attempt many things to meet his passion for offshore performance boating, and I have tried to put a few of those accomplishments, and the overwhelming grief his accident caused so many, into this first small article about him.
    For some of you it is a learning experience, for others you were there and know much more about the person than I do. Hopefully all of you will enjoy this a bit and the memory of Tom will be carried on for those ...