Loyal speedonthewater.com readers are up to speed on the restoration of Tommy Bahama, canopied MTI catamaran that captured a legion of offshore racing fans in the late 1990s and early 2000s. We have covered the restoration of the 44-footer, which original owner Mark Nemschoff had converted for pleasure use, after he and his son, Paul, retired from racing, since it began under new owner Tom Mischke in late 2018. The project continued throughout 2019.

Converted for pleasure use long ago but fully restored in 2019, the former offshore raceboat is coming to the Colorado River next month.

As typically happens with meticulous high-performance powerboat restorations, the project took a bit longer than the owner anticipated. The Arizona-based owner wasn’t 100-percent certain the with fresh horses—some 1,600 hp worth—from Sterling Performance Engines would be ready for its planned debut during the 2020 Desert Storm Poker Run set for April 22-26. But now he is and the boat will be there.

Better still, at least for me? I’ll be going for a long ride—at least I hope it’s a long one—with him on Wednesday that week in Lake Havasu City, Ariz. And, OK, I confess that I have never looked more forward to a Desert Storm happening.

The last time I saw Tommy Bahama MTI in action was in the early 2000s when it was tangling, to put it politely as there was no love lost between the two teams, with the Hidden Agenda Skater cat.

Read More: Desert Bloom On Tap For Reborn Tommy Bahama

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