Mother Nature ain't no lady, and other tales from Smoke on the Water....
06-08-2003, 09:24 PM
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Mother Nature ain't no lady, and other tales from Smoke on the Water....
Well, the Admiral and I just got back from 3 fun days in Grand Haven. Met a bunch of OSOers and saw some sweeeeeet boats! Quick rundown…
Friday morning…
Friday morning, the Mrs and I left Holland (where we stayed Thursday night) and cruised up to Grand Haven. On the way, we saw Callan pulled over by the local law enforcement – he probably just wanted a better look at the boat! We couldn’t check in to the hotel till the afternoon, so we hit the waterfront to see what was shakin’… Not a whole lot of boats there, but the Strip Poker Cig was there, and the guys from TAOD Graphics had a badass Dodge Viper RTS in the parking lot.
The Make-A-Wish families were going out for rides on some of the boats that were there already. Saw a number of Powerquests, a few Cigs, an Apache or two. More boats were showing up throughout the morning. We hit the Dee-Lite bar and grill for lunch – best damn burger I’ve had in a long time – even the bun was greasy, just the way it should be! Yum!
After lunch, we cruised over to the Holiday Inn to check in, and what do we see in the parking lot? Tomcat and Bacardi Silver – the day was getting better all the time. We snapped a few pics and chatted with the Bacardi Silver crew for a bit. I have to say, Tomcat’s tow rig is on a par with the boat – absolutely first class all the way! They have a license plate on the front that reads “Admit it, you’re jealous!” – damn right!
Got checked in, then headed over to the ramp to see what was happening – trailers everywhere, and more boats heading in all the time. We saw audacity pulling up with his 32’ Active Thunder as we were leaving.
Headed back down to the marina and talked to ROUGHSTUFF, the owner of the new 37’ AT Fast Forward. He was nice enough to let me bend his ear for a while, and let us crawl all over his boat. Very, very nice piece of work – lots of room, and the cabin is outstanding! ROUGHSTUFF, thanks for your time!
Audacity Joe is a good guy…
After we talked to ROUGHSTUFF, we saw a couple of names from the old days on OSO, CARDSHARK and Mrs Cardshark, pulling up in their 388 Hustler. We moseyed on down and talked to them for a bit – great folks, and a very nice boat as well! Not long after we talked to the Cardsharks, audacity pulled into the next slip over. We talked to Joe for a while about racing and whatnot – I’ve busted Joe’s balls here on the board on occasion, but I’ll be the first to tell you that he’s a very nice guy.
About this time, one of the organizers asked Joe to move his boat to a different slip – Joe figured he take the long way, out onto the lake and back, and he invited us to ride along. In the end, it was Joe, myself and the Mrs, Mike Murphy from Extreme Boats mag, and ROUGHSTUF out for a quick blast. Nothing like a boat ride when it’s maybe 60 degrees, no sun in sight, and the water temp is 40 degrees – like riding on ice, you could feel the cold coming off the water. Joe got us running pretty good, and the Admiral got a little nervous – Joe immediately stopped the boat and threw her overboard (just kidding!). Joey actually insisted that she drive, while he coached her and worked the drives and tabs. She had a grin on her face the rest of the day – that run made her weekend, and I can’t thank audacity enough!
What noise regulation?
After a quick nap back at the hotel, we hit the docks again. This time, there was a heck of a lot more hardware, including Tomcat and Extreme Exhibit – those two would be as much at home in a museum as on the water – they are truly works of art! In the crowd of people drooling over those two, we met OSO members KAAMA, Quiet Storm, and Crazyhorse, nice guys all. We also met dyno, his lovely wife, and their beautiful daughter. As we were talking to the dynos, they generously invited us out on their Sonic on Saturday.
About this time, there was a buzz going through the crowd – Tomcat was going out. The crew went through their pre-run preparations, and then the moment came – he lit off those monster Sterlings! It sounded like the hammer of God – BOOM!!! Everyone in sight had a monster grin just listening to those beasts run! Absolutely bad ass!!
Friday night – we get klawed
We headed to the “The Kirby Grill” for dinner, and drinks. While we were there, we met OSOer klaw and a couple of his buddies. Good guys, and we did our best to put a dent in the Kirby’s alcohol supply.
