The jewelry giant-backed raceboat came mighty close to earning its first win, but it wasn’t to be. Photo courtesy/copyright Pete Boden/Shoot 2 Thrill Pix.

Serafino “Jimmy” Cazzani is a showman. From letting fans sign his Alex And Ani raceboat currently competing on the Offshore Powerboat Association circuit to signing autographs, the Rhode Island-based owner and throttleman of the 40-foot Platinum catamaran with 1,800-plus-hp turbocharged Stotler Racing engines and Mercury Racing M8 drives doesn’t just know the value of face time with his team’s supporters, he loves it. You could even say that his contagious enthusiasm and joy off the racecourse have offset his lack of success on it.

At least until last weekend—or so it appeared for about 48 hours.

Last Saturday, Cazzani and his driver/engine builder Herb Stotler bested Rusty Rahm and Jeff Harris in Wake Effects and Bob Bull and Randy Scism in CMS—the top two teams in the Unlimited class of Super Boat International if recent world titles are anything to go by—at the OPA Lake Race sponsored by Performance Boat Center on the Lake of the Ozarks in Central Missouri. Rounding out the category, which OPA calls Extreme class, were the always fast American Ethanol/Cat Can Do and no-slouch Speed Racer teams.

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