Man that had to hurt!!!!!!!

No point - just curious as do not remember any cats ever wining any world championships (or any true open ocean offshore race) in the 60s and 70s when the world championships were determined by racing offshore around the world for the entire yr.
I guess you can call the run to the Dry Tortugas (the Dry Tortugas are a small group of islands, located at the end of the Florida Keys, USA, about 113 kilometers (70 mi) west of Key West), open offshore ocean racing - just not the kind I was referring to.
If it was in 1982 when the cats that "changed the game" changed the game, they did so without ever competing against the Vs in the nasty open seas that the Vs ran in when winning "true" offshore world championships.
Thanks for the confirmation,
PJ

You've got to be kidding!

You think running to the Tortugas is not running in the open ocean?

You can't be serious.

Even the later (1990) Key West worlds were run in BIG water (e.g. 6' - 8'), even though we only went as far our as the Sands Point light. And the Open cats (Skaters and Cougars and CUV's) were usually kicking the V's butts. Sometimes the Apache 41's held sway, but less and less each year..

And the cats kept getting better and better, until the V-guys figured we needed our own class.

Thanks Phil,
I have put alot of time and effert into all three dvd's glad you enjoyed them. Merry Xmass!

Darren

just ordered all 5 ! Rich's work is the best out there!

Steve

Some of the big water running shots problably won't ever be seen again with the courses closer to shore now.

Thanks to all for your kind comments. WE are working hard to provide an actual story and not a random series of images. Please note that Christmas is coming and time is growing short to add these to your gift list.

T2x

Got mine on Friday. They are put together very nice. My Dad will love them.

Offshore cats didn't exist in the 60's and the boats ran 50-60 mph (slower in the conditions you describe). In the 70's the cats were in their embryonic stages and the designers struggled with construction techniques, lift, balance and drive height. By the late 80's these things had been worked out to the point where a twin engine 40' Skater cat beat a 46 foot Apache Vee in an OPen Ocean race in storm conditions. However I will concede that "World Championship" events had long since disappeared..... not because cats couldn't run them, but because the speeds had increased to the point that providing safety and rescue became impossible. By the way I believe one of our Linder/Luhrs Conquest cats ,"Rocky", won the Cowes Torquay Cowes race back in the 80's. I think that was one of the races you refer to from back in the day. That event was rough enough to sink Dick Bertram in the late 60's.


T2x

I got my Legend of Apache dvd. It had a lot of cats in it, but overall pretty good.