Racers turned reporters Mike Yowaiski (above with Maxed Out Offshore Racing teammate Jim Jackson) and Johnny Saris delivered compelling first-person stories from final offshore powerboat races of the 2015 season. Photo courtesy/copyright Maxed Out Offshore Racing/Speedonthewater.com
Regardless of your racing class or how many times you’ve done it, competing at the annual Super Boat International Offshore World Championships in Key West, Fla., is a big deal. That’s especially true for rookies hitting domestic offshore powerboat racing’s biggest stage for the first time.
So what the hell made Mike Yowaiski think he could do just that and write about it for speedonthewater.com at the same time? Sure, Yowaiski is an experienced racer who’s done most of his competing on the Offshore Powerboat Association circuit, and he’s also spent some time behind the microphone as a broadcaster. He’s even reported for speedonthewater.com before and worked as a race promoter/organizer for OPA in Solomons, Md. But taking on a series of columns and competing with the Production 4-class Maxed Out Offshore Racing team in Key West earlier this month for the first time—that was ambitious.
And in the series of columns he produced during the SBI Key West Worlds, Yowaiski’s ambition was rewarded. His pieces were personal and honest, and presented a compelling side of the sport that even the best third-person reporting simply can’t touch.
and then