2012 Rochester Offshore Batteleship Run
07-26-2012, 05:47 AM
#1
Gold Member
Gold MemberThread Starter
2012 Rochester Offshore Batteleship Run
How many Poker Runs can you think of that have been going on for over 20 years? (Stupid game show music plays.) OK, so the answer is a very, very small number. The Rochester Offshore Powerboat Association (ROPA) has been running what they call their “Battleship Run” on beautiful Seneca Lake in upstate New York for 22 years. Maybe this club knows something about running one of these bad boys? As it turns out, this year’s run proved exactly that point. The fact that Tempstar Heating and Cooling Products stepped up to be title sponsor again this year also speaks volumes for dedication. Additional sponsorship was provided by Barrett Marine, Beikirck’s Ammunition, Four Chimneys Winery, Bill Gray’s Restaurants and Sutter’s Canandaigua Marina.
Before we talk about this year’s run, let’s go back in history a bit to see what led to it. Many people have accused ROPA President Bill Krystan of pacing the first run from his ark. While that is not technically correct, there is some evidence that things were a little different in 1990 when the club first came to Seneca Lake to try some “different” water. You see Lake Ontario is actually much closer to Rochester, but it can get downright nasty sometimes and the club wanted a more “family friendly” kind of run.
The answer turned out to be just south of Rochester in what are called “the Finger Lakes” that run across the mid section of New York State. They were all formed by a glacier that President Bill personally organized the removal of early in his presidency. (Little Known Fact: Many of the docks and along the lake are built from planks salvaged from Bill’s original ark.) The glacier was big enough to gouge a hole 38 miles long, 3 miles wide and 620 feet deep that eventually filled with crystal clear water to form Seneca Lake. The resulting geography also led to an area that is just about perfect for growing grapes because the lakes act as giant temperature dampeners. President Bill – noting this fact – started growing grapes and crafting fine wines many years ago. This legacy – and the one about him never having his fastest prop – endures to this day.
So it turns out that Seneca Lake is almost tailor made for fast boats and fun, but what about the people? Ah, but that’s probably the single biggest thing about the area and its history with ROPA. The club has worked long and hard to build a solid reputation with the folks they share the lake with including law enforcement. Understanding that they’re visiting somebody else’s lake, the club has always stressed “safe high performance boating.” That means a strict “no alcohol during the event” policy that Bill explained as: “Water on the water and beer on the pier.” It also means PFD’s any time you’re on plane, no passing the pace boats and giving a wide berth (and a friendly wave) to anybody you pass on the lake. Rules you can live by? You bet!
All of this stuff may not sound important, but if you want to come back to someplace year after year, reputation is important. And to say that it’s worked for the club would be a major understatement. The number of folks who go out of their way to see the fleet fly by is quite amazing. And when the boats are back at the dock, you’ll see all sorts of folks talking to the participants and hearing all about the way the boats are built, rigged and driven. Why a couple of us went to the local Wegman’s grocery store for some supplies prior to the run. We parked the trucks (and boats) out in the corner of the lot. On the way through the parking lot, a woman came up to us and said “I just love it when you guys come down here. I love seeing all the fast boats and I almost hate to say it, but the noise is wonderful!” Wow, it was like being a celebrity! And it kind of reminds one of the responsibilities all of the participants have in maintaining the club’s reputation too.
But what about the actual run? Although I guess it’s technically a “Poker Run” because everybody runs from one assigned stop to the next and collects something at each stop, ROPA does things a little differently here. Everybody entered in the run gets numbered tickets at each stop instead of cards. (Little Known Fact: Bill invented numbers.) Although this isn’t poker, it does inject a dose of uncertainty because nobody knows who’s going to win until the matching tickets are drawn from a hat at the end. It’s also like a Poker Run in that a worthy charity – Mercy Flight Central in this case – gets a check with the proceeds at the end. But let’s hit the water because that’s what everybody came for and what all of you want to hear about.