Saturday – dyno has a flag, and he’s not afraid to use it!
Finally, the weather started to look up! Due to the incompetence of the bartender at the Kirby, who obviously overserved me, we didn’t get to see the start of the run as we intended. Instead, we headed north to Muskegon for the kilo run. Once there, we took dyno up on his offer for a ride. As he picked us up, the dockmaster at Great Lakes Marina (where dyno keeps his Sonic, and the HQ for the kilo run) asked him if he would be a patrol boat.
“Sure.” Just like that, we were in the drivers meeting.
After getting all the scoop, dyno comes back to the table with a big ol’ ****-eating grin – our assigned post was right in the middle of the course! Prime-time seating, baby!! And all we had to do was drop the hook and wave off folks with the handy red flag they provided. All this, and the sun was shining, it was turning into a beautiful day!! Sweeeet!
Of course, it couldn’t last…
It was fun while it lasted…
Dyno put the snazzy “Race Patrol” sticker on his boat while the rest of us got ready to leave. The kilo was scheduled for 3:00, and they wanted us in position no later than 2:00, so we only had time for a quick blast down the lake before we had to drop the hook. Dyno’s Sonic is solid and runs strong – the updated graphics look fantastic. A fitting ride for the day’s events!
We got into position, and started waiting. Dyno got to use the flag on several hapless boaters who were wandering around – great fun for all, especially when dyno was stopping the guy in the 14' jon boat - he looked like an extra from "Deliverance"! Of course, his fishin' boat had the optional folding chair driver's seat to go along with the knotted together anchor line and the mangy mongrel on the bow. You can't make this stuff up folks...
One of the topics we discussed while we waited for the show was the fog we could see hanging over the shore at the far (west) end of the lake. Dyno called Crazyhorse (who was in the Poker Run) to see what was happening out on the big lake – he told us it was nasty on Lake Michigan. Oh well, at least it was clear where we were!
At just past 3:00, we spotted a monster roostertail heading our way – Callan had taken the field! Schwwwwooooommmmmm, he jets by at maybe 80 mph, 200 yards off our bow – like 50 yard line tickets to the Superbowl! Right after Callan comes Bacardi Silver – Pier 57 was nowhere in sight, I don't think they made it out onto the course. Don't know for sure or not as we were a ways away from the marina.
Both boats made a couple familarization runs, then we heard the call “Race Patrol, Race Patrol, the course is hot!” Soon after, Bacardi Silver hammers on by, I’m guessing somewhere around 120 mph. He made 3 or 4 more runs, each one a little faster, with his last run at 174+ mph. Meanwhile, the fog we had be noted earlier was creeping across lake….. at this point, we heard the call:
“Bacardi Silver, this is Race Control, abort all further runs. The Coast Guard has cancelled all further runs due to fog. All local regulations apply, including 55 mph speed limit.”
And the response “Bacardi Silver is heading to the dock.”
Our day was done.
By 4:30, the sun was out and the fog was gone.
Personally, I thought the CG pulled the plug too soon – we should’ve waited in place for a bit, but then again, I’m not the guy in charge. All of the race teams were great, even though you could see they were disappointed. I just hope that they hold this event again next year – Lake Muskegon looked to be a perfect venue for it.
We get hosed by Tomcat’s roostertail!
Sunday dawned cold and wet. We packed the car and headed east, back toward Detroit and home. As we pulled out of the parking lot, we saw Tom Abrams, the guy who owns Tomcat, leaving as well. We ended up playing tag more or less all the way across the state, and one time we got a nice spray of rain from his Yukon as he passed us. So, we kind of got hosed by Tomcat’s roostertail (I’m guessing this sob story might be worth a quick blast in the Skater, right?)
All in all, we had a great weekend, thanks in large part to some of the great folks we met through OSO! Dyno and audacity, thanks for your charity to the boatless! And a very special thanks to all the staff and event organizers – this was the first time we’d seen something like this, and it was obvious that a lot of blood, sweat, and tears went into the planning and organization of the event! A job well done!
Now, on to the pics!!
