Livin’ On Tampa Time - Speed on the Water - Florida News Beep

Idling up the Hillsborough River in his new Nor-Tech 390 Sport center console In Tampa last Friday, Paul Jordan pointed out the sights—from sunbathing coeds to cool waterfront eateries—to his passengers. At one point, Jordan, who lives in nearby St. Petersburg, nodded toward an apartment building.

For the folks aboard this Deep Impact 499 center console, the rough waters outside Tampa Bay this weekend were a non-event. Photos by Pete Boden copyright Shoot 2 Thrill Pixl.

“That was the first place I lived when I first moved here from New York,” he said.

A Navy veteran, Jordan has lived in the area for seven years. He and his girlfriend, Alisha Price, and his dog Cody—a decidedly seaworthy Labradoodle—are regulars at Southwest Florida events such as this weekend’s Florida Powerboat Club Tampa Bay affair. The 16th annual happening attracted 45 registered boats this year. Counting Jordan’s 39-footer roughly 25 percent—including a pair of 36-foot stern-drive engine-powered catamarans—were of the Nor-Tech kind.

But Nor-Tech was far from the only brand in the mix. The fleet included offerings from Cigarette Racing Team, Deep Impact Custom Boats, DWR/Doug Wright Powerboats, Fountain Powerboats, Midnight Express, MTI and more.

The first card-stop off Eggmont Key proved worth the trip.

Earlier that day, Jordan and company ran the boat from the Tampa Convention center console to Sunset Grill in Apollo Beach with 20-plus vessels in town so far for the Florida Powerboat Club affair. The 1-foot wind-whipped Tampa Bay waters were no match for the 39-foot Nor-Tech, but they did foreshadow what proved to be a rough outing as the fleet ran under the Sunshine Skyway Bridge for a floating card-stop off Eggmont Key.

No matter how docile Tampa Bay appears, conditions freshen up—often strongly—from a mile before the span to key itself.

Between the DWR/Doug Wright Powerboats and Angle of Attack Marine crews, the Doug Wright brand had plenty of representation this weekend.

“For the past three years of this event, it’s been that way,” said Stu Jones, the president of the Florida Powerboat, during lunch at Doc Ford’s Rum Bar in St. Petersburg following the Eggmont Key stop. “We have not seen a day where it is calm all the way out there for four years.”

An estimated 50 percent of the club-members in the mix ventured beyond the bridge. Among them was Mark and Eileen Fischer’s Deep Impact 499 center console, and the conditions were no match for the 32,000-pound, six Mercury Racing 500R outboard engine-powered 49-footer. Among the lucky folks on board was captain Kyle Heidecker, who works with the Fischers and the Deep Impact brand during boating events.

Enjoy more images from this weekend’s Florida Powerboat Club Tampa Bay affair.

“This is Deep Impact water,” Heidecker said to no one in particular and grinned as the 499 passed one boat after the next on its way to the open-water. “Just perfect for us.

“But it’s kind of a ‘cheater’ boat,” he added then laughed.

Nor-Tech models represented approximately 25 percent of the Tampa Bay Powerboat Week fleet.

Mark Fischer turned to one of his guests and chuckled. “Don’t you wish all boats rode like this?” he said.

His guest nodded. “I almost fell asleep,” he responded.

Even Florida Powerboat Club models were living on Tampa time this weekend.

Most of the group was back in Tampa by 3 p.m., but the Fischers and their guests extended the day with a fuel-and-beverage stop at cool joint dubbed Circles Restaurant in Apollo Beach. It was 5:30 p.m. by the time they reached the convention center docks, so they had to hustle to get ready for Florida Powerboat Club celebration that evening.

But none of them cared. They were just living on Tampa time—and loving every moment of it.

Once again, the Sunshine Skyway Bridge was the gateway to sporty conditions.

Livin’ On Tampa Time – Speed on the Water

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