The run is divided into three fleets based on how fast the participants want to run. Pace boats guide each fleet at an agreed upon speed and maintain order. Even though the speeds are quite different, staging when everybody leaves each stop assures that anybody waiting for the fleet to arrive (and lots of folks wait to see the fleet arrive) will see just about everybody arrive together. The “slow” fleet was paced by Bill in his 25’ Checkmate (with his second or third best prop) at 45-50 MPH. The “medium” fleet was paced by Kaied Morshed in his freshly wrapped 29’ Warlock at 60-65 MPH. The “fast” fleet was paced by Rob Shooping in his stunning 36’ Eliminator cat powered by twin 1100 HP Flux Capacitors at what can best be described as “comfortably north of 100 MPH.”
I should also note that Lord Vader apparently sent his fleet to Seneca Lake this year because there were single, double and triple black (Mercury) outboard powered entries that all went like stink – no pun intended. We’ve never had so many clamp-ons and all of them were modified. Although Rob clearly had the fastest boat in the fleet (rumored to top out at about a buck fifty) the next four or five fastest boats all trailed a thin plume of blue smoke and sounded like pissed off hornets. String trimmers around the lake were raised in salute.
Speaking of the lake, the first leg takes the fleet from Battleship Run headquarters at the beautiful Showboat and Rainbow Cove hotels, north about 19 miles to Barrett Marine. Fran Barrett, his crew and spotless marina have played host to the first stop since shortly after he replaced the wooden prop on Bill’s ark. Fran has also saved the bacon for more than a few entrants with speedy, professional Mercury parts and service. Although Seneca Lake occasionally deals up some pretty bumpy water on the first leg, this year we had a wonderful 1’-2’ downwind chop that everybody loved. And just like clockwork, the medium and fast fleets blew by the slow fleet about 1 mile from the stop. Photo op anyone?
From Barrett Marine, it’s back to the hotels for stop number two. As most of you know, running with the waves is better for air time, but running into the wind is better for ride – and sometimes speed. This leg didn’t disappoint and more than a few entrants took full advantage of the allowance the club makes to “fall back and catch up at full boil.” Craig McMullen from Torque Photographic was in a 24’ Baja camera boat piloted by longtime club member Jim O’Neill on each leg to catch action shots as each fleet blew by.
The third leg runs 18 miles south from the hotels to beautiful Watkins Glen. Yes, this is the town that has the famous race track and hosts numerous races (including NASCAR) every year. Here, the fleet gets to dock and enjoy a leisurely lunch. This year many folks elected to eat on one of the many waterfront decks (instead of inside) because the air temperature was perfect.
The last leg is different in that the pace boats all drop their flags. The “no passing” rule not only goes away, but the club suggests that everybody make sure that their speedometer pickups aren’t clogged with any kind of debris by “fully exploring the forward most position of the throttle(s).” This leads to 18 miles being covered at speeds that would make Al Gore blush. The fact that GPS speedometers don’t clog with weeds was met with a sly wink from President Bill.
After everybody finishes showing off and is safely docked back at the hotels, the final part of the day is reserved for a fully catered dinner where everybody gets to compare sunburns (lots of that going around) swap tales about top end (I had no idea a stock 496 HO could go that fast) and listen to reasons folks didn’t go as fast as they promised before the run. BS meters randomly placed around the tables pretty much all pegged here.
Finally at about 6 PM, it was time to hand out the prizes. ROPA has several categories of prizes. First, there’s the donation to Mercy Flight Central. This year – based on the number of boats that showed up – the club was able to donate $500 from the entry fees. Another $200 was added from a 50/50 raffle. The second type of prize is various items from Bill’s famous “prize table.” This included all sorts of neat stuff that the club buys or sponsors donate specifically to give away. This year – in response to a comment that there was “too much guy stuff” given away in past years - several of our wives and girlfriends made sure there were two bags of “unspecified” goodies from Victoria’s Secret to liven things up. (I was assured that no batteries were required.) The third type of prize is the actual cash prizes for first through third place. Oh, and then there are a few “special” prizes.
So who won? Well, 3rd place went to none other than longtime club member and tireless behind the scenes worker Roger Fisher of “Black Velvet” fame. Second place went to Jeremy Star from nearby Buffalo. First place went to the unofficial leader of the dark (outboard) side – Jim Meyer from Buffalo. Jim’s 30’ Spectre cat with triple 2.5’s has been a fixture at this run for years and is consistently one of the fastest boats. Local mosquitoes are rumored to be plotting their revenge for next year though.
