$200,000 Raised For Local Charity—And New Super Stock And Pro Class 1 Teams Announced—At Speed On The Water Key West Bash

Matching last year’s fundraising effort for the Samuel’s House shelter for women, children and intact families in Key West, Fla., Thursday night’s 11th annual Speed On The Water Key West Bash presented by Parallel Project raised $200,000 for the nonprofit organization. Upstate New York’s Nolan Harris, who was assisted by spotters Todd Campbell and Grove Alcock, once again handled the live auction on Greene Street in front of the Pickles Pub’s Sandbar host venue. Combined with approximately $30,000 from the celebration’s “Foundational Benefactors,” proceeds from the hour-long auction brought the evening’s total to $100,000.

A 39-foot Waves and Wheels Edition Doug Wright catamaran was one of four boats decorating Greene Street last night. Photo by Jeff Helmkamp copyright Helmkamp Photos.

For the second year in a row, R.J. Noble Company owned by the Carvers—a family well-known in performance-boating circles—matched the amount raised. That brought the total haul for Samuel’s House to $200,000.

“We started this thing at the BurgerFi restaurant on Duval Street 11 years ago as a small get-together to buy burgers and beer for our advertisers and a few particularly supportive readers,” said Jason Johnson, the co-publisher of speedonthewater.com. “That BurgerFi is gone, but the annual party is still here and stronger than ever.

With last night’s effort, Nolan Ferris reached a personal milestone of raising $9.45 million for charity through leading auctions.

“We never imagined it would grow to become what it has,” he added. “We are honored to do it for Samuel’s House and Key West. Without Greg Harris and Yvonne Aleman, who have organized the party with us since it moved to the Sandbar eight years ago, all of the people who donated auction items, sponsors including longtime backer Wozencraft Insurance Agency and all of outrageously generous bidders, it wouldn’t happen.”

As an auctioneer, Ferris reached a personal milestone last night. Since taking on his auction-leading role for charity events around the country, he has raised more than $9.45 million for charity.

The 11th annual Speed On The Water Key West Bash was a night to remember. Photos by Pete Boden/Shoot 2 Thrill Pix and Jeff Helmkamp/Helmkamp Photos.

“I do it because I love it,” Ferris said.

In the early evening before the party began, Rick Lopez and Todd Swofford of “The Zone” 97.7 FM Sports Radio broadcasted live from the Pickles Pub’s Sandbar. During their two-hour show, the radio pros interviewed a dozen members of the offshore racing community including J.J. Turk and Nick Buis of the XINSURANCE-backed 2024 Mod V and Bracket 500 American Power Boat Association national championship teams.

Lori Lemanske and Don Gardner were among the thousands of performance-boating fans who supported last night’s celebration. Photo by Pete Boden copyright Shoot 2 Thrill Pix.

Following up on yesterday’s speedonthewater.com story, they also interviewed the new-for-2025 Super Stock-class 2 Blondes Race Team of rookie throttlewoman Blonde Bomber Whitehead and rookie driver Tammy Zachary.

The team is backed by the Parallel Project’s Ben Lehman, who is a former offshore racer and longtime performance-boat enthusiast. Though Lehman wasn’t able to make it to Key West this week, his close friend and business associate, Nick Whitehead (Blonde Bomber’s husband), sat in on the interview and discussed the Pro Class 1 team he and Lehman plan to campaign next year under the Parallel Project banner.