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WiFi on commercial aircraft is a beautiful thing. I’m writing this somewhere around 30,000 feet above the Nevada desert on my way to Las Vegas. Once there, I’ll pick up John Tomlinson—that John Tomlinson—and he and I will cannonball down to Lake Havasu City, Ariz., to meet up the Powerboat magazine crew for boat tests tomorrow.

I think I’ll let Tomlinson drive. As you might expect from a world-class throttleman, the guy has as much lead in his foot and he does in his arm. Plus, my driving record and insurance rates really can’t handle another ticket for at least 18 months.

Among the boats we’ll be testing is a 31-foot catamaran from Dave’s Custom Boats. (You might have seen a video of it on this site.) The cat is powered by a pair of Mercury Racing 1350 engines. According to a reliable source, it tops 180 mph and “will pin you back in your seat when the driver nails the throttles at 150 mph.”

As with the car ride to the lake from Las Vegas, I won’t be doing the driving. That job falls to professionals like Tomlinson and Bob Teague. There aren’t many people I trust with my life in a go-fast boat, and dramatic as that sounds that’s exactly what Powerboat editor Jason Johnson and I do when we step into the really fast stuff with Tomlinson and Teague.

Of course it’s a rush—I’d be lying if I said it weren’t. But it’s also a risk. And without people I trust at the wheel and on the throttles, it’s not one I’d even consider taking.

While you can read the complete performance evaluation of the DCB M-31 Wide Body with a combined 2,700 hp in the next issue of Powerboat, I’ll let you know how it went later this week.

Time to put up my tray table and return my seat back to a full upright and uncomfortable position.

Caught up with multiple world-championship winner John Tomlinson earlier this week. Tomlinson, who co-owns TNT Custom Marine in North Miami, said he’s still waiting for a decision from the Abu Dhabi team on what it wants to do for the 2011 Union Internationale Motonautique Class 1 offshore racing season, which begins in April. At the request of the team, Tomlinson prepared several proposals, from building a new 48-foot MTI catamaran and bringing over his own crew for testing and racing to leasing a Victory team cat, as the Abu Dhabi campaign did for six races last year.

“I’ve given them all the options and associated budgets, and now I’m just waiting to hear from them,” said Tomlinson, who throttled the boat for Abu Dhabi. “I think they’re going to race, but I also think its fifty-fifty as to what they’re going to do, go with a new boat or lease one.

“In a perfect world, they’d call me up and say handle it, assemble it and let’s do it, and we’d go over there with a full-blown effort ourselves,” he added. “But at the same time, I still enjoyed what we did last year with a Victory team boat. I wouldn’t be unhappy with that.”

In what on the surface seems like an unusual move, the New Jersey Performance Powerboat Club will be a feature sponsor at the Florida Powerboat Club’s annual Miami Boat Show Party and Miami Boat Show Poker Run in February. The sponsorship comes courtesy of NJPPC member Bob Christie, the former owner of Typhoon Marine and Typhoon Service Center in Toms River, N.J.

“The reason I’m a sponsor is I firmly believe this is one of the best poker runs I attend every year,” said Christie. “Even though I no longer own a business in the marine industry, I plan to continue to support the event every year.”

For Florida Powerboat Club founder and owner Stu Jones, NJPPC sponsorship of two of his club’s signature events makes perfect sense.

“We like their club, and they like ours, so why not?” said Jones. “The last time I was at an NJPPC event in 2009, Dave Patanaude (NJPPC president) asked me to speak at the banquet. “I said that as I looked around the room I felt like I was with family, because so many of their members also are members of our club.

“If there is such a thing as a ‘sister club’ in another state, the NJPPC would meet all the criteria for that description,” added Jones.

Currently in the process of putting together several different proposals for the Abu Dhabi team for 2011, renowned offshore racing throttleman John Tomlinson says he is excited at the prospect of running a full season in Union Internationale Motonautique Class 1. Last year, Tomlinson ran three races for the Abu Dhabi campaign in a catamaran it leased from Dubai’s Victory team.

Among the most compelling aspects of competing in UIM Class 1 for Tomlinson are the rule changes for 2011, which essentially base horsepower and maximum engine speed (rpm) on the size and weight of the boat. The new rules give all the teams several options. Beyond that, Tomlinson says he appreciates the professionalism, fierce competitiveness and skill levels of the Class 1 racers.

"You don't see all the choppers and Lamborghinis (in the pits) like you do here," said Tomlinson. "From the guy who finishes first to the guy in ninth place, everyone races hard. And they're really good.

“Arif Al Zafeen and Nader Bin Hendi in the Fazza boat (which won the 2010 UIM Class 1 World Championship) are excellent,” added Tomlinson. “They’re just plain fast.”

