Fort Myers Offshore Nor-Tech 30th Anniversary Fun Run A Record-Setter

Tim Hill, the president of Fort Myers Offshore, is a passionate guy. You could say he wears his heart on his sleeves but in deference to his Southwest Florida environs his sleeves tend to be short—far too short for his outsized heart. So today’s record-setting 83-boat fleet for the club’s annual post-New Year’s, 50-mile fun run from the Sanibel Island Bridge to Marco Island left him delighted and filled with gratitude.

As appropriate for the kick-off for a year-long anniversary celebration, Nor-Tech had plenty of fine representation in today’s Fort Myers Offshore fleet. Photos by Pete Boden copyright Shoot 2 Thrill Pix.

“Record-setting events seem to be our theme this year,” Hill said. “Our previous record for this run was 62 boats.

“Today was absolutely incredible—it couldn’t have gone any better,” he continued. “We had plenty of sun and it was less windy than it’s been. We had one- to two-footers all the way from Sanibel to Marco Island. And our start today was phenomenal. All of our captains did a great job. We try to get everyone to line up behind the paceboat and stay that way for a while so (event photographer) Pete Boden can capture everyone, and when I looked back after the start all of the boats were behind us.”

The FMO happening, one of two designated fundraisers for the nonprofit outfit’s scholarship fund, actually began Friday night at the Westin Cape Coral Resort, where event title sponsor Nor-Tech Hi-Performance Boats hosted a cocktail party to kick off what will be its year-long 30th anniversary celebration. The event was open to all FMO members and Nor-Tech owners. Among the Nor-Tech team’s players present were Nils Johnsen and Trond Schou, who co-founded the Fort Myers, Fla., high-performance center console, catamaran and V-bottom company.

As it happened, last night was Johnsen’s 60th birthday. “Henrik (Margård, Nor-Tech’s vice-president of production) asked me to lead everyone in a round of ‘Happy Birthday,’” Hill said. “I think there were about 115 people there and they all sang.”

Mystic’s John Cosker and his wife, Robin, tackled the run in a Mystic C4000 catamaran.

In addition to donating $3,000 to FMO’s scholarship fund, Nor-Tech donated Nike golf shirts emblazoned with its new 30th anniversary logo as well as Umbro shorts and windbreakers with the same logo for the club’s 50/50 raffle. Participants who bought $50 worth of tickets received the Nike shirt. Those who went in for $100 worth of tickets received all three pieces of branded apparel.

The Nor-Tech folks were equally impressed with the overall event.

“It was amazing,” Margård said. “CJ’s On The Bay did an outstanding job with the lunch stop, especially given that were only about 100 more participants than everyone thought would show up. Last night, the Westin continued to deliver superb service and the collaboration between our two companies is just getting better and better.

“Trond, Nils and the entire Nor-Team is looking forward to another record-breaking year in 2021,” he added.

Check out the slideshow above to enjoy more images from today’s Fort Myers Offshore Nor-Tech 30th anniversary event.

Because today’s FMO happening immediately followed the Joey Gratton Memorial New Year’s Day Fun Run in Sarasota, Fla., there was less participant-overlap from that event than there has been in years past. But several Gratton run participants, such as Devin Wozencraft of Wozencraft Insurance Agency headquartered in Southern California among them, also joined in the today’s FMO happening.

“The people who make up FMO are truly great,” said Wozencraft, who enjoyed the lunch run in his 30-foot Skater Powerboats catamaran with his family. “They are friendly and willing to help if needed. Fortunately, we didn’t need anything other than directions, being that this was our first trip to Marco Island.”

Next up for Fort Myers Offshore is its January Naples Hyatt House Fun Run. “I’m sure it will be another record-setter,” Hill said. “That’s just the way we’ve been going this season.”

Said Nor-Tech’s Henrik Margård, “CJ’s On The Bay did an outstanding job with the lunch stop, especially given that there were only about 100 more participants than everyone thought would show up.”

Fort Myers Offshore Nor-Tech 30th Anniversary Fun Run A Record-Setter

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