Fast Shafts

Welcome to Offshoreonly!! I was just kid when you raced in the Bennihana, I remember your boat "Super Toad", a 28' single engine Cigarette. You were actually leading all the open class boats due to them breaking down or getting lost. You were close to the finish line when you broke down, handing the victory off to "Latortuga". This had to have been a major disappointment. Could you post pictures of your boat?
Bob

lucky strike

iTrader: (1)

I remember Super Toad & have a few pics tucked away somewhere. I never missed a Point Pleasant race back in the day.

Mr. Toad

Thanks, everyone, for writing back!

Well, afterwards they told us that everyone on shore was going nuts about it (esp. my folks!), but on the boat we were clueless! We had no idea we were leading, so we were just bummed at breaking down 1/2 mile from the finish. We did wonder why all the helicopters were overhead, but figured we were so far behind that everyone else had already finished, and they were just coming back to take some pictures of the Class II boats!

We were mostly West Coast racers (POPBRA) back then. That race in 1975, being on the East Coast and pretty high profile, is the one that gave me some credibility as a navigator. Probably why I was able to get offers of rides later on with Rocky, Joey Ippolito, Preston Henn, and eventually a full-time gig with Betty Cook.

I'll look for some pictures, I don't have any on my computer. I'm sure my parents have the scrapbooks somewhere, and when I get time I'll scan some of them.

spectras only

Welcome to the board MrToad. You obviously must have known John Connor. I had to google him to find out what's he up to now. I remember reading stories about him and Betty getting lost in the fog off the Californian coast , only relying on a compass and charts. How easy it's nowdays with GPS , eh.

http://www.connormarine.com/Frame-7-...=1240500331248

Black Tornado

Sorry if I have not mentioned you Pepe.
Sure that are among the great old men of the offshore!!!
And one of the few Americans that has come to challenge the Italian drivers beating them!

JO - PANTERABOATS

Yes it sometimes it feels like 1980 was not too long ago!
Had a great time there in Viareggio, but Venice was very different.
Later,
pepe.

Mr. Toad

Thanks for the link and the photo. That's probably me in the picture, as Don Holloway (Betty's navigator during her first World Championship run) was much taller. I'd heard John went to Florida. I've lost touch with everyone from that era, but certainly remember you all fondly (if you can apply that word to some of the tough cases we raced against!).

Yeah, GPS is cheating! And, hey, we had stop watches, too! The chart, whiskey compass, stopwatch, and Mk. I eyeball were all we had, though, and navigation was a big part of truly "offshore" racing.

I learned much of the techniques and subtleties of pilotage and ded-reckoning in race boats from California crew chief and navigator Frank Guertin, who was quite generous in sharing his knowledge with a young guy.

For those of you that didn't know him, here's a Frank Guertin story:

I remember the dense fog suddenly shutting down the start of one of our races, perhaps the one you are referring to. Visibility was maybe a boat length or two. There was a real danger of hitting other nearby boats that were milling for the start. Frank was nearby in (maybe Zippe, I'm not sure...) and he would have our small group shut our engines down. Then he'd listen, point, and we'd start up and idle for a little before stopping and repeating the process. Eventually we found our way to one of the little oil islands in Long Beach harbor, where the heat of the land made a little pocket of less-dense fog. We waited there for quite awhile until the fog lifted. When I asked Frank how he knew which way to go, he explained that he was listening for the sound of the oil wells on the islands.

A great example of using all the resources at your disposal.

Bill Vogel

Mr. Toad

Marco, here's the story of how I got started....

My Dad, Bill Sr., knew Southern California endurance racer Jake Gilbreath (flat-bottom circle racing, like the Parker 500 mile(!) Enduro). Jake rented a shop from Dad for his gas tank business, which later became Jake's and his son Jerry's very successful Gil Marine business. In 1969 I was 15 years old, and Dad was looking for a safe outlet for my obvious interest in anything fast. We had a small cabin cruiser, but I wanted a 'speed boat'. So, Dad spoke to Jake about how to get into boat racing.

Jake was friends with Russ Hill, brother of prop wizard Ron Hill, and Russ was on the POPBRA board as its official APBA referee. POPBRA had recently created the Development Class (to develop interest in offshore at an affordable price) that allowed pretty much any boat to run. Through the help of Russ, Sandy Kemp, and Bob Brown they figured out how us kids could qualify for APBA insurance so we could race with our Dad.

Dad bought a 19' Tahiti jet boat with a 427 and put a big compass in it. We named it "Mr. Toad", after the hero of the children's book "Toad of Toad Hall" and the inspiration for the Disneyland ride 'Mr. Toad's Wild Ride', and were assigned number 48 by the APBA. We added helmets, life jackets, a life raft, and now Dad, my brother Bob (14), and I were 'racers'.

We entered our first race, which just happened to be the 1969 Bushmills Grand Prix from Long Beach to Ensenada, Mexico! We had no clue how totally inadequate our boat was for the ocean. Looking back, they probably shouldn't have let us enter. We were fortunate that the outcome was successful.

This race was Don Aronow's west coast premier with his new Cary 'Cigarette', the year he won the world and national championship. My recollection is that Don only had to finish to clinch the national championship. You've probably read how Don beat the mayor of Long Beach to Ensenada, even though the mayor hit the freeway an hour before the start of the boat race. Don's time was under 2 hours.

Well, we took ten hours! The first time we hit a big wave, the dash broke right through the center (the hole for the speedometer was a weak point) and my Dad spent the whole race holding up the flopping deck with his arm, to keep it from breaking the rest of the way and crushing our knees (it was a sit-down boat). I drove and throttled, and thank goodness all we had to do was follow the coast south.

We received a trophy for "last to finish", and Bob and I were awarded silver cups for the "crew award", which I still treasure. We were hooked!

Mr. Toad

Thanks for remembering. Here are a couple of photos. (Click the images for larger versions)

Bill Vogel

Mr. Toad

Here's one more pic of Don Aronow inspecting his handiwork.