Cowboy & Indian Summer Tour, Part VII—The Rides That Matter
To hitch just one ride—much less a whole summer’s worth—in a DCB Performance Marine M37R Widebody catamaran is an honor. Having ever-gracious M37R cat co-owners Kelly O’Hara and Kiran Pinisetti as your hosts on their own 37-footer called Cowboy & Indian, though renamed Cowgirl & Alien for competition in the 36th annual Lake of the Ozarks Shootout, makes the experience that much more remarkable.
Kelly O’Hara gave his new friend, Ryan, the ride of a lifetime.
But O’Hara and Pinisetti didn’t buy the 37-foot cat, the first to be powered by Mercury Racing 500R outboard engines, to haul around a smart-ass reporter. They bought it to run together in events benefitting charities. Giving back is in their DNA.
Thanks to organizer Tiffany Maasen of the Poly Lift Boat Lift family and her team, they got a chance to do exactly that. The M37R was part of a fleet that included Mad Props, another 37-foot DCB cat, the 450R Factory Stock-class Montlick Injury Attorneys 38-foot Doug Wright cat and an MTI 390X cat that gave rides to physically challenged children and adults.
All aboard. Photos by Jeff Helmkamp copyright Helmkamp Photos
The program is called “Wishing On A Ride,” and was operated out of Captain Ron’s Bar & Grill in Sunrise Beach, Mo., the longtime headquarters for the Lake of the Ozarks.
No matter what happens during Shootout tomorrow and Sunday—even if their boat is the slowest M37R cat in the mix—O’Hara and Pinisetti will head home winners. That’s how pumped they were to take Ryan, who is paralyzed from the waist down, for a ride.
The Cowboy & Indian crew and their guests are now all members of the DCB team.
“Ryan knew all about catamarans and marveled at how smooth and quiet the DCB rode,” O’Hara said. “He had a permanent grin during the ride and yelled, ‘This thing is on rails‘ as we made turns. His entire group got to take a ride, and they were thrilled.
“At the end of the ride, Ryan and his buddy received new hats compliments of (DCB president) Jeff Johnston,” he continued. “And Jeff told them they were now official DCB team members.”
For O’Hara and Pinisetti, yesterday’s boat rides were what owning a beautiful DCB creation is all about.
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