T2X When was the last
 

Offshore race and how many boats? Not the circle jerk that is run now. The roots go back to the ocean, 9-12+ miles out then back.
Thanks, Courious George

RAY PATNUADE OF NJPPC OFFSHORE HISTORY
 

CatAttack, This should be able to answer your question. Wait until you see the pics!!!:eek: :eek: :eek: http://www.njppc.com/librarypreface.htm

That is a great website, those old pictures are awesome !

There are still a few...... Point Pleasant the past few years has been a challenge....and Daytona last year had very rough conditions...... Key West is no cake walk either. But, like it or not, you can have speed or rough seas...but not both....... Unless you go back to the fifty foot 4 engined cats....God forbid!...... the best you will get is the occasional rough race during which all the ultra light "factory race boats"....sink.

I myself prefer the circle courses. My first love remember is formula one tunnel boats. I have raced on the roughest offshore courses imaginable (Chicago- Michigan City....1981, Key West the same year)....... and the calmest tunnel courses (St Louis)....... I found the racing much more intense on the short courses, requiring much more skill.

I never got off on all the macho "rugged man of the sea" B.S. Long course, rough water racing takes very little skill, other than the throttling (and even that becomes almost rhythmic if done correctly). Basically it involves a simple ability to withstand pain....and you are really not racing anybody... Hell, half the time you couldn't see any other boats.....and the spectators get really bored waiting for the boats to come limping back from God knows where.

The shorter courses require split second coordination between driver and throttleman, and a keen awareness of where everybody else is on the course.......To me that's true racing. Now Corpus Christi combines close racing and rough water....The course may be short, but you better know damn well what you're doing.....


Good question, thanks.


T2x

T2x, when was the last time you raced in St. Louis? Do you consider St. Louis to be the Indy 500 of formula 1?

I raced there when "Mr Bill was still "Billy", Earl Bentz was not a boating "executive", and Reggie was............a life insurance salesman............

I consider Saint Louis to be the "Indy 500" of all boat racing..... let alone tunnel boat races.

T2x (maybe the name ....... refers to the era....eh?)

I have be going to those races for about 10 yrs. We have meet some really interesting people. I am glad to see Bill was able to get it going again.

The corpus race this year is in August. That will make it not near as rough, but alot hotter.

Curtis

Sharkey great link Thanks:cool:

They used to race in Michigan City? I know they did in Chicago. For the beat it to death guys, theres always the Chicago to Detroit record to break. That should be a race, but then other than for the drivers and thottlemen, it would be about as exciting as the Chicago-Mackinaw race.

Well, now I know where the logon name "T2x" comes from now!

T2x is exactly right about the St Louis Grand Prix F1/Champ boat racing being the "Indy 500". Because of water leve problems, they've moved the race from the famous George Winter Park in Fenton, MO, to Creve Coeur Lake, closer to the Heart of St Louis.

But despite this, St Louis is still the number one race to race/watch on all the Formula 1 series'. People come from around the globe. You never know who will be sitting beside you: Some names seen in the spectator seats last year were: ex-F1 racer Julio Corbetta of Brazil, ex-Champ driver Birger Halsaa from Norway, Jerry Gilbreath, F1 racer of Malaysia - Simon Saw, Formula Two driver Rolf Sunde from Norway/Saudi Arabia.

This year I'm trying to convince Dr Massimo Scotti of Milan Italy to come be our guest at St Louis -- he is the son of the late-great Cesare Scotti. (Cousin to Renato Molinari). His father once told him he had to come see a tunnel boat race in America someday, and he's finally to the point where he's going to take his father's advice. He was only 9 when his father was killed in a race in Paris. Really can't wait to meet him!

Yahoo

Where did you see when the race was in corpus? I looked on apba web site & they did not show any race in texas at all. Am I looking in the wrong places

T2X,
Home Depot has plywood on sale and I have plenty of 1/4in. strips of lumin. Can we get a boat ready to run this year ?
History always repeats it's self.:D

Hey Catattack, Can I get in on this boat I just bought a new mitre saw, I have lots of 5200 and some chair rail that I didn't use in the kitchen that we can use for lifting strakes. Maybe T2x can draw us up some plans , then Supercat here we come!!!

