Charlie that is real impressive and congratulations BTW Who did the drives?? they need a mention here.

You also got to remember that Stuart and Joey chose and waited for the perfect Aug day to do the run and set there own course and starting point.
IMHO it makes no sense to run a race like this on a weekend with the racers coming up the east river at the end of the run, it should be no later than 8am...too much traffic otherwise.

Thanks Steve.......I believe that Joe does his own mechanicals, including the drives. Now that is real old school.

BTW...are you going to be at OFF next week?

Yes Sir it is, I will try to be there.

Steve,
I thought the course was perfect, start out with a balls out run thru the sound, put in some seriously hard work driving from the Plum Gut to the East River (140-150 mi.) Then run thru city back to bouy 27. The river traffic was minimal and not any problem at all.

I do pretty much everything but the drive work. I have 3 (one spare)- right now one of the drives on the boat was redone about 5 years ago by a local guy Tony T. It has the HD gear set from Merc. and the other one (the spare).....well I'm not sure whats in that one I think it still has the original small gears in it:eek:
I pulled the other rebuilt drive because it had signs of water infiltration, oil came out very grey not green. I did not want to risk blowing an SS from water damage....they are like chicken teeth can't find them!

If you do it to impress others or to satisfy sponsors I agree with you.

I would only consider this as a personal achievement and could't care less if any of the phenomenally influential ninety seven sanctioning boat racing bodies in the US bless it.

Also with sat tracking (BTW that thing they have is awesome with the playback and so forth) and video technology available whatever time you do can be validated with minimal efforts.

Nothwitstanding if I would do something like this I would choose the best weather window possible and do it strictly to prove something to myself.

Mind you I would never claim to have a race record either.

You'll always run into the "Yahh but Joe Schmoe has a boat and has done better then you" sitting comfortably at the end of the bar, miring in their own lack of achievements, but I usually remind myself what T. Roosevelt said April 1910...

"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat."

Again great job, Joe, Jon and Charlie.

30 SS nicely done, Impressive Job! Best Regards.

Thank you!

Joe thanks for making another old Sonic owner proud! Wonderful story. :)