A powerboat zooming through the harbor.

A powerboat zooming through the harbor.

by Shayne Benowitz

The World Champion Powerboat Races certainly left their mark on Key West. The harbor was churned up Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday by these monstrous machines at speeds topping out over 100 mph. The best place to catch the action was aboard Fury’s official turnboat where the racers zoomed around our catamaran towards the finish line.

Guests poured onto the Key West Fury in the morning and were promptly served mimosas and a delicious buffet breakfast. We kept the drinks free flowing with beer, wine, wine spritzers, and a variety of sodas. Many guests opted for the open liquor bar upgrade to keep the party going long into the afternoon. The lunch spread was served after the first race offering our hungry guests cold cut sandwiches, and a variety of salads.

When the harbor opened up around noon, the parasail crew zoomed out to our turnboat to deliver the gourmet afternoon snack of cocktail shrimp, lobster salad, and spinach and shrimp casserole. Everyone was drooling over the delectable treats. The excitement was amped with each passing day as the finals approached. On Sunday, our party was completely sold out.

Captain Marius with his parents aboard our official turnboat.

Captain Marius with his parents aboard our official turnboat.

There was a lot of action on Thursday and Saturday with powerboat racers and pleasure cruisers tearing up the harbor for practice and play. On Saturday, one of the race boats flipped over in the harbor. It was quite the spectacle to see the hulls floating at the water’s surface with the driver and throttleman sitting atop them waiting for a tow back to land. Fortunately nobody was hurt.

The racers clearly like fast machines on and offshore. The island was thrumming with luxury sports cars such as Lamborghinis, Ferraris, and Bentleys all week long, as well as fast and furious motorbikes. Friday night part of Duval Street was closed down exhibiting some of the powerboats for all to see up close.

It was certainly an exciting week and a great way to throttle into fall! Check out our facebook page for more!

Last Updated 03/15/2018