It's been a whirlwind since the Miami International Boat Show-following up with all the people we met and traveling to New Jersey for the Offshore Performance Association (OPA) Awards.

I'll start with the latter as it by far the most colorful. The OPA event took place at the beautiful, 100-year-old Seaview Hotel outside of Atlantic City. The hotel looked like something out of the movie “The Shining.” It was good to see the old gang and discuss the future of the GEICO series. A new TV deal was announced by Scotty Colton, and Scotty Begovich was in negotiations with the rest of the Jersey Boyz … as usual at the Lobby Bar. It was a nice event held at a warm and cozy seafood restaurant on Barnegat Bay.

Returning home we were greeted to the arrival of Team Qatar's two amazing Class 1 catamarans, which will be housed at the Riviera Beach race shop in Florida. Work at the shop has picked up pace with the season just three months away and the crew on six days a week now. The Miss GEICO Mystic is undergoing an amazing transformation as she becomes one step closer to the space shuttle. The Powerboat P1 Honey Party Skater and the Supercat Talk 'N Trash Skater are in for safety and canopy upgrades. It's good to see my fellow racers taking safety seriously … another step forward.

Finally, John Haggin took a step forward in age last week … our owner turned 53 last weekend and in his usual crazy way bought two first-class tickets to fly Scotty B and I out to Phoenix to celebrate. With so much going on, it was not to be … however, we promised each other to adjourn to the Tiki Bar next week to plan our next adventure (I'll keep you guys updated on what will surely be a weekend to remember). As nutty as it sounds, Scotty and I have grown accustomed to Haggin and his “hard left turns.” It keeps us on our toes.

It’s Monday. The morning after three big days—and nights—in Miami. The Miami International Boat Show is the “unofficial” trade show for powerboaters with builders and racers from around the world showing up to confirm plans for the upcoming season and check out new offerings from the world’s top performance companies.

My show began with Steve Curtis (Qatar Team) and Gary Stray (AMF Offshore Rigging) on a busy Friday as we checked out the new hardware and caught up with colleagues and clients. The wealth of knowledge between the two of these Brits is phenomenal, and if you can understand the British banter between them, it’s like hanging out with a Monte Python group.

Saturday morning things got a little more serious as Mystic Powerboats’ John Cosker scheduled a canopy safety meeting at the Miami Convention Center to discuss the Dubai Victory Team accident and Mystic’s commitment and design details of its canopy system. A scheduled 2-hour briefing became a 3 ½-hour working session and huge step forward in our goal of a complete safety system for race boats backed up by solid “dynamic” data.

Back to the show. While a little chilly outside, the show was positive and true to form with manufacturers touting sales of performance boats. Skip Braver’s AMG Cigarette was amazing—I truly appreciate what Cigarette has done here. You have to physically understand the time, effort and passion it takes to develop a precision motor vehicle. Ask the right questions and you will uncover what I’m talking about.

The Statement Marine boats from Todd Werner and Nick Buis had a tremendous presence and were definitely the center of attention at the show. Hey, if you can put a hot tub in an offshore catamaran with bikini models, you deserve it. Good job boys and congrats on the sale of your boats.

The new Mercury Racing turbocharged motors were impressive and the M8 drives really got my attention. I’m looking forward to testing a pair out on one of Randy Scism’s carbon 48 MTIs. Kudos to Mercury for continuing to develop new products in the midst of the economic challenges boating faces.

OK, onto the parties. As you would expect, Miami did not disappoint. The annual Florida Powerboat Club party had my phone ringing off the hook on Friday as I met with my pillow. Stu Jones, you know what offshore is about! Saturday night’s festivities included the Mystic Proof party where JBS Racing’s Jeff Stevenson and his crew sported their Mystic front and center along with the JBS girls. The party at Mangos was a madhouse—appropriate for the SeriousOffshore.com gang. And capping the evening off at the Cameo nightclub for the Cigarette after party … just awesome!

The big news for Miss GEICO Racing was the debut of AMF Offshore Rigging—a complete rigging shop that utilizes the lessons we have learned running high-speed performance boats with Stray’s knowledge of aesthetics, precision rigging and performance. We believe building the ultimate boat should be a partnership that an owner will look back on as the expression of their achievements in life and one they won’t forget.

So much more to share … keep checking back.

I’m in a bit of a sentimental mood at the moment, so let’s start off with something every performance boater can relate to—the challenge to get to the water and the sacrifices we all go through to get there. Why? Because once there, we forget about all of our cares while enjoying the exhilaration of the open water and unbridled speed.

Wow, what a year—2009 threw the Miss GEICO offshore racing team several curveballs starting with an entire crew change to an internal team three weeks before the season opener in Biloxi, Miss.

It seemed every step forward was met by hurdles that challenged this new team to survive. Yet each time I thought, “How much more can we take?” our crew came through. From saltwater leaks, underwater logs, broken tunnel tabs, shattered driveshafts, trashed propellers, bent rudders, broken radios, and the list goes on—at every turn we found a way to rise above and conquer the challenge.

No, we didn’t always win, but we achieved our goal of making it to the water and putting up the best fight the boat had in her for that day. You may ask where’s he going with this? Well, as I sit here after a long day talking with racers and riggers and parts suppliers and engine builders, I’m reminded why I love this stuff so much.

It’s the challenge to succeed where others have failed, the challenge to make the boat faster without adding more power, the challenge to create a team that will be remembered long after Scotty B (Begovich, Miss GEICO throttleman) and I are retired. The same challenge I used to get every Saturday morning when I walked out on the dock, lifted the engine hatch, grabbed my tools, two legs sticking out … I know I can be on the water by 10 a.m. to meet my friends … I can do it.

Look for big Miami Boat Show news in my blog next week!