Give us some more insight. Why is St. Louis considered the best? What makes this race so special to the racers, the course, people, support? I know some racers who are very passionate about St. Louis and would not miss this race for anything. Thanks.

Sure FastCat,
I have many wood tools including a propane finish nailer I think we have a plan... T2X are you in???? :D

Sure FastCat,
I have many wood tools including a propane finish nailer I think we have a plan... T2X are you in???? :D I'm getting really sick of watching the great Skaters killing all the fast boats in smooth water. Pt. Pleasent should be the debut then all of the other BIG WATER races ie..KW:p

St. Louis holds many memories for me.Yeah, the people,the race site,the enthusiasm of the fans and more. Best memory was from about 1976,our all wood McCall tunnel was smokin' pretty good,a few places back but in good position before the railroad crosstie floated in front. The only thing we brought back to Alabama was a small piece of wood with the McCall logo on it. John McCall is gone, our driver is gone also, but lots of memories. St. Louis was the best,thanks for bringing it up again. Magicfloat

St Loius is probably the "elite" race, because it has been a continuous race site for so many years -- I think the first races began in the early or mid 70s', put together by Bill Seebold.

At one point it was known as the "World Championship race", and it was normal to see the #1 teams from all over the world come there to compete. They really were vying for the World title.

That tradition never ceased, even after St Louis lost the "World Championship" title. It still brings out the best racers and the biggest number of entries. Even racers around the globe make the effort to come to this race above all the others, even if it is just as a spectator. A "racer reunion" atmosphere. The free after race party in the pits is always well supplied by the local Bud Light distributor, especially if a Seebold wins. :)

Bay City Michigan is rapidly becoming another "Must See" event on the Formula One circuit. It also is not such a long haul race for many of the racers, and coupled with the big Concerts, Formula Two National Championships and the Pro Tunnel Tour, it draws large fleets of boats and hoards of spectators. The hotels are full for many months in advance.

People on the pit side of the river are high above the water line - they can see everything that is happening on the water, even when boats are bunched up. Great viewing.

The teams love it there -- the pits are paved with nice manicured grass behind the trucks, and everyone is lined along the Saginaw rivers edge. They've got a Hooters within walking distance of the pit area, usually have a carnival going less than 200 yards away, plus the line of small pubs in the old part of downtown Bay City are becoming a tradition - they are absolutely jam-packed on Fri and Sat night. *All* filled up with boat racers. The party is awesome!

What are the details of the new Champboat series? How is this different from Fromula One/PROP?

The new Champboat Series is a regular APBA series. They follow all the rules and regs. of APBA. They use approved APBA officials and score via APBA regs. Drivers get APBA National points and are covered by APBA insurance.

On the other hand, FormulaOne PROP is owned by the Garbrechts. It's a professional tour. They purchase a lease from APBA, and therefore can run any rules they choose -- but as long as they follow APBA safety rules they are still covered by APBA insurance. The class "Formula One" is copyrighted by PROP and run under a "Special Event" banner, therefore the drivers do not get APBA National Points.

Hope I got all that right ;)



Magic --- Who was your driver?

BK,driver was Jim Bain from Montgomery,Al.Not well known,just a good guy boat dealer who raced because he loved it.We spent Thanksgiving week at Lake Haveasu when they had the old World Championships inmaybe 1972? Jim died of cancer afew years back,I still miss him but remember how he drove that McCalland the Kitson and the Checkmate tunnel. Funny how an internet thread with people you don't even know can bring back such good memories. Thanks,Magicfloat

I would think that the Cowes Classic should be included on any list of "real offshore" races for however you want to define that. For those that don't know, the race is the championship race for the UIM Endurance series and runs from Cowes to Tourquay and back to Cowes covering more than 220 miles of open ocean. It is for monohulls as those across the pond say (v-bottoms to us) and is by invitation only to those teams who have qualified through other endurance races.

Hey Magic:

"People you don't even know"........?

Not quite................

Boat racers (The real ones...not the ones who simply attend races to wear driving suits, spend daddy's money, party mindlessly, and show off hull graphics) make up one of the greatest "families" on this planet.......

Whether or not you've actually been formally introduced...... is secondary to the fact that there is a bond as strong as steel and a respect and loyalty of biblical proportions.

T2x