Formula boats recently took a crew of 22 members to the beautiful island of Bimini in the Bahamas for the upcoming Model Year 2012 season, and it was a complete success! Although the temperatures were scorching hot each day, it was hard to complain when looking at that gorgeous turquoise blue ocean and the sun glimmering off the Formula hullside—it makes you sit back and just say “wow!”

The boats photographed this year were the luxurious 45 Yacht with Sapphire Blue Metallic Imron® Designer Graphic, the 40 Performance Cruiser in Black Onyx Metallic Imron, the 400 Super Sport in Black Onyx Metallic Imron, the 350 Sun Sport in Morning Sand Metallic Imron with Tropical Red accents and the all-new sporty 310 FX5 in Black Onyx Metallic Imron with FX accents throughout. The boats performed and looked amazing each and every day on the gorgeous Bimini blue water.

Day one, Sunday, July 17, was boat-over day. The crew left Powerhouse Marine in Miami, Florida, and set a course for the Bimini Sands Resort & Marina around 8 a.m. At times, this boating journey has taken the crew up to four hours to accomplish with the ocean fighting them the entire way; however, this year the trip was a piece of cake—the ocean looked like glass with seas only one to two feet. The crew arrived, cleared Customs by lunch time and was ready to “hit the docks running.” We were able to start shooting the 310 FX5 and some Formula Difference shots by around 2:00 p.m., a shoot which then lasted well into the evening, ending around 9 p.m. It was a very long day, but very much worth it.

Day two began around 9:30 a.m. with a few clouds causing us to be delayed a bit, but once they cleared we were ready. The chopper spooled up, and we were in the air ready to video and photograph the Sun Sport, Cruiser and Yacht formations, as well as running shots of all boats and more. We planned for a sunset shot off the beach, but thick clouds and rain postponed those plans to another day. All in all, it turned out to be a very productive day! Another long, HOT day, but that’s what it’s all about.

Day three, were ready to go bright and early. We had much to get accomplished before the chopper would head back to states. We finished up some video footage, as well as several lifestyle shots, where the scenery at the Bimini Sands and the ocean itself provided so much beauty with an array of locations to scope out. Throughout the day we were able to shoot more video and more cockpit shots. Later that day, we re-grouped to plan out a sunset shot. We were able to capture an outstanding sunset—all of our Formulas looked amazing in the ocean with their LED lights glowing and the fading sun as a backdrop. We had birds flying, the ocean sparkling, the clouds with a mixture of yellow, pink and blue — awesome!

Day four seemed to be a day of run, run, run for all of us. We were shooting videos, appointment shots, lifestyle shots, Difference shots and more. We had everyone “on call.” Day four officially wrapped around 10:00 p.m. with a late night scene of all the boats at the dock for both video and photos. The talent and the crew did an amazing job— swatting off mosquitoes and noseeums in between trying to stand still during each shot was a VERY tough task! Thank you, everyone.

Day five, Thursday, July 21, was officially considered our last day. We had two awesome lifestyle shots and a few more appointment shots to take care of, but for the most part this was considered our “Honeymoon Harbour Day.” We always enjoy boating to this location, and although it has been drastically altered from a hurricane it’s still an excellent spot to show off our boats. We had the 350 Sun Sport near the sandy beach, the 45 Yacht idling near a lighthouse, the 40 PC nestled into a cove, and the 400 in front of a bank of white rocks. It was a great video and photography session. Once the marketing crew previewed some photos and video footage, we were able to call the entire photo shoot a wrap! It’s always a great feeling to announce that.

Each and every day, the engineering crew worked hard to keep the boats prepared, scrubbed and filled with fuel. The heat was unbelievable, and the guys did a great, great job! Also, a special thank you to mission chef Shelley Porter. Shelley made sure that the entire crew had breakfast, lunch and an absolutely fantastic dinner throughout the week—no one ever went hungry! The entire Formula crew really worked hard, from the talent to the photographers to the helicopter pilot...each day was an accomplishment and will surely impress the boating market—congratulations!