Before we talk about this year’s run, let’s go back in history a bit to see what led to it. Many people have accused ROPA President Bill Krystan of pacing the first run from his ark. While that is not technically correct, there is some evidence that things were a little different in 1990 when the club first came to Seneca Lake to try some “different” water. You see Lake Ontario is actually much closer to Rochester, but it can get downright nasty sometimes and the club wanted a more “family friendly” kind of run.
The answer turned out to be just south of Rochester in what are called “the Finger Lakes” that run across the mid section of New York State. They were all formed by a glacier that President Bill personally organized the removal of early in his presidency. (Little Known Fact: Many of the docks and along the lake are built from planks salvaged from Bill’s original ark.) The glacier was big enough to gouge a hole 38 miles long, 3 miles wide and 620 feet deep that eventually filled with crystal clear water to form Seneca Lake. The resulting geography also led to an area that is just about perfect for growing grapes because the lakes act as giant temperature dampeners. President Bill – noting this fact – started growing grapes and crafting fine wines many years ago. This legacy – and the one about him never having his fastest prop – endures to this day.
So it turns out that Seneca Lake is almost tailor made for fast boats and fun, but what about the people? Ah, but that’s probably the single biggest thing about the area and its history with ROPA. The club has worked long and hard to build a solid reputation with the folks they share the lake with including law enforcement. Understanding that they’re visiting somebody else’s lake, the club has always stressed “safe high performance boating.” That means a strict “no alcohol during the event” policy that Bill explained as: “Water on the water and beer on the pier.” It also means PFD’s any time you’re on plane, no passing the pace boats and giving a wide berth (and a friendly wave) to anybody you pass on the lake. Rules you can live by? You bet!
All of this stuff may not sound important, but if you want to come back to someplace year after year, reputation is important. And to say that it’s worked for the club would be a major understatement. The number of folks who go out of their way to see the fleet fly by is quite amazing. And when the boats are back at the dock, you’ll see all sorts of folks talking to the participants and hearing all about the way the boats are built, rigged and driven. Why a couple of us went to the local Wegman’s grocery store for some supplies prior to the run. We parked the trucks (and boats) out in the corner of the lot. On the way through the parking lot, a woman came up to us and said “I just love it when you guys come down here. I love seeing all the fast boats and I almost hate to say it, but the noise is wonderful!” Wow, it was like being a celebrity! And it kind of reminds one of the responsibilities all of the participants have in maintaining the club’s reputation too.
But what about the actual run? Although I guess it’s technically a “Poker Run” because everybody runs from one assigned stop to the next and collects something at each stop, ROPA does things a little differently here. Everybody entered in the run gets numbered tickets at each stop instead of cards. (Little Known Fact: Bill invented numbers.) Although this isn’t poker, it does inject a dose of uncertainty because nobody knows who’s going to win until the matching tickets are drawn from a hat at the end. It’s also like a Poker Run in that a worthy charity – Mercy Flight Central in this case – gets a check with the proceeds at the end. But let’s hit the water because that’s what everybody came for and what all of you want to hear about.
The run is divided into three fleets based on how fast the participants want to run. Pace boats guide each fleet at an agreed upon speed and maintain order. Even though the speeds are quite different, staging when everybody leaves each stop assures that anybody waiting for the fleet to arrive (and lots of folks wait to see the fleet arrive) will see just about everybody arrive together. The “slow” fleet was paced by Bill in his 25’ Checkmate (with his second or third best prop) at 45-50 MPH. The “medium” fleet was paced by Kaied Morshed in his freshly wrapped 29’ Warlock at 60-65 MPH. The “fast” fleet was paced by Rob Shooping in his stunning 36’ Eliminator cat powered by twin 1100 HP Flux Capacitors at what can best be described as “comfortably north of 100 MPH.”
I should also note that Lord Vader apparently sent his fleet to Seneca Lake this year because there were single, double and triple black (Mercury) outboard powered entries that all went like stink – no pun intended. We’ve never had so many clamp-ons and all of them were modified. Although Rob clearly had the fastest boat in the fleet (rumored to top out at about a buck fifty) the next four or five fastest boats all trailed a thin plume of blue smoke and sounded like pissed off hornets. String trimmers around the lake were raised in salute.
