Ratman72

Oh yeh and a big shout to my buddy Jeff Hall (aka The Sea Giraffe), who was navigating on Martini, we had a great time! Hey Jeff, thanks for not reminding me too much that your over there, I'm over here and I may be missing out!!!

Jeff Hall, Bob Saccenti, Mike Bontoft, me...........taken at the Royal Yacht Squadren after the race..........utterly brilliant!

[ATTACH=CONFIG]512130[/ATTACH]

Heres one with my father and my son..............

[ATTACH=CONFIG]512140[/ATTACH]

Redman

Unfortunately, I never got to race on the Continent. In 1975, Richie had made a commitment to another well known Offshore Racer--- so I was the 'fill in guy', and I ran a couple of races in the US in the 35'

Richie, Bob Saccenti, Bob Higgins, Jerry Jacoby, Paul Haggerty, Keith Eickard, Billy McDonald and I all had race shops on NE 17th Avenue, back in the day. I got to visit with Bob S. at one of the reunions a couple years ago--
Gene Lanham

Top Banana

Christian, Gene forgot to mention that he was the T man for a guy by the name of Doc Magoon....yes, those two did very well in more than a few races ....including setting a new speed record for a run from Miami to New York in a 40 foot Cigarette.

Ratman72

Well what can I say, it's a real pleasure to be speaking with you two gentlemen. Gene, you raced with Doc Magoon and Carlo Bonomi, that's incredible. One of those wide body 40' Cigs ended up this side of the pond. I think Tim Powell bought one in the US and shipped it over here before selling it to Michael Doxford and racing it as Limit Up. I'm not sure if it was Doc Magoon’s boat?

[ATTACH=CONFIG]512167[/ATTACH]

So were you on the boat in one of these?

[ATTACH=CONFIG]512168[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]512172[/ATTACH]

Michael Doxford also bought the Jumpin Jack 35' and had a lot of success with that in the UK.

So did you ever race on either of Magoon's 36' Cigs? They were both beautiful boats, especially KAM III. That came over here and raced for a number of years called "I Like It Too".

[ATTACH=CONFIG]512169[/ATTACH]

I know the Tman and engine builder who looked after the boat back then, Jimmy Brooker. That boat is currently in Norway and has been fully restored to KAM III, it looks incredible, the owner has the original Champion Makers with the mechanical fuel injection. I've been talking to the owner and trying to help him bring it to the Cowes Torquay.......I actually thought it was going to happen this year but fell over at the eleventh hour. Interestingly, Mike Bontoft and his brother bought the boat in late '76.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]512170[/ATTACH]

So I'm guessing from your comments that in '75 Richie was starting to make the change over to the Gentry team? Of all of the boats that came over here, I think the white 35' American Eagle provided the most jaw dropping moment ever. I recall it was the first 35' we had seen in the UK and really looked modern compared to the 36's. I was a young boy in '76 and the whole family went out on my Granddads cabin cruiser to watch the 1976 Needles Trophy, which was the warm up event for the Cowes Torquay. I think their game plan was to come out late and show all the 'old boats' where they were going wrong because they pulled the same stunt at Cowes a few days later. We had just gone through the mouth of the harbour, out to sea and we had a pretty big wash off our stern. You could hear something big coming up through the inner harbour but you couldn’t see it and you didn’t know which boat it was. Then, out of nowhere, they appeared and took the boat off our wash more or less flat out, about 40' off our stern...........absolutely breathtaking is they only way that could be described, we were all just totally spellbound. When your four years old and you see something like that, right in front of you, it stays with you and is why I have chosen it for my avatar. This picture is more or less how I remember the moment………just need the glorious noise to go with it!!!

[ATTACH=CONFIG]512171[/ATTACH]

Ratman72

I'll put some pics of my fathers resto of the 1968 Magnum on The Cigarette thread that we have running as well..............thought you may be interested.

Top Banana

Christian......YES, he was in those 36's too. But that is his story to tell. And yes, Doxford bought the Ny run boat and it became Limit Up.

I can relate to you Gentry story. December 1978 and we are at the World's in Mar del Plate Argentina. A shrink wrapped new boat shows up and we all wait while the wraps are taken off.....and there is the latest creation of Powers and Beich....the Tom Gentry owned AMERICAN EAGLE. A 38 foot Scarab from Larry Smith.

We all took turns gawking at the immaculate bilge and every other new innovation they thought up. I have a video on the banana boat site under racing where you can see the boat there.

Rob Bailey

Hi guys,where did Red Tornado end up?

Redman

Joern has done a wonderful job with the III. We sold it to Charles Gill---and later it went to Mike B.

Ratman72

Gene, I must apologise for being a bit slow. I have just noticed the side of the beautiful boat above..........”Chief Mechanic, Gene Lanham”............much respect is due!

How come Doc Magoon sold the boat to Charles Gill? First of all, I think the boat was given to Doc Magoon as a ‘gift’ for winning the world championship, so you’d have thought he’d have wanted to keep it and secondly, it was just about the quickest thing of it’s time, so that’s another good reason to keep it. Oh, yeah and it was utterly beautiful, so there’s a third!!

So whats the story behind this shot Gene.........and who was the author?

[ATTACH=CONFIG]512206[/ATTACH]

You must have had quite a bit to do with Carl Kiekhaefer as well? Got any associated stories/photos you want to share?

Coming back to my ’76 CTC story, with American Eagle trying to dazzle everyone by starting last, KAM III, racing as ‘I Like It Too’ actually won the race………..I have been told that Mr. K was at Cowes that year and he went ballistic at the new 35’ with factory Kiekhaefer motors getting beaten by the old 36’with Jimmy Brooker built motors. I was also told that this was due to a navigation error at the Torquay end of the course, not the performance of the boat.

I'm glad you have been in contact with Joern, I was hoping to put him in touch with Charles Gill but I haven't got his details and no one is helping me out with that. I was also trying to get his boat to be the start boat of last years CTC but that met some resistance as well. I’ll try again this year.

What I really want to do is get the following boats together next year and get some press coverage, call it the ‘Aronow Bloodline’ or something…………They are all in Poole, so it could be possible, Ian’s 27’ Magnum, Mike’s 35’ Cigarette, Richard’s 39’ Cigarette, Tony’s 41’ Apache and if they come again, of course, Olie’s 42’ Chief. Now that really would be a sight to behold! We could do with a 36’ in there as well, so if we could get Joern’s boat, that would be the crowning glory.

Gene, it hasn’t got the trademark wind shield of Bonomi but I thought you may like to see this to bring back some memories. I took this the first day I got to drive Dry Martini………pretty special moment on two counts, firstly I got to drive an incredible piece of power boating history and think about all the greats that has been onboard. Secondly, it was one of the few days it didn’t rain in the UK!!!

[ATTACH=CONFIG]512205[/ATTACH]

Redman

Hugh Whall was a writer for Sports Illustrated. Hugh rode with us in the '72 Pt. Pleasant Race. We broke a gimbal housing/lost the steering and spun the III at speed. Hugh was hurt, the boat nearly sunk.

'SI VAULT' has some great Offshore pictures and stories from the 70's