"Takin' it to the limits at 200 MPH..."
- vol. 15 # 1
by Chip Fendt
Poker Runs America’s Chip Fendt goes for a “ride of his life” aboard the Aqua-Mania G3 Racing Team’s 50’ Mystic, reporting first hand about the adrenaline rush and safety aspects of hitting unbelievable speeds during our 2011 Alexandria Bay Poker Run.
Attaining 200 mph speeds in a 50-foot offshore catamaran takes on a whole new meaning to running a boat upstairs. At preflight, every crosscheck has to be inspected and rechecked before leaving the dock. The G3 team consists of a ground crew, on-water safety chase boat and at times, a trained dive team in a helicopter overhead in the event of a mishap. But when it comes to running a boat at speeds of more than 200 mph, you have to depend on your equipment and instincts to open that envelope, go outside it and return safely.
Offshore performance gurus, Rick Merola, owner of Aqua-Mania, and Gregg Rosen, had invited me to run with them on the Poker Runs America Alexandria Bay Poker Run last June. My response was obvious. I have known Merola for nearly 20 years and he is one of the few people I trust to take me in such an extreme machine. Merola has always been a calculative person and when he puts together a project, he becomes a man with a mission.
Merola and his team are on an endless journey in the pursuit of higher and safer speeds. His standing Motto has been “It’s not how fast your boat goes, it’s how well your boat goes fast.” Think about this for a moment and you’ll have a better understanding of Merola’s logic. When I arrived at the Alexandria Bay launch ramp, the 50’ Mystic rested quietly on its trailer. A Donzi center console was the on-water support boat. The race teams’ tractor trailer and crew of nearly a dozen guys were scampering around taking care of last minute details before we took to the open water. I have raced boats for many years and I am very comfortable with high speeds. But on this day, the butterflies in my stomach knew they were about to flutter around in a new atmosphere.
One of the crew members fitted me with a jacket , a helmet and explained the details of the cockpit. Keep in mind, this 50’ Mystic has two escape hatches in the canopy and one in the sole. There are two seats forward for a throttleman and driver with two additional rear seats for members of the crew.
When I first met Rosen I quickly felt I was speaking to someone I have known my whole life. He is a leader and “a take-charge -kind-of-guy.” He is also the captain of the ship. Merola explained to me that his business relationship with Rosen runs parallel to his “of taking on challenges, whether large or small,” with ease. Of course, knowing this, it made me feel better due to the fact that I was about to get strapped into this projectile and put my life in the hands of not only Rosen and Merola, but the entire G3 Team. Here is what you would experience from my perspective during our run.
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