First Bass Tourney

I went on my first bass tournament down in Potomac. I didn't know what to expect since the lottery paired me up with Tom, the club president. I woke up at 2:30am to meet the guys at 3:15am. I felt kinda small seeing all the glass boats with at least 150HP motors; meanwhile I've got a dinky tin boat with a puny 25 horses. These guys are hardcore! Tom said I was going to freeze my ass off going 50 to 60mph in 45deg weather. Well we got down there at about 6am and launched from Smallwood Park. Everyone seemed pretty nice with no attitude at all. This day would be my first time for many things; 1st time in a tournament bass boat, 1st MD bass, and 1st VA bass. Going out to our first spot, we were going 50mph. The ride was rougher than I expected, but I didn't feel cold at all. Tom was following Mike and Paul around. I guess Mike and Tom go back a ways and are real close friends. We were fishing at this one spot on the VA side that had over 50 boats fishing the same area. Tom was getting pissed because everyone was catching fish but us. He caught one keeper and I caught 2 shorts. Finally we moved to another spot on the MD side. On the way, we were going 60mph. The ride was very rough and a few times we were airborne. The ride was so rough that my nuts were bouncing on the seat, which was nauseating. I lost my cap too while trying to hold on with my hands full; I was trying to hold a net, a bottle of Gatorade, and my sunglasses. Tom caught another keeper and I caught another short. Finally at the weigh in, most everyone caught 1 to 2 bass. But Mike and Paul caught a total of 9 fish in the last hour and a half. Tom was pissed off that he didn't have the patience to hangout.
Getting home I couldn't stop thinking about the day and I can't wait to get back out in a boat. I've bought more lures and a 5.1:1 MH baitcast combo. I'm looking at tourney bass boats and figuring out how to get the most speed out of my boat. I think what I may have to do is fix up my boat and trade up. I guess I'm onto my next obsession. One last thing; don't pass up wearing sunscreen on a boat!