Power Marine and Motor Sports Inc., the manufacturing corporation behind Magic Powerboats and Sleekcraft Powerboats in Lake Havasu City, Ariz., closed it doors this week after 15 years of building performance boats.
In a letter to its customers on the company’s Web site, owner Ron Moyes wrote, “We never imagined that we would be writing this letter to our amazing customers and friends. With tremendous hesitation and heartache we are closing our doors.”
“Thank you for all of your customer support, help and smiles as you drive by in the Channel with your friends and family,” he continued. “We truly have the most amazing group of boat owners. The last 15 years have been filled with challenges, amazing memories, hard work and pride. Thank you for your business.”
In an article in the local newspaper, the Today’s News-Herald, Moyes said the company is not bankrupt, it is just closing it doors. He wouldn’t comment on the reasons for the closure.
“I think it is a big loss … it is symptomatic of what is happening in the marine industry right now,” Jim Salscheider, executive director of Lake Havasu City Marine Association, told the newspaper.
The annual New York City Powerboat Poker Run will take to the Hudson River on June 20, and organizers expect more than 100 performance boats to participate.
As part of the event, the National Powerboat Association will introduce its second Hall of Fame class on Friday night, June 19. Inductees include offshore racers who competed during the 1970s and 1980s. The event takes place at Liberty Landing Marina in Liberty State Park in Jersey City, N.J.
The annual poker run starts at noon on Saturday with the Patriotic Powerboat Parade up the Hudson River. Boats flying American flags start in front of the Statue of Liberty and run to the George Washington.
From there, the boaters put away the flags and run the first leg to the Tappan Zee Bridge. The poker run then continues to the Ossining Boat and Canoe Club, Peekskill Harbor and then Haverstraw Marina. The last leg is back to Liberty Landing Marina.
Billy Frenz, organizer of the poker run, said the event is more than just high-performance catamaran and V-bottoms. Express cruiser and even larger runabouts participate in the run, Frenz said.
When it comes to racing in Biloxi, Miss., few teams have had as much success as George and Michael Stancombe.
Competing in OSS Cat Lite, the father and son team running this season under the Lucas Oil flag won in Biloxi for the third straight year as the Offshore Super Series kicked off its season in late March.
The Stancombes were able to overcome a washdown in the first heat to win the race. They followed up the second heat with a decisive victory.TeamPropStop.net and Popeyes Famous Chicken rounded out the top three in the competitive class.
“This was a win we needed to again position ourselves for the National Championship this fall in Lake of the Ozarks (Mo.),” Mike Stancombe said.
There was an upset of sorts in OSS Cat Extreme/Turbine when JBS knocked off Miss GEICO, which won last year in Mississippi. JBS won the first heat and Miss GEICO won the second heat, but thanks to a 3-second time differential, JBS was awarded first place.
In other class action, Team CRC led by Mike DeFrees and Jeff Harris continued their winning ways by capturing first in the OSS 850 class. They managed to hold off Billy Mauff’s WHM Motorsports, a Skater that also runs Mercury Racing HP850SCi engines with No. 6 dry-sump drives.
Memorial Service Set for Powerboat's First Art Director
A memorial service for John Whorrall, who served as Powerboat magazine’s art director for more than 20 years, will be held April 4 at University Bible Church in Los Angeles.
Whorrall, who passed away on Saturday, March 21, at the age of 80, was Powerboat magazine’s first art director and stayed in that position for 25 years.
As Powerboat’s art director, Whorrall was responsible for the look of the magazine, which featured illustrations that were hand drawn by him. He started with the magazine as a freelancer when Bob Nordskog founded the publication in 1968 in Southern California and quickly moved into the art director role. He retired from Powerboat in 1994.
performance boats to participate.
TeamPropStop.net and Popeyes Famous Chicken rounded out the top three in the competitive class.
A memorial service for John Whorrall, who served as Powerboat magazine’s art director for more than 20 years, will be held April 4 at University Bible Church in Los Angeles.