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Voyaging’s first Dream Come
True is a father-and-son extravaganza—at 107 mph.
By Jeremy Wallace — Fall 2004
Dear Dream Come True,
My name is Matt Riley and I am 15. Ever since I was little, I’ve
been fascinated by things that go fast. By age 6, I knew all models of
cars. My nickname became “Motor Man.” I didn’t know
much about boats since I lived in Colorado—not exactly the boating
capital of the world.
Everything changed when
we moved to Connecticut a few years ago. Now, we did live in the boating
capital of the world, or at least it seemed that way. We bought a Sea
Ray 240 Sundancer, which we liked, but it wasn’t long before I decided
(before my parents did) that it was time for a bigger, faster boat. I
learned everything I could. My dad and I went to boat shows, and eventually
I knew more than the salesmen there.
After months of research,
we purchased a Formula 31PC. Now this was more like it! We have twin engines
and 750 hp under the hatch. We can cruise at 35 mph and top out at 54
mph. It’s no Cigarette, but at least I’m getting closer.
Last month, I was at Harbor
Park Restaurant in Middletown, Connecticut, and a low rumble caught my
ear. I peered over the railing and saw it: a Cigarette! This bad boy could
easily surpass 80 mph. I wished more than anything that I could change
places with the owner.
It would be my dream come
true to make this fantasy a reality!
Matthew Riley
Farmington, Connecticut
The bright Florida sun bore down on the chrome instrument
panels on the Cigarette Racing Team 42X, illuminating a number Matt Riley
never thought possible: 107 mph. “That is insane!” the teenager
yelled in a voice that couldn’t be mistaken for anything but giddy.
“Just insane!”
Matt’s father, Randy, responded as calmly as he
could manage: “Was that smooth or what?” His electric smile
gave away the utter joy he was experiencing through his son.
Even in his wildest dreams, Matt could only imagine
hitting 80 mph on the open water. Ninety? No way. How about 100 mph? Unfathomable!
That is, until Capt. Bud Lorow verified that the 9,800-pound boat Matt
and Randy were aboard had just cracked the century mark. “It’s
such a small percentage of people in the world that has ever gone as fast
as you guys just went,” Lorow said. The 15-year-old turned back
to his dad with a look that was part disbelief and part wonderment.
When he wrote a letter (above) to Voyaging’s Dream
Come True editor earlier this year, Matt said he wished more than anything
he could change places with the owner of a high-performance powerboat
he had stared longingly at while cruising on the Connecticut River. Doing
so, the high school sophomore imagined, would let him top his personal
record of going more than 54 mph in his family’s cruiser, a Formula
31PC.
>> Next page >>
Part 2: Randy
still recalls one boat company calling him in an attempt to hire his son,
not knowing Matt was still in high school. Page
1,
2, 3
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