Inside SOTW Mag: Women Of Substance—Yvonne Alemán

Yvonne Alemán, who shares cockpit duties in an MTI 340X catamaran with Greg Harris, a former offshore powerboat racer and her boyfriend of almost nine years, looks forward to the day when her role in the high- performance powerboating world—as a driver—isn’t such an anomaly. Regardless, she has a blast behind the wheel of the South Florida couple’s 34-footer powered by Mercury Racing 450R outboard engines with Harris on the throttles. And, like most other things in her life, the 44-year-old certified public accountant takes that role seriously, particularly when it comes to safety on the water. Alemán is direct and honest, a passionate and devoutly loyal woman who never fails to give a straight answer and does not suffer fools gladly.

On the water or off, Yvonne Alemán blazes her own trails. Photo by Pete Boden copyright Shoot 2 Thrill Pix.

DESCRIBE YOURSELF.

I am generally strong willed and independent. I do what I want when I want and I’m not very “bendy.” You either love me or love to hate me (laughs).

HOW DID YOU GET INTO BOATING?

Basically, I have been boating since I began walking. I was born on a waterfront property with our boats right out back. I have been driving boats since I was old enough to be allowed to do it. In our family, boating was a daily way of life. When I was old enough to drive a boat, my punishments weren’t, “You’re grounded and can’t watch TV.” They were, “You can’t take the boat out.” My father also taught me how to sail on a little Sailfish I would spend hours working

on and maintaining the boats with my father. Boating and water—I’m also a dive-master— have always been in my life.

GREG HARRIS MUST HAVE INTRODUCED YOU TO THE HIGH-PERFORMANCE BOATING WORLD.

He did, back in 2012, when we started dating, and I assimilated into the performance-boating world. I had known about it, but wasn’t involved. I have always been comfortable with boats.

DESCRIBE YOUR PATH TO DRIVING WITH GREG THROTTLING.

When we had our Active Thunder V-bottom, it wasn’t set up for one person to throttle and another to drive, but I did throttle and drive it a few times. I grew up on V-bottoms so it felt no different than anything else I had done on boats.

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