The 2010 season was not Tomlinson’s first UIM Class 1 experience. After going undefeated to win an American Power Boat Association Open Class World Title in 1996 with driver Laith Pharaon, Tomlinson teamed up with Pharaon again in the 1997 to compete overseas. Running the Jolly Motor catamaran, the pair took the UIM Class 1 European and Middle Eastern titles, as well as the overall world-championship title.

Tomlinson said that he was untouched by the politics and controversies of the 2011 season. "I was only there for three races," he said.

But while he is hoping to run the full 2011 Class 1 season, it is far from certain that he will because the season opens in April and he is still putting together proposals—one with the possibility of building a new 48 MTI with Sterling engines—for competing in the class.

"If we go with a new boat, I don't think it would be ready for like eight months," he said. "It's all a matter of what the team wants to do and how much money it wants to spend. I told them that with what we have now, we're essentially competing for second place. As long as they know that and are OK with it, I'm OK with it."

Source-Interlink, the publisher of Motor Trend, Hot Rod and a bunch of other magazines you might have heard of, has launched a new magazine called Sport Boat. According to its media kit, the magazine will provide powerboat and tow-vehicle reviews, cost-effective engine and propulsion system upgrade articles, hands-on technical information and more.

So why is this good news? In fact, why, as the editor at large for Powerboat magazine, should I even bother to write about it? It’s not as if I’ll ever be able to write for the new title as long as I’m at Powerboat—it is direct competition—and I’m not leaving Powerboat anytime soon.

Answering the second question first: It’s newsworthy. I cover the high-performance powerboat world, and if I failed to report that there’s a new magazine in that world I wouldn’t be doing my job. As for the first question, the launch of this new title is good for a few reasons.

First, it gives information-hungry performance-boat enthusiasts, meaning all of you, another way to get that information. Second, if, in fact, the go-fast marine industry can support another title it means the industry is getting healthier—and that would be good news for everyone.

Third, I love competition. Strike that, I thrive on it—and I think the new magazine will provide solid competition. My former Powerboat editors Gregg Mansfield and Brett Becker contributed to the first issue, which went to press this week.

One of my former colleagues—one who should know better—asked me if I was worried. I laughed. I watch and respect the competition, but I never worry about it. Competition pushes me, as it probably does most of you, to do better. I just put my head down and work harder.

Plus, if I had a dime for every start-up magazine that was going “put Powerboat out of business,” I’d have, to loosely borrow from Slim Pickens in the movie “Blazing Saddles,” an “s-load of dimes.”

My response to those involved with the new title? Bring it.

As for where you can find the magazine after it prints …

Even on a good news Friday, I’m just not that nice of a guy.

Spent the better part of the morning contacting various people in the high-performance powerboat industry about Reggie Fountain’s recent departure from Fountain Powerboats in Washington, N.C. Here’s what they had to say.

Fred Kiekhaefer

President, Mercury Racing

“Reggie is a strong-willed man, very capable and not necessarily very comfortable working in a corporate environment. On one hand, I’m disappointed to see him leave his namesake. On the other hand, I completely understand it. He’ll be happy in an entrepreneurial role and I’ll do everything I can to help make him successful. He’s done a lot for our industry. I hope the owners do a good job of hitting their marketing objectives with very successful companies built by people who weren’t able to stay with them.”

Peter Hledin

Owner and founder, Douglas Marine/Skater

“Everyone is sorry to see Reggie go, and we wish him the best. Maybe he’ll pop up somewhere else. I think he’d make a great spokesperson for Skater.”

Joe Schaldenbrand

Vice-president, Sunsation Performance Boats

“I think Fountain has a fair-sized task ahead of them because Reggie had such a loyal following and customer base. Hopefully they can maintain that without his presence. To me, Reggie was the biggest icon in the industry for many years, especially in offshore racing. His contribution to the sport is just incredible. When you’re that big, there are going to be people who like and dislike what you do, but his accomplishments are extraordinary. I’ve watched him for years and I might have done some things differently than he did, but it boils down to accomplishments. He’s accomplished more than any other manufacturer out there.”

Skip Braver

Owner and chief executive officer, Cigarette Racing Team

“Losing his expertise is not a positive for Fountain. I’m sure that whatever Reggie ends up doing he’ll be as successful and innovative as he’s been in the past.”

Bob Teague,

Owner, Teague Custom Marine

“The one thing you have to give Reggie credit for him is enthusiasm and promotional ability. The business is going to miss that part of it. I believe that Fountain, the boat, is still going to do very well because of all the things Reggie has done with the design. I don’t think this is the last we’re going to hear from Reggie Fountain.”