Offshoreonly.com - At long last..... Skaterfest III

Dave Patnaude, Doug Lewis and I had a very lengthy and productive planning session for Skaterfest III scheduled for June 7-8,2003. Once again the host location will be Doug Lewis' Professional Marine Racing shop at Lightning Jack's Marina in Brick NJ ...with the generous assistance of Smitty's Marine ( The home of the Jersey Boyz) right next door. We have a remarkable list of features scheduled and we will provide continuous updates through OSO, NJPPC, NPBA, and Darren's and Sharkey's generous websites.

This years event will be the centerpiece of the Northeast Performance boat Triple Crown, Starting June1 with the NJPPC Atlantic City Poker Run, Skaterfest June 7-8, and the NYC Poker Run on June 14. A participant can trailer in for the AC event enjoy storage for two weeks in Brick NJ adjacent to the'fest and complete his or her trip with the NYC event all within about 50 miles. An added bonus of this trip will be a chance to cheer on the Jersey Boyz at the OPA offshore race in Brick on June 2nd.

We will have many of last year's featured guests including factory representatives, boat racers, engine and boat builders as well as some new surprises. The focal point will once again be the largest fleet of Skaters assembled outside of a major race (both cats and ;) .)

We will also have examples of some of the other marvelous hulls you all enjoy and aspire too including Nortechs, Spectres, Outerlimits and many more. In addition we are reaching out to our radical outboard friends to bring some high end examples of max speed technology on the water..... a mix of offshore and inshore hulls all aimed at the point of the pyramid....and John Wooley's turbine powered aluminum 50 Cougar will nearing completion.

The workshop format will once again be employed...... with a better sound system and also, hopefully, with better weather.
This year we will drill down to specifics including driving clinics for safe and proficient driving of Cats......and in a special session around high speed skills in step bottom vees by one of the key innovators and builders of that design.....(This one is very crucial).

We will also have a larger sample of hardware and power products as well as the very popular prop and dyno workshops

This year we will zero in on Safety and the preservation of our opportunities to enjoy the speed performance of our beloved sport. This will include Marine police presentations and Q & A designed to enlighten us as to what they approve of and what they look to limit and control. We will cover current efforts to create speed limits and no wake zones....and how we can be part of the solution and not the problem.

George Linder and I will cover the Lavin Safety Guidelines for cockpit safety and we will broaden this to include the potential danger points in performance/pleasure hulls...... We will also talk openly about setup and its importance in maintaining a safe and enjoyable ride. Remember the Skaterfest format started because of a highly publicised and preventable pleasure boating accident at the Jersey Shore.

There will be design and construction sessions, graphics tips, and any other topics that the attendees would like to touch on........And don't forget the boat rides.........

Saturday evening, we will once again feature a casual dinner party.where you can rub elbows with all of the featured guests...... at a scenic local restaurant...with an offshore racing history... Dave will post more details on this next week. And this will be the only portion of the event that will cost you a dime. Like last year, any modest proceeds will go directly to the Doug Lewis Multiple Myeloma fund.

In the next few weeks we will identify many of the featured guests more specifically.......... But to whet your appetite, Peter Hledin put the date on his calendar today.

Okay folks now it's your turn ....... please feel free to post suggestions, requests, and offers of bringing unique stuff for show and tell.

We look forward to seeing all of you there...and spending time with some nice folks.

T2x