On - Off - On again Don Aronow race
 

Well, here we go again. I arrived home from the gym a little while ago and opened an e-mail from Billy that said…”The number of entrants has increased and the race is on!!”

So, I called him and found out that Billy has had a habit over the years of running his poker runs with a late entry attitude. He allowed people to just show up on the morning of the run and they entered and ran. When word got out that the race was postponed, he got a lot of calls from people that intended to enter but had never bothered to let him know…they were just going to show up on the morning and enter.

I don’t know how many total boats, I don’t know what kind of boats other than, the only brand that the owners seems to feel confident to run in open water is Outerlimits.

When offshore racing was in it’s prime, the manufacturer’s of both boats and engines were the bulk of the fields. The private teams would buy last year’s race boat from the factory and then race along with the crowd. That just doesn’t happen anymore.

When HORBA was founded we only had two goals.
1..To save the old race boats before they are gone forever.
2 To have venues to show them.

Billy Frenz was the very first guy to offer us a venue. His NYC poker run allowed the great old race boat Dry Martini to be seen by the public after many years off the scene.

If he decides to go ahead next year with the race, I am advising him to run it the British way….Anyone interested puts up a non refundable deposit by a certain date. If there are not enough deposits, the race is off.

This year he had an entry fee of $600 by a certain date and a $1,000 entry fee for anytime after that. That didn’t work very well as we all know.

So the race is on….for those who have said they were going to enter, now is your chance, call Billy and let him know.

New race date is Sunday the 25th...same starting times.

Good to hear. Is it Sat or Sunday?

Banana.
Like I've said from the get go...
Ive continuously defended the promoter(s) and the venue and thought it should b done how they feel works best for everyone.

But its starting to look like the blind leading the blind at this point

I figured with veteran racers / promoters / boaters things would run smoother than this. Gave benifit of doubt perhaps prematurely??

Hope this falls together
Hopefully next yr if there is a nexy yr will go smoother and be lead with a clearer more decisive pilot

Mike D

Hey, sometimes bad press is better than NO press! Hahaha, I hope this race becomes a big deal and good luck to everyone entering! :boat::boat::boat:

Sunday the 25th.....original rain date on the Coast Guard permit.

I'm glad to hear this is on again. I've broken balls regarding the promotion, but I honestly really want this to happen and I love the idea of the event (even if the execution to this point has been questionable).

If Billy has agreed to run the race it must be at the break even point or better, so I'm assuming there are at least 4+ boats at this time... which is great news.

As long as my schedule remains clear, I plan on going out to spectate... I'm looking forward to the show guys!!! Good luck to all the racers! :cool:

good luck to the organizers, promoters, and competitors...hope the event is a real success.

Best of luck to everyone. Like many here I wish this event success as the concept is great.

It was mentioned in the other thread for HORBA to team up with OPA. What a great idea! Already a huge core group in both the midwest and northeast, with plenty traveling to FL for Bimini so support for the three race series is nearly a sure thing. Make it happen HORBA!!!!

Best of luck guys

Hope all goes well.

Love that kind of point to point events.

People like to join Poker Runs and events like this one at the last minute because the promoters wont return event fees if a team doesnt show up,even for good reasons.

now they should make it 600.00 to enter sincenow its back on and all the aggervation the entrants had to go threw, it would only be fair and propbaly get more people to enter

Info on here for those who will watch the race live via satellite. Also the latest info from Billy as of this morning.


2011 Don Aronow Marathon
Around Long Island Race
Sunday, September 25th
The Don Aronow tribute Race Around Long Island has been re-scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 25.
The deadline to enter is:
Sunday morning 6AM,
Start time is 8AM

This is that famous race that Don Aronow, Jim Lacy, Chuck Mercereau, Sam Griffith, Jim Wynne, Gene Bianco, Odell Lewis, Stanley Humes, Alan Brown, Bill Sirois, Fred Keikhaefer, Peter Rittmaster, Stu Hayim and last year�s winner, Joe DeFusco, competed in and won.















