If it not for Kathy Riley, the mother of world champion offshore powerboat racer Rusty Rahm of Wake Effects team fame, Reese Langheim of Pawnee, Ill., and Brad Wade of Wentzville, Mo., wouldn’t be in the sport, much less on their way to receiving what will be the the second 32-foot Victory catamaran to compete in the United States. Allow me to explain.

Had they not met Kathy Riley, the mother of notable offshore racer Rusty Rahm, Brad Wade and Reese Langheim (shown here flanking Victory team representative during last weekend’s Thunder On The Cocoa Beach offshore racing) wouldn’t be in the sport (click here to enlarge). Photo speedonthewater.com.

A few years back, Langheim and Wade were in Key West, Fla., catching the Super Boat International Offshore World Championships. Longtime friends and go-fast boat enthusiasts who call the Lake of the Ozarks in Central Missouri their home water, they’d set themselves up in the V.I.P. spectator area on the Outer Mole to catch the Unlimited-class contest, the final race of the day. They were getting ready to take in the action when they noticed a nearby woman looking somewhat panicked.

So they approached her. “She said, ‘My son is about to race and I don’t have a place to watch,” said Langheim. “So we invited her to watch with us.”

Read more: Another Lake of the Ozarks Connection

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