Image Of The Week: Sky-High Sharkey Vows To Never Grow Up

“I turn 61 next week, but still refuse to grow up…” that’s how a humorous text exchange with New Jersey-based photographer Tim Sharkey ended this afternoon while following up with him to see how his restored Bullet 130 SV powered by a vintage 60-hp Johnson SST outboard engine fared in last week’s Tiki Lee’s Shootout On The River poker run hosted by Tiki Lee’s Dock Bar in Sparrows Point, Md.

Tim Sharkey of Sharkey Images had a blast running his restored Bullet 130 sportboat in the Tiki Lee’s Shootout On The River poker run. Photo by Randy Nuzzo/Powerboat Photos

Had Virginia-based ace photographer Randy Nuzzo not shared an image he nabbed from the helicopter of Sharkey driving Kill Shot during Friday’s poker run, I wouldn’t have known he was there. Instead I now know that Sharkey’s sportboat that he himself built in 1985 and spent the past two years updating is pretty much dialed in and ready for some high-flying fun on the water.

“The boat is running much better, but I still have a slight intermittent miss I am fighting,” said Sharkey, who added that he was an unofficial participant in the poker run when I asked why he didn’t let me know he’d be attending the event.

Sharkey said he intended to register but that the event was sold out by the time he decided to go run his boat in Chesapeake Bay—so he went anyway.

“I launched from the lunch stop at Lee’s Landing and ran south from there to meet up with the group and try to capture video of the boats in the event,” Sharkey said. “I ended up running more than 76 miles. I think the actual run was 116 miles. I approached (Tiki Lee’s owner) David Carey at lunch and offered to chip in some money for the chopper being I wasn’t officially in the event and Randy got some pictures of me. He refused to take my money and was just happy that Randy got the shots.

“I think I shocked a lot of people on how that boat runs in the rough water,” he added and laughed. “I have a lot of experience with driving the Bullet 130 since I was 22 years old. People may say I am nuts; I respond with, ‘I prefer talented.’ The event was a lot of fun (see for yourself in the video below). Chesapeake Bay is such a great place to boat. You never feel crowded and there are a lot of places to go for lunch.”

Editor’s note: Look for a complete recap of the Tiki Lee’s Shootout On The River on speedonthewater.com tomorrow.

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