SUPER CAT FEST-WEST

A Lake of the Ozarks tradition spins off into an outrageously fun Lake Havasu event for the very first time.

Brett and Sharron Spraggins run alongside Shawn and Lyndee Moe in their MTI 390X catamarans.

Super Cat Fest—the famous gathering of high-speed catamarans scheduled during the week of the Lake of the Ozarks Shootout in late August— came to Lake Havasu this past weekend for three days of friend-making, partying and muscleboat action.

The West Coast spinoff from the celebrated Midwestern revelry came together with the combined efforts of Super Cat Fest organizer Alvin Heathman, Speedboat Magazine publisher Ray Lee and Todd Taylor of Jokers Wild Productions. The new event continues the tradition of uniting the fastest, most exotic offshore marine hardware in the world, with casual, fun-filled activities, cool vibes and heavy horsepower and great entertainment. Headquarters were at Havasu’s famous London Bridge Resort.

The action began at a late Thursday-afternoon kickoff party at the Swap Meet Plaza, not far from the London Bridge Resort, the ideal venue to accommodate a sizable number of boats on display and plenty of vendors. The well-attended event was both a thank-you to registered VIPs as well as the official registration party for participants to pick up their credentials and swag bags. Cardinali Family Concessions of Lake Havasu provided pulled-pork and tri-tip barbecue sandwiches to VIPs while large video screens from the Boom Bandits of Lake Havasu played boat-action footage from other events around the country. Upbeat tunes kept people on their feet and dancing until about 10 p.m.

Saturday brought a brunch hosted by Bling Sauce at the Havasu Springs Resort, where attendees were served breakfast burritos. Later in the day, participants rafted up at the Joker’s Wild Cove; River Dave’s Place hosted an evening party at the London Bridge’s Martini Bay Pool, where DJs the Boom Bandits again

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Right: Exhibitor MTI shows off its latest 390X demo boat, powered by twin Mercury Racing 450R outboards.

Left: Bryce Menzie’s DCB M37R, powered by Mercury Racing 450Rs.

Center left: Rayan Garland’s 2015 Statement 38 SUV.

Yvonne Aleman drives the MTI 340X Mad Props. Bottom: Mike Ciasulli’s extraordinary new 438 Skater, powered by twin Mercury Racing 1100/1350 stern drives.

NASCAR’S ZAMORA DRIVES THE DUCK

Slug Hefner is one of speedboating’s bonafide celebrities, and his succession of Dirty Duck boats are among the highest-profile in the U.S. His latest Duck is a Mystic C4000, which he picked up at the factory in DeLand, FL, back in January. An all carbon-fiber boat weighing in at 6,960 pounds, Dirty Duck hit 120 mph during its on-water test. But at Super Cat Fest, a different celebrity got behind the wheel of the boat: NASCAR driver Brittney Zamora, the American professional stock car racing driver who, at 22 years old, has become a force to be reckoned with as she competes across the country. Zamora was in Havasu in part to promote Pit Road Pals, the animal adoption program she founded, and to help Super Cat Fest raise money for the Western Arizona Humane Society (see Page 20). While in town, Hefner offered her the keys to the Mystic for a thrill ride she wouldn’t forget. “I definitely love to be involved in anything that goes fast, whether it’s on on asphalt, sand or the water—I’m all in for it,” she told Speedboat. “I’ve been up to 185 mph in my auto races before, but going that fast on water is a totally different game. With Alvin [Heathman] throttling, we took the boat to 112. It’s so cool how fast they go, and so crazy how smooth the ride can be when you’re on the right type of water.” Any chance we’ll see Brittney on the water again? “That would be fun,” she says. “We try to go to as many of the boating events as we can.”

Yvonne Aleman drives the MTI 340X Mad Props.

Right: Brian Golie in his 40' Skater Blood Money. Golie and his one-of-akind ride were profiled in the March 2015 issue of Speedboat magazine. Top: Dave and Buffie Megugorac’s awesome DCB M44 Bananas XL on display. Above: The Megugoracs take a refreshment break with their crew. Left: A view of the docks and the world- famous London Bridge.

Below left: The fleet’s LEDs light up the night while docked at Gilbert’s.

Above: Alternative rockers LIT perform onstage to their audience at the Pirate Cove beach.

Left: The MTI center console raft-up.

Here’s the all-new Eliminator 31XO (extra wide) Speedster.

Right: Mike Bolin’s completely restored 2006 Outerlimits 39 GTX.

provided music and entertainment.

On Saturday, it was time to head up to Pirate Cove Resort & Marina in Needles, CA, for a concert featuring the alt-rock band Lit, with opening act Undercover, a local cover band. Some strong winds, gusting at as much as 30 mph, were a bit of an annoyance, but they failed to spoil the party. The concert was not only well attended, but completely sold out.

Saturday night also saw a charity auction at Kokomo Nightclub at the London Bridge Resort, benefiting the Western Arizona Humane Society. The auction raised over $30,000 to purchase a new ultrasound machine for the animals.

Unquestionably, the highlight of the auction occurred when an Australian shepherd mix puppy was brought out to be auctioned for adoption. Colton Moe, the young son of Outerlimits enthusiast Jason and Laurie Moe, flipped for the adorable animal, and even put in a few bids for it himself. Ultimately, the pup was won by Thomas Flatly, owner of the London Bridge Resort, to the tune of $3,000. But when Flatly accepted the pup—and promptly handed it over to a heartbroken Colton Moe—there wasn’t a dry eye in the house.

Overall, Super Cat Fest West proved to be a strong and promising first-time event, resulting in a lot of positive feedback from all who attended.