T2x

A few...yes....mostly on the officiating side. That group have become expert in self preservation (race expenses, uniforms, power, greed, etc)...and that motive has been behind a lot (but not all) of the problems the sport has faced.

But the teams that were at the top of the sport then are no longer involved in racing. The mindset lives on, however. It's a real chicken/egg thing. New racers arrived with stars in their eyes, convinced they could attract sponsors and offset the expenses. They did well in a race or two and this fueled a few years of enthusiasm.....filled with "independent" thinking and individual "innovations" (which really weren't)....and then inevitably someone totaled up the cost..... analyzed the upside....and ruined all the fun..... this story continues today......and will until or unless a real sponsorship based model is achieved.

It boils down to critical moments and decisions in any motorsport. When Nascar's teams agreed to follow Bill France's lead and absolute competition rules, that was the critical moment that put them where they are today. When IRL and CART decided to split, that decision put them....forever..... below Nascar. If those two things hadn't occurred the entire face of motorsport in the U.S. would be drastically different IMHO.

The die was cast for Offshore racing between 1987 and 1991 during which period great opportunities were lost and bad decisions abounded........and all the kings horses, and all the kings men have been awash in pieces of its eggshell ever since. I sometimes feel sorry for the new guys who don't know how badly stacked the deck really is.

Is it impossible to think that it can ever be fixed?......No..... but you really have a lot of foundation repairing to do before you even begin to think about (re) building the house. We had one amazing sport with a lot going for it........it didn't need a saviour...it needed minor tweaking. Unfortunately it received brain surgery.......and the surgeon somehow misplaced the brain.

MidOcean

iTrader: (2)

Offshore racing hasn't been a legitimate sport for some time. Back in the day, during the original 4 class system we had a chance. Now, we are just a hobby designed to stroke egos. It's like little league... no losers. If someone doesn't get first place, we just make a new class... Hopeless.

offshoresteve

"Spirit of Amazon" has been sitting on a Nice boatlift on Lake Lanier for the past few years.I have never seen it out running, doubt the new owner ever has all 4 engs. working at once
The new owner owns a flooring Co.....not as lucrative as a Gold Mine

Catmando

I just posted on Eike's Facebook page about this thread. Hopefully he'll read it and comment.

Jesse James

was told he put up the prize money for the race.. i have seen the check will see if i can get a picture of it next time i am up there.... the skater express 24 was the boat