Friday morning…
Friday morning, the Mrs and I left Holland (where we stayed Thursday night) and cruised up to Grand Haven. On the way, we saw Callan pulled over by the local law enforcement – he probably just wanted a better look at the boat! We couldn’t check in to the hotel till the afternoon, so we hit the waterfront to see what was shakin’… Not a whole lot of boats there, but the Strip Poker Cig was there, and the guys from TAOD Graphics had a badass Dodge Viper RTS in the parking lot.
The Make-A-Wish families were going out for rides on some of the boats that were there already. Saw a number of Powerquests, a few Cigs, an Apache or two. More boats were showing up throughout the morning. We hit the Dee-Lite bar and grill for lunch – best damn burger I’ve had in a long time – even the bun was greasy, just the way it should be! Yum!
After lunch, we cruised over to the Holiday Inn to check in, and what do we see in the parking lot? Tomcat and Bacardi Silver – the day was getting better all the time. We snapped a few pics and chatted with the Bacardi Silver crew for a bit. I have to say, Tomcat’s tow rig is on a par with the boat – absolutely first class all the way! They have a license plate on the front that reads “Admit it, you’re jealous!” – damn right!
Got checked in, then headed over to the ramp to see what was happening – trailers everywhere, and more boats heading in all the time. We saw audacity pulling up with his 32’ Active Thunder as we were leaving.
Headed back down to the marina and talked to ROUGHSTUFF, the owner of the new 37’ AT Fast Forward. He was nice enough to let me bend his ear for a while, and let us crawl all over his boat. Very, very nice piece of work – lots of room, and the cabin is outstanding! ROUGHSTUFF, thanks for your time!
Audacity Joe is a good guy…
After we talked to ROUGHSTUFF, we saw a couple of names from the old days on OSO, CARDSHARK and Mrs Cardshark, pulling up in their 388 Hustler. We moseyed on down and talked to them for a bit – great folks, and a very nice boat as well! Not long after we talked to the Cardsharks, audacity pulled into the next slip over. We talked to Joe for a while about racing and whatnot – I’ve busted Joe’s balls here on the board on occasion, but I’ll be the first to tell you that he’s a very nice guy.
About this time, one of the organizers asked Joe to move his boat to a different slip – Joe figured he take the long way, out onto the lake and back, and he invited us to ride along. In the end, it was Joe, myself and the Mrs, Mike Murphy from Extreme Boats mag, and ROUGHSTUF out for a quick blast. Nothing like a boat ride when it’s maybe 60 degrees, no sun in sight, and the water temp is 40 degrees – like riding on ice, you could feel the cold coming off the water. Joe got us running pretty good, and the Admiral got a little nervous – Joe immediately stopped the boat and threw her overboard (just kidding!). Joey actually insisted that she drive, while he coached her and worked the drives and tabs. She had a grin on her face the rest of the day – that run made her weekend, and I can’t thank audacity enough!
What noise regulation?
After a quick nap back at the hotel, we hit the docks again. This time, there was a heck of a lot more hardware, including Tomcat and Extreme Exhibit – those two would be as much at home in a museum as on the water – they are truly works of art! In the crowd of people drooling over those two, we met OSO members KAAMA, Quiet Storm, and Crazyhorse, nice guys all. We also met dyno, his lovely wife, and their beautiful daughter. As we were talking to the dynos, they generously invited us out on their Sonic on Saturday.
About this time, there was a buzz going through the crowd – Tomcat was going out. The crew went through their pre-run preparations, and then the moment came – he lit off those monster Sterlings! It sounded like the hammer of God – BOOM!!! Everyone in sight had a monster grin just listening to those beasts run! Absolutely bad ass!!
Friday night – we get klawed
We headed to the “The Kirby Grill” for dinner, and drinks. While we were there, we met OSOer klaw and a couple of his buddies. Good guys, and we did our best to put a dent in the Kirby’s alcohol supply.
Saturday – dyno has a flag, and he’s not afraid to use it!
Finally, the weather started to look up! Due to the incompetence of the bartender at the Kirby, who obviously overserved me, we didn’t get to see the start of the run as we intended. Instead, we headed north to Muskegon for the kilo run. Once there, we took dyno up on his offer for a ride. As he picked us up, the dockmaster at Great Lakes Marina (where dyno keeps his Sonic, and the HQ for the kilo run) asked him if he would be a patrol boat.
