The soft-spoken godfather of Fort Myers Offshore in Southwest Florida, Canadian Bob Barnhart spends much of each winter at his second home on Marco Island. Though he doesn’t participate in every event the nonprofit scholarship-fundraising powerboating club produces, the first lunch run of the 2026/2027 season should be an easy one for the affable gentlemen to make. He won’t even need his boat to get there.
The 10-event Fort Myers Offshore season begins next month with a lunch run to Marco Island. Photo from the 2026 Marco Island event by Pete Boden copyright Shoot 2 Thrill Pix.
Because the October 24 destination is the Marco Island Yacht Club.
Until last season, the Fort Myers Group hadn’t visited the barrier island for four years. That the 2026/2027 event-schedule kicks off in what is slated to be a 10-event, recording setting season, at the second-home locale of its founder dovetails nicely into the club’s vertical trajectory.
“We are extremely excited to kick off what will be the largest FMO season in our history including our members invitational to Hawk Cay Resort in the Middle Florida Keyes,” said Tim Hill, the president of the club. “This year we are also expanding the FMO experience beyond our traditional events with the introduction of ‘FMO Fridays.’ These Friday runs are designed to kick off the weekend for our members coming into town ahead of the main-event Saturday run, which gives them more organized opportunities to get together enjoy their boats and spend time with the FMO family.”
Hill and company also have expanded sponsorship opportunities for current and would-be backers this season. The club recently released its 2026/2027 sponsorships packets.
“Opportunities to support FMO this season include title, sponsorships, ‘FMO Friday’ sponsorships and new media sponsorship opportunities,” Hill explained. “We’re also developing plans for an in-water boat show for all of our manufacturer and marine industry sponsors, which will give them an opportunity to showcase their latest models directly to FMO members in the southwest Florida boating community.
“There is a tremendous amount of momentum surrounding FMO right now and we couldn’t be more excited about what we have planned for the 2026/2027 season,” he continued. “Most importantly, everything we do continues to support FMO‘s mission of creating opportunities for Southwest Florida youth to continue their education beyond high school.”
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