Gallery Of The Week: Best Skaterfest Yet

Not only was Ron Szolack able to show off his stunning new Skater Powerboats 388 catamaran powered by twin Mercury Racing 1100 engines at Skaterfest, an annual event he hosts in Michigan to honor the legendary boat brand headquartered in Douglas Mich., the well-traveled performance boat enthusiast who splits time between Michigan and Florida also got to welcome more than 40 of his closest Skater brethren to an event unlike anything else.

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Ron Szolack and Chip Miller run Szolack’s brand new Skater 388 at Skaterfest in Michigan. All photos by Pete Boden/Shoot 2 Thrill Pix

In fact, many of the participants, the likes of which included a long “who’s who” list of Skater owners running some of the coolest models to ever leave the Skater facility, called Skaterfest the best event of the summer.

“I want to personally thank all my Skater friends and family for coming this weekend,” Szolack said (pictured below right, click to enlarge). “This was the best Skaterfest ever. And thank you to Pete (Hledin, Skater’s owner and founder) for building the best boats on the planet.”

Szolack, who opted to take a break from Skaterfest last year, has already announced that the 2019 Skaterfest is going to place the same weekend—Aug. 9-11—in Harrison Township, Mich.

Szolack’s good friend, Todd Fountain, who owns the 46-foot Skater Tom Cat, said changing the venue to Lake St. Clair Metropark was a good thing.

“I agree with Ronnie, I think this was the best Skaterfest yet—we had an awesome time,” Fountain said. “Having it at metropark with all the boats right there was way cool. Everything went smooth. The weather was great and the water was perfect.”

Check out more images from Skaterfest in the slideshow above.

Here’s what several of Szolack’s other friends had to say about this year’s Skaterfest, which included Saturday’s 120-mile run and a follow-up fun run on Sunday for those interested.

“Another great event—worth the trip for sure!”—Greg Harris, owns 32-foot Skater that he runs with girlfriend Yvonne Aleman.

“Thank you Ron Szolack—fantastic weekend!”—Tom McCullister, owns triple-outboard-powered wide-tunnel 32-foot Skater.

“My second time coming and had an absolute blast. Perfect weather. Thanks for the amazing time.”—Paul Smith, passenger in Sam Singer’s 38-foot Skater.

“A great time was had by all. What a wonderful event with awesome people!”—Debra Nash-Esquivel, owns 36-foot Skater with her husband, Dan, and ended up organizing a cruiser for their crew and a few other unfortunate owners whose boats broke down before Saturday, too.

“Skaterfest is a class-act event that just keeps getting better. Thank you for having us and thank you for your generosity.”—Shell Anderson, crew member who ended up on the cruiser with the Esquivels.

“You the man Ron! And thanks for everything you do too Jim Ratza.”—Chris Ryder, owns a 36-foot Skater, has attended every Skaterfest and was a passenger in Chris LaMorte’s 36-foot Skater this year.

“Huge thank you Ron Szolack. This was our first Skaterfest and we had a blast! Thanks Tristan Garvin for all your hard work, we are not an easy crew to corral.”—Christy Wright, crew member who also ended up on the cruiser after Jim Lee’s 46-foot Skater broke prior to Saturday.

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