Speaking of the lake, the first leg takes the fleet from Battleship Run headquarters at the beautiful Showboat and Rainbow Cove hotels, north about 19 miles to Barrett Marine. Fran Barrett, his crew and spotless marina have played host to the first stop since shortly after he replaced the wooden prop on Bill’s ark. Fran has also saved the bacon for more than a few entrants with speedy, professional Mercury parts and service. Although Seneca Lake occasionally deals up some pretty bumpy water on the first leg, this year we had a wonderful 1’-2’ downwind chop that everybody loved. And just like clockwork, the medium and fast fleets blew by the slow fleet about 1 mile from the stop. Photo op anyone?
From Barrett Marine, it’s back to the hotels for stop number two. As most of you know, running with the waves is better for air time, but running into the wind is better for ride – and sometimes speed. This leg didn’t disappoint and more than a few entrants took full advantage of the allowance the club makes to “fall back and catch up at full boil.” Craig McMullen from Torque Photographic was in a 24’ Baja camera boat piloted by longtime club member Jim O’Neill on each leg to catch action shots as each fleet blew by.
The third leg runs 18 miles south from the hotels to beautiful Watkins Glen. Yes, this is the town that has the famous race track and hosts numerous races (including NASCAR) every year. Here, the fleet gets to dock and enjoy a leisurely lunch. This year many folks elected to eat on one of the many waterfront decks (instead of inside) because the air temperature was perfect.
The last leg is different in that the pace boats all drop their flags. The “no passing” rule not only goes away, but the club suggests that everybody make sure that their speedometer pickups aren’t clogged with any kind of debris by “fully exploring the forward most position of the throttle(s).” This leads to 18 miles being covered at speeds that would make Al Gore blush. The fact that GPS speedometers don’t clog with weeds was met with a sly wink from President Bill.
After everybody finishes showing off and is safely docked back at the hotels, the final part of the day is reserved for a fully catered dinner where everybody gets to compare sunburns (lots of that going around) swap tales about top end (I had no idea a stock 496 HO could go that fast) and listen to reasons folks didn’t go as fast as they promised before the run. BS meters randomly placed around the tables pretty much all pegged here.
Finally at about 6 PM, it was time to hand out the prizes. ROPA has several categories of prizes. First, there’s the donation to Mercy Flight Central. This year – based on the number of boats that showed up – the club was able to donate $500 from the entry fees. Another $200 was added from a 50/50 raffle. The second type of prize is various items from Bill’s famous “prize table.” This included all sorts of neat stuff that the club buys or sponsors donate specifically to give away. This year – in response to a comment that there was “too much guy stuff” given away in past years - several of our wives and girlfriends made sure there were two bags of “unspecified” goodies from Victoria’s Secret to liven things up. (I was assured that no batteries were required.) The third type of prize is the actual cash prizes for first through third place. Oh, and then there are a few “special” prizes.
So who won? Well, 3rd place went to none other than longtime club member and tireless behind the scenes worker Roger Fisher of “Black Velvet” fame. Second place went to Jeremy Star from nearby Buffalo. First place went to the unofficial leader of the dark (outboard) side – Jim Meyer from Buffalo. Jim’s 30’ Spectre cat with triple 2.5’s has been a fixture at this run for years and is consistently one of the fastest boats. Local mosquitoes are rumored to be plotting their revenge for next year though.
Last edited by Too Stroked; 07-26-2012 at 10:18 AM.
07-26-2012, 05:48 AM
#2
Gold Member
Gold MemberThread Starter
In the “special prize” category, Tim Sharkey (Expensive Date on OSO) got the “Long Haul” award for dragging his beautiful 29’ Formula through 7 hours of rain just to attend his first ROPA event. Peter Baier from Buffalo got the “Hard Luck” award (a mangled 4 blade prop) for detonating a drive coupler (or maybe the whole drive) on his otherwise absolutely stunning classic 27’ Formula.
