The Top 10 Biggest Stories Of 2024—Part II

As I awoke this morning, planning to do a quick scan of my follow-up story to Matt Trulio’s article looking at five of Speedonthewater.com’s 10 Biggest Stories Of 2024 before publishing it, I saw a post on social media from my “good friend” Shaun Torrente, who I’ve known for close to 20 years, watched become a three-time world champion and worked with closely at both Powerboat magazine and now Speedonthewater.com, sharing that he was returning to compete in the Union Internationale Motonautique F1H2O World Championship. The news that he was going to drive for Victory Team in 2025 was surprising, particularly because the first call-out in my stories of the year article was about Torrente retiring from tunnel-boat racing—the sport in which his love for boat racing was entrenched—at the beginning of this year. Oh well, at least he gave me time to edit this piece. So here goes…and best of luck to Torrente, even if he did force to me redirect this commentary.

A highlight from 2024 for Speedonthewater.com co-publisher Jason Johnson was getting to ride in a boat he covered from start to finish—Dave Burgess’ unique Waves and Wheels Edition 42 Carbon from Doug Wright Powerboats. Photo by Pete Boden/Shoot 2 Thrill Pix

For me, 2024 is going to be remembered for so many new-model introductions, including the outboard-powered Nor-Tech 420 Monte Carlo, center consoles from Deep Impact Custom Boats, Formula Boats and Statement Marine, and catamarans from DCB Performance Marine, Eliminator Boats, MTI and more.

One of those new catamarans was highlighted in Matt Trulio’s commentary yesterday, and another is included in my follow-up to Trulio’s article looking at the remainder of Speedonthewater.com’s 10 Biggest Stories Of 2024. But the rest of my top stories are ones that have less to do with the boats and more about the people involved in the stories. They’re all also personally important in one way or another, making this a special year-end list.

Charitable Parties Start And Finish The Season
The Speedonthewater.com team often gets to witness the impact this community can make firsthand traveling to events that donate thousands of dollars to local charities annually. But once a year—now twice a year thanks to a growing partnership with the Florida Powerboat Club that includes a co-produced party during the Miami International Boat Show in February—our team gets to make its own impact with the Key West Bash in November during the offshore racing world championships and Florida Powerboat Club Key West Poker Run. This year, the annual affair that benefits Samuel’s House in Key West raised $200,000 once again thanks to the generous Carver family from Southern California, which matched the donations collected from the party. And while the February Miami Boat Show Bash is not yet making donations of that significance, in February, with a nudge from party sponsor Nor-Tech Hi-Performance Boats, the boat show gathering raised close to $3,000 for the Kiwanis Foundation of Miami. It’s a building block, for sure, and a mark we plan to top in six weeks at the 2025 Miami International Boat Show.

The Key West Bash at Pickles Pub’s Sandbar on Greene Street during the Key West world championships and poker run has become a monster—in terms of size and fundraising. Photo by Jeff Helmkamp/Helmkamp Photos

MTI Hits Home Run With New 482
As announced during the company’s 25th anniversary celebration in May 2023 at its home waterway, Missouri’s Lake of the Ozarks, MTI’s demo 482, complete with a fiery red and black paintjob and a pair of turbocharged Mercury Racing 1100 engines, made its debut at the 2024 Miami International Boat Show in February and participated in the subsequent Florida Powerboat Club Miami Boat Show Poker Run and mid-March MTI Owners Fun Run in the Florida Keys. A throwback to the days when the Wentzville, Mo.-based high-performance catamaran and center console builder did not sell outboard-powered boats, the new 48-footer has been extremely well received. In fact. by the end of the year—not long after hull No. 1 completed the Key West Poker Run in November—MTI had sent four of the 48-footers out the door with several more in production for 2025 and beyond.

Driven here by Taylor Scism and her father, Randy Scism, the new MTI 482 catamaran has been an excellent fit in the company’s lineup of primarily outboard-powered models. Photo by Tom Leigh/Tommy Gun Images.

