Showing boat operation and boating safety is something I am very familiar with after spending 20 years in the US Coast Guard and over 10 years with Performance Boat School. While we have trained hundreds of operators and received nothing but accolades and praise from all of our trainees, the broader message is still a miss with the general population.
After the now famous Fountain Boat spin out viral video from the Lake of the Ozarks many people gave their uninformed opinion and pontificated about causal factors, speed, responsibility and boating safety.
This video was the reason we got a phone call from producers from ABC Good Morning America. They wanted a sensational story about how to survive a boat crash. After some short conversations we just couldn’t come to terms on how the boats and the operation would be depicted. We had to make sure our passion of Powerboating was represented in a proper way. The producers passed on our proposal and went on to call at least two other potential providers to fulfill what they wanted to depict. While I am not sure why, they called back about two weeks later and accepted our proposal – we were ready to get out on the water and show America what powerboating is all about. Not just flashy hulls or fast crashes, but a level of skillful operation, mechanical marvel & engineering innovation unknown to the general populace.
Teamed up with Larry Goldman of Xtreme Powerboats we took the Powerboat Nation CIGARETTE boat and a 48′ Outerlimits cat through a variety of maneuvers in Biscayne Bay. ABCÂ Personality Matt Guttman rode along with us and was given a factual, realistic powerboating experience. We showed them how speed was not the problem with performance boating. Rather, understanding your craft/surroundings and applying proper operation to include trim control and power management is the more central issue.
We worked hard to push the appeal of powerboating to a larger audience and to depict our lifestyle and love of boating in the right way. We hope this message will be accurately portrayed on the show.
No other powerboating media company works as hard as we do to bring the message of powerboating to a larger audience so people can find out what it’s all about. Shout outs are needed just as much for you guys – PBN couldn’t do this without the largest and most dedicated powerboating community and fans at our fingertips. Keep supporting and stand by for even bigger and better exposure!
The final air date is yet to be locked down, but look for us on ABC Good Morning America on or about July 15th!
edit: We’ve got an air date! Tuesday, July 14th, 7:30 AM! Check your local listings!
