IN THE NEWS

Formula Boats recently concluded their 2008 Poker Run season upon the completion of Poker Run America’s season finale in Sarasota, Fla., October 4th. The Formula was one of three pace boats leading the field of 42 boats out into the Gulf of Mexico. The route took the boats South through Boca Grand Pass and Charlotte Harbor to Harpoon Harry’s for lunch. The 382 FAS³Tech^® then charged to Gasparilla Marina for card three, then back to the Hyatt Hotel in Sarasota for the final two cards. 

The 2009 382 FAS³Tech, equipped with twin Mercury Racing 700 SCi/NXT¹ engine packages, didn’t miss a beat as Formula’s Director of Sponsor Promotions, Vic Spellberg skillfully piloted the hull at an average speed of 70 mph over 2-4 foot seas along the 160-mile round trip. Mercury Racing’s Senior Marketing Manager Rick Mackie was along for the ride.

“People not familiar with performance boating and who have not had the opportunity to experience what it is like to run in rough conditions at speed won’t appreciate the abuse the boat and everything attached goes through in the continual pounding over 2-4 foot seas. The water is ever changing and thus the driver must continually read the wave patterns to adjust the boats heading, drive and tab trim in an attempt maintain the boats attitude and stability as much as possible. It is that rogue wave and or “hole” between waves that can catch you by surprise. Those are the instances the boat, engine, drives and related hardware, not to mention the occupants, take a pounding. An automotive analogy would be to take a car and run it off a four-foot cliff at speed—not once—but continually for hours at a time. The end result – the boat remained solid as a rock—the engine and drives remained sound and strong. I doubt a car would fare nearly as well,” Mackie said. All were very impressed with Vic’s driving skill and the 382 FAS³Tech's rock solid performance.

The season was full of events and hard running. The boat was first splashed for the 2009 Formula Boats photo mission in the Bahamas last spring. It made its public debut at the Oshkosh Poker Run, Oshkosh, WI., June 13-14. It went on to provide demo rides at the Formula dealer meeting in July, and then on to Michigan as the official pace boat for the nineteenth annual Water Warriors PWC ride for Special Olympics, escorting a group of brave riders 435 miles from Mackinaw City to Detroit over a 5-day period. It then was one of three Formulas used as pace boats for the Offshore Powerboat Association (OPA) race on the St. Clair River, St. Clair, Mich., July 30-31. Its next step was Kingston, Ontario Canada August 9 for Poker Runs America’s 1000 Islands poker run—the largest poker run in the world, followed by the Lake Cumberland Poker Run, September 6th in Lake Cumberland, KY.

Vic kept the biggest surprise to himself until the boat was securely moored back at the Hyatt at the final event for the year. He punched the total engine run time for the season on the VesselView—Race Edition monitor. All were amazed to find the engines had a total of 95 hours of time on them. Knowing the various events and conditions this boat was asked to perform is a testimonial to the quality and durability of the boat and the Mercury Racing propulsion system.

Vic said the Mercury Racing propulsion was absolutely flawless. Not one thing was done to the engines or drives throughout the season—with the exception of routine oil changes and maintenance. Now that says something about the durability of the engines and drives—a perfect match for the robust 382 FAS³Tech hull.