In the Key West Citizen. Way to go Stickerboy!

Beckley's back: Former Key West native looks to make a splash at World Championship

BY DANNY ALLER
Citizen Staff

KEY WEST — When former Key West resident Ryan Beckley left town to move to Sarasota 10 years ago and start a graphic design business, he knew it only was a matter of time before he'd be back.

And now that he is, seeing family and friends during the week will be only a small pit stop on the way to reaching his primary goal: Win a powerboat racing world championship in his old stomping grounds.

"I grew up here and I've been watching [the Key West World Championship] since as long as I can remember," said Beckley, a 1994 Key West High School graduate. "I've come back a few times since then and raced in a smaller boat, mostly for fun and usually never with a chance to win. But this time, with this new boat, I really feel we're contenders."

The boat that Beckley, 29, and his partner, Mark Hanna, 39, will be running at the 2004 Key West World Championships is named S-111 — a 30-foot red, white and blue AMT catamaran with two, 2.5 liter 280-horsepower Mercury Outboard motors on back, which reach top speeds slightly in excess of 100 MPH.

Thrills are nothing new to Beckley, who spent a majority of his life as a BMX bike enthusiast. He moved to Sarasota after high school because it was home to the oldest BMX course in the country — Sarasota BMX. Beckley even turned pro at one point, but several back-to-back injuries made him replace one sport with another.

Since S-111's first race in June, he and Hanna managed several respectable showings, finishing in the top five at Super Boat International races in Washington D.C. and Sarasota. But most recently, they finished second at the Super Boat National Championships in Deerfield Beach.

However, if it wasn't for Beckley and Hanna's dual desire to join a bigger class of racing boats, and if not for a chance meeting at a small race in 2002 in Orlando, Beckley's legitimate shot at winning a world championship might never have existed.

"It was really strange. Mark and I were both at this race and started talking, and we soon realized that we shared a common passion for this particular type of boat," Beckley said. "So we decided to try and do some races together in the future. Then two weeks later, he and I were out on a lake boating in Orlando, and I turned to him and said, 'You want to go to this race in New York next week? Your truck ... my boat?' And he said 'yes.' Ever since then, we've busted out butts together to get to where we are right now."

Some of the work that Hanna and Beckley have been doing recently is preparing S-111 for the Key West Worlds once they purchased nothing more than an empty, wooden shell from AMT Powerboats earlier this year.

Because neither are independently wealthy, building S-111 from the ground up has been anything but an easy task.

"We're on a shoestring budget, and really, we're lucky to even be here," Beckley said. "Because I've made so many connections during the years, I was able to pull a few favors, find some generous sponsors in Continental Industrial Services and Recycle America. And in a few short months, and a ton of hard work, our boat was ready to roll."

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In June, at the Super Boat International's Third Annual Super Boat Grand Prix, Beckley and Hanna's first race together had problems right away. Beckley said not only were they not being aggressive enough, but they weren't taking the turns correctly. They finished seventh out of nine boats.

But those days might just be over.

"Mark and I were talking about it last night at dinner, and we both come to the conclusion that if we're not able to finish in the top-three here this year, we'll be very disappointed," Beckley said. "Since Marathon, we've improved our finishing spot in every race, and a lot of our finishes have involved us passing other boats and coming from behind. That was a great feeling. So, for two guys who just started this series in June, we're feeling pretty confident coming in."

The super stock series that S-111 will be racing in at this year's Key West World Championships is a fairly even playing field since none of the boats can go faster than 110 mph and must be between 30 and 32 feet.

Yet even if Beckley had to race in a dingy, he said he wouldn't miss being back home for anything.

"I miss the water, the weather, the fishing, the boating, everything about this place I miss," he said. "I'd move back here in a heart beat, that is, if I was a zillionaire and could afford to live here anymore."

But until that day comes, he's steadily making plans to return to Key West next year, and the year after that, for a long time.

"There's races like this all over the world, but usually those races only have a few classes or boats that show up," Beckley said. "Key West is recognized as the biggest and best racing sight in the world. And that's why we we're here: To prove we belong. But will we win? I have to say that I feel good about our chances. And if we do, hopefully people from around here will remember the accomplishment of a hometown boy for a long, long time."

Good Luck Ryan,

great Article.

Nice article. Best wishes and good luck to you both!