Former Honeyparty Skater to debut as Geico Caveman Boat

Word has it that the former Honeyparty.com 399 Skater V-bottom that once competed in Powerboat P1's Evolution class is being re-worked and refitted to compete as the Geico Caveman boat during this year's offshore race season. No exact word on what class the boat is expected to enter; this may depend on the sanctioning body for each race the the specific rules involved.

PHOTO CREDIT: Honeyparty.com.

Known for his aggressive racing style, particularly in rough waters, former Honeyparty throttleman Richard Carr will be flying in to handle those same duties on the big 40' vee. Powered by a couple of 1350hp Chief engines and Arnseon surface drives, the boat was constructed back in 2008 of carbon/kevlar epoxy composites built to withstand the brutal environment of ocean racing.

Geico has had a promotional Caveman Cigarette in the past, so we may have a clue to what the reliveried Skater might look like. Whenever and wherever the new boat debuts, it's sure to be an exciting addition to the Geico racing team...and we'll be sure to bring you some photos when they're available!

JBS Racing Demonstrates Boat with New Sponsor

JBS Racing has always impressed us with their boats - and they are at it again. This year the boat features a new paint scheme to highlight the team's new Sponsor, Tumbleweeds Southwest Grill. Here's some video footage of the team running their boat at Tumbleweed at The Waterfront in Louisville, KY.

VIDEO: Courtesy JBS Racing.

Of course, you'll notice that the space for running this fast is a little tight, but the boat is nowhere near its top speed, and great precautions were made to clear out the area as the run was taking place (it's still very early in the season, so not a lot of boats are out on the river yet. No doubt this is a great way to get people excited about offshore racing - hats off and best of luck to JBS on their 2011 season!

Looks Like Lake Erie Boat Week May Never Leave The Dock

Last year, Lake Erie Boat Week promoter Janie Vogel ignored, then antagonized the local fast-boat community when they tried to offer her helpful advice on how to stage a major powerboating event. The result? The plan fell through, and the whole shebang was postponed and reset to be held this year.

Over the past year, it appears Vogel licked her wounds but did little else to mend fences and reach out to the many people who would have been willing to help her pull the event off. While she did almost manage to get the APR Powerboat Superleague to stage an event, the lack of any funds to buy insurance and the lack of a volunteer list--which needs to be submitted to the city of Huron for background checks--seems to have put the kabosh on this year's planned event as well. Just over a week ago, Vogel stated that she had to unilaterally cancel the APR tunnelboat race because of a lack of funds.

“I’m left wondering why on earth you would sign an agreement when you don’t have the money,” said Sherron Winer, partner in the Powerboat Superleague. “We’re very disappointed. We were truly looking forward to going to Huron and being able to race there and entertain everyone.”

With some of Boat Week's scheduled events just weeks away--including regattas and other competitions--registration forms are noted as "to come" on the event web site. Press releases claim that the "Fastest Boat on Lake Erie" competition is still set for September 11th, but it remains to be seen if anyone will show up, since Vogel and her efforts have been the target of much criticism on the internet's performance boat message boards. While most boaters quickly welcome the event concept she has put forth, the criticism of her approach, her apparent lack of knowledge about offshore racing and her seeming focus on "money first" turned many potential supporters off. As an example, the "Fastest Boat on Lake Erie" competition requires a $100 entry fee -- with no mention of anything the participant will get in return. Not even a T-Shirt

As an example, I was just reading an email exchange with Vogel from last year. I had offered her some advice on using Twitter to help get the word out, and also offered to do a story on the event and at least exchange some advertising banners. At the time, we had at least 1000 unique visitors to our website every week (no doubt a lot more than her site was getting) but the offer was ignored. She said she was too busy...and noted that I could register as a volunteer if I wanted to help.

Of course, the lack of volunteers proved to be one of her main problems, as many boaters said the work and time commitment she was demanding from volunteers was far too much to expect. A "First 100 Club" of $250 contributors supporters never had more than a handful of members (there are four now) and it appears even some of those people changed their mind. Overall, boaters were left with the impression that Vogel had a "me first" attitude--putting the need to make an immediate profit in front of the concept of slowly building an event over the long term, collaborating with her natural support base, and getting people interested and invested in the event's success.

PHOTO CREDITS: City of Huron

Instead, we're left with another embarrassment for the sport. I often ask myself why there are so many people associated with this sport that are all about money--who will sacrifice the health of powerboat racing so quickly if the opportunity exists to get in line for a fast buck. We've seen it on the business side too, as one of performance boating's more popular offshore websites fell victim to it's organizer's willingness to put on a fake front and scam well-intentioned supporters for money. The thing is, there are a lot of good organizers and boaters out there who know how to work together. They put on good events. They raise money for charity, too.

Maybe this will encourage some local Lake Erie boaters to step forward and put together some ideas on creating an event of this type in the future. Clearly, it wouldn't be too hard to show Vogel the right way to put on a performance boating event...there are plenty of folks out there who would be wiling to sacrifice some work and some time to have some fun. And put the sport first.

Make a Statment. Win a Statement. Sort of...

Win a Statement! The post headline on SeriousOffshore.com got my attention, that's for sure. And maybe that was the point. In any case, the folks at Statement Marine are kicking off a new monthly contest where they are asking fans to submit a "statement." It might be a personal belief or thought (like "Just Do It") - it might be marketing-related to statement boats, and it make or may not utilize the word "statement." It's up to you!

PHOTO CREDIT: Statement Marine, LLC

Just decide what you want to say and post it in one of the "Make a Statement" threads on any of the popular offshore boards online, like SeriousOffshore or OffshoreOnly. According to the company, the monthly prize includes (sorry, not a boat) five shirts sent to you with Your Statement! on them (Retail Value $100). Each month, a winning Statement will be selected, and a company representative will notify the winner. Statement Marine, LLC will then use your Statement! in their marketing efforts; you can enter as many times as you like with the same Statement! or create a new Statement! each time. C'mon...Give it a shot!

Online Powerboat Racing Game: King of Shaves King of Power

Not everyone can get a gig piloting a big-dollar offshore race boat. But now you can get a taste of the fun with this online powerboat racing game we just found, brought to you courtesy of King of Shaves. Not only do you get to pilot an awesome world-class racing powerboat, you get to select from several different courses, including Plymouth in the UK and Arendal in Norway, as well as courses in Dubai, Spain, France, Qatar and Slovenia.

Click on game below to play!

More Video at iamboredr.com

The Flash-based game includes simple instructions on how to play, as well as links to information about Class 1Powerboat Racing and other cool stuff.

I did just okay when I played; I suppose I really should be playing The Docking Game over at Madmariner, an online boating site that I visit from time-to-time. After all, I'll admit that I could use the practice...