The logo on my Super V was covered up by a Martin Offshore logo as a thankyou to Skip and his support. There was also a blindfolded squirrel reaching for a nut on the sides and deck that was another thankyou to Skip...... After the win in Savannah Skip made the comment that "every once in a while a blind squirrel will find a nut"......... I wish him the best of luck in any racing endevours, and I hope that he rides in his own boats testing. Maybe then he will "get it".......

Dhlaw, What does CMS stand for? Thats a great looking boat and congats on your win. I can't believe Skip is such an A-hole. So now wonder no body is racing Cigs. Their step hull sucks and so does Skip.

Easy on the product and easy on Skip. Skip and Cig just made a big move relocating the factory recently. Maybe their priorities are on other things other than racing. I know mine would be.

CMS Mecahnical is owned by Bob Bull (APBA) and that picture was taken with Bob racing. The Super V win and subsequent comments were made to Bob not me. I dont think that Cigs suck, and I think that Skip is just a car dealer at the end of the day...............

Those car dealers and attorneys both seem to get alot of negative press.

I'd like to put my two cents in on this, and I apologize up front if I offend someone...but:

First of all as a business owner, I can understand the reluctance of Cigarette to spend the money trying to compete on the circuit as it is run today....and that includes all organizations. I don't know Mr Braver at all, but I am grateful he stepped in and kept this great brand alive.

Cigarette was bred for, and their reputation was made, in Ocean Racing....that sport no longer exists.

The boats may be offshore and they may actually be in the ocean, but the foundation of the sport was built on long distance races over open ocean water, in all kinds of conditions.

Now let me be clear, this is not the fault of the racers....they would race anything, anywhere. They race under these calm water conditions close to shore, because that is where the organizations ruled that they would.

Cigarette is a boat company with a core product of a deep V hull. To win in the present venues, they would have to build an all out flat water racer to compete with Fountain. Or go another route, and design and build a cat to go for the overall speed title. Neither move would do anything to enhance their strength as a brand....they already are THE BRAND.

The only way to get the boat companies back into racing with big boats is to change the format. Even if the existing organizations allowed one class to actually race offshore at one of the existing race sites. Next race held by any group in Miami, let this ocean racing class, start before all the others and go to Nassau, 185 miles of ocean conditions.

The boat companies would know that they actually had to build a race boat that would survive regardless of conditions. They would start building boats again that the public at large would like to hear about, because it would advance the whole industry in matters of safety at sea. Sponsors might even see an opportunity here.

The playing field would open up again to everyone, not just the big bucks teams. Winning would now involve navigation, preparation of the equipment, and real mental toughness on the part of the racers. Racers who could keep going when there were no fans or cameras around. Only the other racers would know if you pulled back the throttles, and took it easy when the waves got big. It was in these types of conditions that Don Aronow got the nickname "The Animal".

Over the past couple of years I have met many of the new racers and they are no different than the old guys....they just need the opportunity to race in a real ocean race.

Ask some of the old guys....we are not trying to be smug or know it all's, we just know what great races we had, and wish with all our hearts that today's racers could experience for themselves the same....believe me you would never go back.

Guys like Steve Berk, Bob Saccenti, Mark McManus, Steve Stepp, Pepe Nunez and Brownie will tell you the truth....if someone would create an ocean race again, Cigarette and a lot of other companies would jump right back in.

Dlaw, Im looking at an 2002 open cockpit Gladiator right now that was an F-2 boat, I want to race it in P-3 class in O.P.A. Are you claiming that the Cig wont be competitve or that I will be at a disadvantage in this Cig over another brand ?? Please fill me in more on this. Ive owned Straight bottom Cigs but never a stepped hull. I know they all run by me in almost any water on the poker run circut.

Bob

Great Post , Top Bannana !

Agreed!!!!
So what if there are no spectators? how easy is it to see the action of the current races from land?
I think an open ocean long distance race w/ choppers following would make for a great tv race!!!

Agreed!