As we all take to the water, hit the road or stay put at home to enjoy today’s federal holiday, the speedonthewater.com team would like to wish everyone a safe and happy Labor Day and take the time to express gratitude to the tremendous American work force, especially the essential workers who have helped us get through one of the most challenging state of affairs this country has ever encountered.

Matt and Melanie Beach had a great time running their Fountain at the Exotic Run in Traverse City, Mich., in mid-August. Photo by Pete Boden/Shoot 2 Thrill Pix

In celebration of all the laborers across the United States, we give you this picture-perfect image shot by speedonthewater.com chief photographer Pete Boden a few weeks ago at the Exotic Run in Traverse City, Mich. (Read about the event here.) Hopefully Boden, one of the hardest-working people we’ve worked with in our careers, enjoys a rare well-deserved day off. He probably won’t because even when he’s not flying around chasing boats, he spends much of his time sorting through images, corresponding with boat owners looking for pictures and keeping up with social media posts.

The patriotic-looking boat pictured above is a well-kept 42-foot Fountain Powerboats V-bottom owned by Michigan performance boaters Matt and Melanie Beach. Named Chasing Liberty, we chose this image because of its complete composition. From the framing and the timing to the stars-and-stripes graphics and Matt Beach’s driving posture, it’s a fantastic picture that we hope helps honor and recognize the American labor movement and the works and contributions of laborers to the development and achievements of the United States.

Here’s to everyone having a safe day on the water or wherever your day off takes you. Thanks for reading speedonthewater.com—and with that, we will take the rest of the day off. Who are we kidding? No we won’t, we’re too busy setting up stories for the rest of the week and diving into the production of our next digital magazine, which you can subscribe to here.

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