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About ‘Phenomenon’
Phenomenon is
56 feet long,
13 feet and 6 inches
wide, with 4 turbine engines and 12,000
horsepower
Phenomenon was built for one
reason: to break
the world's propelled speedboat record of
220.5 mph
Phenomenon was created by engineers from Boeing,
former US Naval architects, & world class professional power boat
builders
Phenomenon was unveiled at the 29th annual Key West
World Championships in November 2009
The History of Al Copeland Jr. and Phenomenon
The prototypical vessel was
created famed restaurateur,
Al Copeland Sr.,
the founder of Popeyes Famous Fried Chicken & Biscuits Restaurants and
Copeland’s Restaurants and a former driver and owner of the Popeyes
Offshores race team from 1980-90
Unfortunately, about two years into building
Phenomenon, Al Copeland Sr. was diagnosed with a rare
form of cancer known as Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC), a rare and
aggressive form of cancer. Just eight months after the diagnosis, Al
Copeland Sr. died of the disease.
At the time of his death, Al Copeland Sr. had but two
goals he wanted to accomplish: One to find a cure for the rare cancer,
and two to finish the boat in order to break the world record
About Al Copeland Investments
The ACI family of companies
includes 30 restaurants, hotels and comedy clubs throughout the US,
including Copeland’s Diversified Food and Seasonings, Copeland’s of New
Orleans, Copeland’s Cheesecake Bistro, and Copeland’s Social City, among
others. A southern icon, Al Copeland’s memory lives on through the Al
Copeland Foundation which is dedicated to the eradication of Merkel Cell
Carcinoma, the disease that took Copeland’s life. For more information
on ACI and the Al Copeland Foundation, visit
www.alcopeland.com
and
www.alcopelandfoundation.org.
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