Veteran offshore powerboat racer Ryan Beckley is a gamer—there’s no better way to describe the stalwart Stock-class competitor who lives in Sarasota, Fla., but hails from Key West, domestic offshore powerboat racing’s most storied venue. Last time I caught up with Beckley at an event other than the fabled Florida city at the end of the road, we were in the Middle East and he was running his 30-foot S-111 Skater catamaran with his longtime friend and teammate Tanner Lewis in the first and last Qatar Cup. In addition to running a full Super Boat International season every year, Beckley also competes in a few Offshore Powerboat Association events, such as the Lake Race on the Lake of the Ozarks in Central Missouri, each season.
For offshore racer Ryan Beckley, bringing one boat to race in Bimini at the end of the month just isn’t enough. Photo courtesy/copyright Pete Boden/Shoot 2 Thrill Pix.
Yeah, gamer is the right word—maybe even the perfect word—to describe Beckley.
Need more proof? In two weeks, he’ll be running two boats in the OPA’s inaugural World Resorts-sponsored event in Bimini, Bahamas. Backed by wsmparts.com, Beckley and Lewis will run the 30-footer in the Super Stock class, OPA’s equivalent of SBI’s Stock category. Beckley also will team up with his oldest son, Chris, to compete in their 24-foot Skater in OPA’s Class 4 fleet.
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