What A Year For The Buis Family
Not only did Statement Marine in Clearwater, Fla., have an amazing year under the leadership of owners Nick and Priscilla Buis, the Buis family itself had quite a remarkable 2024 in the sport of offshore racing. First of all, Nick Buis and his 16-year-old son, Owen, found out in November that they are going to be inducted during the 50th annual American Power Boat Association Hall of Champions celebration alongside their cockpit-mates J.J. Turk and Ricky Harmeyer. They will be the first father-and-son duo to earn the distinction in the same season in different classes. Both did it on teams backed by XINSURANCE, following seasons in which the elder Buis and Turk claimed national and world titles in the Mod V class and a national championship in the Bracket 500 category, and the younger Buis and Harmeyer earned national and world titles in the Bracket 700 class. The induction ceremony is set for Saturday, January 25, the final night of the APBA annual meetings in Reno, Nev. But that wasn’t all Owen Buis accomplished. He was the hit of his high school career day at Keswick Christian School in St. Petersburg, Fla., when he and Dalton Palestra—Owen’s best friend who also competes in the Bracket 700 class—brought the Statement Marine-sponsored No. 759 boat powered by a single Mercury Racing 300R engine to career day. Of course, he needed help from his parents to get the boat to school since he did not have his driver’s license at the time.

The Buis family—Nick, Priscilla, and their son, Owen—are never going to forget 2024. Photo courtesy Owen Buis.

Chronicling A Unique Waves And Wheels Doug Wright 42 Cat
What started from a phone call in the summer of 2023, blossomed into a one-of-a-kind 42-foot catamaran for a one-of-a-kind customer that was featured in a series of stories as well as an incredible documentary-style video on the Speed On The Water YouTube Channel. And in case you missed it, here’s a quick synopsis of the new Doug Wright Powerboats 42 Carbon Waves and Wheels Edition catamaran powered by twin Mercury Racing 500R engines that Justin Wagner and the Waves and Wheels team in Missouri completed for Michigan performance boaters Dave and Susie Burgess. Constructed in Florida by Doug Wright Powerboats, the 42-footer was delivered as a bare hull to Waves and Wheels and the talented team in Osage Beach, Mo., went to work. The team developed and implemented a one-off windshield system that raises up and down from its receiver surrounding the cockpit so that Burgess, who was paralyzed 30 years ago after breaking his back, can enter his boat directly from his scooter by transferring across the deck on a custom-built stowable bridge. Controlled by a key fob, the motorized windshield raises at the same time as the portside driver’s seat to allow Burgess access to the cockpit, which is loaded with gorgeous upholstery, a Bluave Marine Audio sound system and Garmin and VesselView displays. A lot went into the boat—and the relationship between Burgess and Wagner—all of which can be gleaned by watching Project Adaptation: Waves And Wheels Custom Doug Wright 42 Carbon.

The Waves and Wheels team went all out with its first Doug Wright 42 Carbon built for customer Dave Burgess. Photo by Pete Boden

Taking A Step Back
This last one is personal and not something I reported on this year. But for those regular readers who have noticed a reduction in my byline in the past year or two, this probably won’t come as a surprise. I have two amazing daughters, both talented in their own right, with pretty demanding schedules that have made it clear that my time is best allocated giving them the greatest possible shot at achieving their dreams. As the year progressed—and after I had a pacemaker implanted when a heart issue took me down in early April—my attention shifted even more to each of them as they’ve reached ages where the activities are endless, the schoolwork is more challenging, the influences could become negative in a heartbeat and so much more. So, being as close to as a stay-at-home dad as possible since my oldest was an infant, I’ve made the difficult decision to be the best parent possible at this time and step away from the business for the foreseeable future in the coming months to support them and my amazing wife, who has an extremely demanding job. Speedonthewater.com is an incredible publishing medium founded by a legend in the industry and my partner for the past 13 years—Matt Trulio—and it is not going anywhere. Trust me, Trulio and company, including Pete Boden, Jeff Helmkamp, Shelby Matingly, Eric Colby and many others, are an incredible team. You’ll see when the 10th annual Year In Review starts shipping in a few weeks. Until then, it’s back to work getting the book off to the printer. Thanks for everything Speedonthewater.com readers—you truly are an unbelievable group of people.