“Sure.” Just like that, we were in the drivers meeting.
After getting all the scoop, dyno comes back to the table with a big ol’ ****-eating grin – our assigned post was right in the middle of the course! Prime-time seating, baby!! And all we had to do was drop the hook and wave off folks with the handy red flag they provided. All this, and the sun was shining, it was turning into a beautiful day!! Sweeeet!
Of course, it couldn’t last…
It was fun while it lasted…
Dyno put the snazzy “Race Patrol” sticker on his boat while the rest of us got ready to leave. The kilo was scheduled for 3:00, and they wanted us in position no later than 2:00, so we only had time for a quick blast down the lake before we had to drop the hook. Dyno’s Sonic is solid and runs strong – the updated graphics look fantastic. A fitting ride for the day’s events!
We got into position, and started waiting. Dyno got to use the flag on several hapless boaters who were wandering around – great fun for all, especially when dyno was stopping the guy in the 14' jon boat - he looked like an extra from "Deliverance"! Of course, his fishin' boat had the optional folding chair driver's seat to go along with the knotted together anchor line and the mangy mongrel on the bow. You can't make this stuff up folks...
One of the topics we discussed while we waited for the show was the fog we could see hanging over the shore at the far (west) end of the lake. Dyno called Crazyhorse (who was in the Poker Run) to see what was happening out on the big lake – he told us it was nasty on Lake Michigan. Oh well, at least it was clear where we were!
At just past 3:00, we spotted a monster roostertail heading our way – Callan had taken the field! Schwwwwooooommmmmm, he jets by at maybe 80 mph, 200 yards off our bow – like 50 yard line tickets to the Superbowl! Right after Callan comes Bacardi Silver – Pier 57 was nowhere in sight, I don't think they made it out onto the course. Don't know for sure or not as we were a ways away from the marina.
Both boats made a couple familarization runs, then we heard the call “Race Patrol, Race Patrol, the course is hot!” Soon after, Bacardi Silver hammers on by, I’m guessing somewhere around 120 mph. He made 3 or 4 more runs, each one a little faster, with his last run at 174+ mph. Meanwhile, the fog we had be noted earlier was creeping across lake….. at this point, we heard the call:
“Bacardi Silver, this is Race Control, abort all further runs. The Coast Guard has cancelled all further runs due to fog. All local regulations apply, including 55 mph speed limit.”
And the response “Bacardi Silver is heading to the dock.”
Our day was done.
By 4:30, the sun was out and the fog was gone.
Personally, I thought the CG pulled the plug too soon – we should’ve waited in place for a bit, but then again, I’m not the guy in charge. All of the race teams were great, even though you could see they were disappointed. I just hope that they hold this event again next year – Lake Muskegon looked to be a perfect venue for it.
We get hosed by Tomcat’s roostertail!
Sunday dawned cold and wet. We packed the car and headed east, back toward Detroit and home. As we pulled out of the parking lot, we saw Tom Abrams, the guy who owns Tomcat, leaving as well. We ended up playing tag more or less all the way across the state, and one time we got a nice spray of rain from his Yukon as he passed us. So, we kind of got hosed by Tomcat’s roostertail (I’m guessing this sob story might be worth a quick blast in the Skater, right?)
All in all, we had a great weekend, thanks in large part to some of the great folks we met through OSO! Dyno and audacity, thanks for your charity to the boatless! And a very special thanks to all the staff and event organizers – this was the first time we’d seen something like this, and it was obvious that a lot of blood, sweat, and tears went into the planning and organization of the event! A job well done!
Now, on to the pics!!
Last edited by dockrocker; 06-08-2003 at 10:54 PM.
06-08-2003, 09:31 PM
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Thats Rodgers boat.
Really a beautiful piece of machinery, and a work of art, all molded into one.
From what I undertstand Mr. Campbell takes very good care of the girl. Is it still for sale?
Really a beautiful piece of machinery, and a work of art, all molded into one.
From what I undertstand Mr. Campbell takes very good care of the girl. Is it still for sale?
