I’ve found that in racing that you always have to be ready for the unexpected. I had been talking with Mike Seebold periodically about an offshore program he was involved in. He was hired by Michel Karsenti to drive an XCat Series offshore race boat, and he oversaw the building and rigging of the boat—a new 32-foot Doug Wright powered by twin Mercury 280s.

XCat is an offshore race series based in the United Arab Emirates (Dubai and Abu Dhabi). However, the format is a mix between offshore and F1 in that half the course is in the ocean and the other half is in a protected bay with right and left turns. The boats qualify in a similar format to F1 with an open session, and the competition is plentiful and stiff with 20-plus boats taking the green flag at all the events.

So it was the day after Halloween and I received a call from Mike at 2 p.m. in the afternoon asking me if I can hop a flight to Dubai that night because Michel was not going to make it in time to the race, and he needed me to drive the boat and he would throttle it. After a mad scramble to make it to the airport with the help of my supportive and beautiful fiancé (and my best friend), I was on a flight and in the air by 7 p.m.

Eighteen short hours later I was in Dubai. The next morning we drove to Abu Dhabi to go through safety inspection, prepare the boat and test. Then the next day we ran the first race in which we qualified fifth and finished second—it was a great result and day. The second day we finished fourth and secured a second in the championship.

It was the first time that Mike had ever throttled an offshore boat, and it was the first time I had ever driven one. The coolest part of the experience was running with someone who I had looked up to and been humbled to be compared to as I came up. I had raced against Mike at the end of his illustrious F1 career, and as a driver you are always plotting and calculating on how to pass that guy in front of you.

Racing is more mental than anything else in my opinion. So for two days of racing we were in constant communication in the race boat. We come from the same background in racing, so we gelled pretty quickly as far as what we wanted the boat to feel like. It was a great experience for me to see the race through my eyes as well as Mike’s because that is the best way to explain it. We were talking and strategizing the entire race, and we made a couple of moves and picked lines that I would not have and vice versa.

It was a great experience that I have to thank Michel and Mike for. I am going back to the Middle East in December to help them test and prepare for the next round, as well as work on some F1 stuff (fingers crossed).