Image Of The Week: Leader Of The Pack

An undeniably talented high-performance powerboat operator who has owned some of the finest and fastest creations ever built by Nor-Tech, Outerlimits and Skater, Bill Pyburn, Jr., of Jacksonville, Fla., made his well-known name in the exotic catamaran world. So when it came time to move to a center console, he went with an MTI V-42  with quad Mercury Racing 450R outboard engines.

On New Year’s Eve 2020, Northern Florida’s Bill Pyburn, Jr., tackled the Gulf of Mexico with authority in his MTI V-42 center console. Photos by Pete Boden copyright Shoot 2 Thrill Pix.

What else would you expect? He’s still Bill Pyburn, Jr., and even in his 80-plus-mph MTI center console, which runs less than half the top speed of his Pure Platinum Skater 388 catamarans, he charges hard on the water when the time is right.

And the time was just that during speedonthewater.com chief photographer Pete Boden’s annual New Year’s Eve photo shoot in Sarasota, Fla., last month. In sporty Gulf of Mexico conditions, Pyburn ran at or near the front of the V-bottom pack that included a 41-foot Apache and a Cigarette Racing Team 42X for much of the shoot.

“He stayed right there with the hardcore V-bottoms,” said Boden.

Of course, like a poker run a photo shoot is not a race. But clearly Pyburn still likes to charge in the right moments, and in that respect owning a center console hasn’t slowed him down a bit.

A New Year’s Eve V-bottom formation graced the Gulf of Mexico waters of Sarasota.

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