Normally I wouldn’t mention the stuff from the prize table, but poor taste requires a special mention here. Personally, I don’t go to these things to win anything and normally speaking, I don’t. So when they got to the first pink bag from Victoria’s Secret, I was more interested in peeling the label off my beer – which was in a can. Besides, my girlfriend couldn’t make it this year. So who wins it? You guessed it. So I pranced up to the stage to accept – then promptly trade away – the prize. Fifteen minutes later, the second bag is drawn for. And who wins it? Yup, the very same idiot. Using my lightning quick reflexes, I promptly traded that one for a bag of flares that I had a more immediate use for. (They were flares, right?) And if you think I’m ever going to live this one down …
All in all, it was nothing short of a spectacular event. The weather simply couldn’t have been any better. The boats were breathtaking. The water was absolutely perfect. And the people were as warm and friendly as it gets. That brings me all the way back to the people who run the event. I simply cannot thank President Bill Krystan, Todd and Aretha Sawyer, VP Dave Spanton as well as the whole ROPA board for the hard work they put into this thing. It must truly be a labor of love because as any of you who have volunteered to work on one of these things knows, there’s never enough credit given to the folks who make it look so easy. And it’s not easy at all!
I’m sure everybody who worked on this one is going to get some well deserved rest before starting to work on next year’s event – already scheduled for July 20, 2013. If you’d like to help out or attend the run, contact the club through our web site: www.rochesteroffshore.com.
Normally I wouldn’t mention the stuff from the prize table, but poor taste requires a special mention here. Personally, I don’t go to these things to win anything and normally speaking, I don’t. So when they got to the first pink bag from Victoria’s Secret, I was more interested in peeling the label off my beer – which was in a can. Besides, my girlfriend couldn’t make it this year. So who wins it? You guessed it. So I pranced up to the stage to accept – then promptly trade away – the prize. Fifteen minutes later, the second bag is drawn for. And who wins it? Yup, the very same idiot. Using my lightning quick reflexes, I promptly traded that one for a bag of flares that I had a more immediate use for. (They were flares, right?) And if you think I’m ever going to live this one down …
All in all, it was nothing short of a spectacular event. The weather simply couldn’t have been any better. The boats were breathtaking. The water was absolutely perfect. And the people were as warm and friendly as it gets. That brings me all the way back to the people who run the event. I simply cannot thank President Bill Krystan, Todd and Aretha Sawyer, VP Dave Spanton as well as the whole ROPA board for the hard work they put into this thing. It must truly be a labor of love because as any of you who have volunteered to work on one of these things knows, there’s never enough credit given to the folks who make it look so easy. And it’s not easy at all!
I’m sure everybody who worked on this one is going to get some well deserved rest before starting to work on next year’s event – already scheduled for July 20, 2013. If you’d like to help out or attend the run, contact the club through our web site: www.rochesteroffshore.com.
Platinum Member
07-27-2012, 09:53 PM
#5
Registered
Kudos + ritual sarcasm
Tom, You've outdone yourself again. Fabulous writeup!
What do you mean Ark? Are you trying to say I'm old? Remember, we are the same age young grasshopper!
I'm glad you included the part about you "prancing" to get the Victoria's Secret raffles. When you traded for flares it really gave rise to the "flamer" moniker but I have actually seen your girlfriend Stella and know she's real, and not one of your fantasies, so I guess we can just guess wonder if you 2 swap clothes or practice together for the Nutcracker!
What do you mean Ark? Are you trying to say I'm old? Remember, we are the same age young grasshopper!
I'm glad you included the part about you "prancing" to get the Victoria's Secret raffles. When you traded for flares it really gave rise to the "flamer" moniker but I have actually seen your girlfriend Stella and know she's real, and not one of your fantasies, so I guess we can just guess wonder if you 2 swap clothes or practice together for the Nutcracker!
07-27-2012, 10:04 PM
#6
Registered
It was a great run, mostly because of the people in the club and the lake which is something every high performance boater should try to run on at least once. The locals are also great, it always amazes me when the come out to watch only see this outside of New Jersey.
Thanks again for the great time.
Thanks again for the great time.
07-28-2012, 07:02 PM
#7
Gold Member
Gold MemberThread Starter
Tim,
Thanks for dragging that beautiful Formula all the way up here. It was great meeting you and I'm glad you enjoyed the run!
Tom
Thanks for dragging that beautiful Formula all the way up here. It was great meeting you and I'm glad you enjoyed the run!
Tom