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The Event will be tracked via LIVE GPS at www.Kattack.com and we will have a link directly to the live feed on the NPBA site, www.nationalowerboat.com. Each participant will have a GPS transponder on-board so the signal will be picked up by satellites and beamed to our big tracking screen.
Come to LaMotta�s Restaurant at Manhasset Bay Marina, 10 Mattinecock Drive, Port Washington, NY to watch and to root for your favorite team.

The following teams have entered:

38 FOUNTAIN, �ROAD RUNNER� w/ 4 300 HP Merc outboards and 400 gallon fuel capacity, this boat is owned and driven by Norm Salem with his son Lucas as co-pilot from Stamford, CT. Their famous crewmember and previous owner is Bob Kolenberg. This boat holds the Center Console speed record of 87.6 mph�just ask Reggie.

19 MONZA �TEAM WHO DAT?�� w/351/400 HP Ford/Holman and Moody, Volvo 280T outdrive from Smith Mountain Lake, VA, sponsored by DREW Marine . Brian Zellner is the owner/driver and Lon Hill is co-pilot. With 100 gallon fuel capacity, they are gunning for Brownie�s record.

30 SONIC �TEAM SONIC� w/350/310 HP Small Block Chevies and Merc Alpha SS outdrives. Owned and driven by Joe Defusco and expertly navigated by Jonathon Tobin.
This is the team to beat�LAST YEAR�S CHAMPS!

42 OUTERLIMITS Legacy Model, Dr. Gabe Jasper and Rolf Papke of PRO ROC Engineering and Marine from Brick, NJ have teamed up to go after Stu Hayim�s record run of 3 hours and 6 minutes. Merc 1075 HPs power the vessel and they have added an extra fuel bladder�WATCH THIS TEAM!.

The following teams have also expressed interest in running:

24 Banana Boat / 454, 65 gallon fuel capacity
31 Sonic, 8.2 Mercs, 160 gallon fuel tanks
51 Outerlimits, 1550 HP Sterlings, 280 fuel capacity
52 Outerlimits w/ quad diesels
40 Outerlimits with Ilmors
27 RAGE Activator

Let�s see who makes it to the start line at 8AM, Sunday morning!



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An annual three race series was originally proposed to allow today�s offshore boaters the opportunity to actually race over the famous old courses. The proposal is for a 200 plus mile course for the Great Lakes in July, the Around Long Island 271 mile event in September, and in November, the Fort Lauderdale to Key West 210 mile run to round out the year.
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The promoters of the Don Aronow Memorial Marathon Race Around Long Island are looking for businesses and individuals interested in sponsorship of next year�s event. ESPN has expressed interest in a NASCAR style live broadcast of the event. A sponsor who is looking to promote their brand in the Metro New York market could use the event to showcase their product before millions of potential users. The hope is to attract more pre race interest and help to defray the overhead. If you are interested, contact Billy Frenz
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This event is endorsed by Michael Aronow, Hosted by Guy LaMotta, promoted by the Historic Offshore Powerboat Racing Association and produced by the
National Powerboat Association.

Now that's a a great post. :drink:

Thanks for the info!

Thats a great lineup Charlie, it will be interesting to see who comes out on top of such a varied selection of boats. Wish i could make it and glad to see it come together.


Thats gonna be a long day in that 19 Monza and sure seems reminiscent of a few boats i've seen in the documentary "Run Sunward" (to anyone that hasnt seen it go to the horba site an GET IT :cool:)

nice!!! any info on pre or post race activites?!?!

Let's go Dr. Gabe and Rolf! It would be great to see a record beat!

I'll be there on Sunday (race day) and the afternoon before to take photo's. I work with NPBA to help out with this event.

FYI..... http://www.nationalowerboat.com should be http://www.nationalpowerboat.com :drink:

Good Luck to all!

dude if he has just enuff boats to pay the bills dropping to 600, would mean he is in the red. bad idea. and next year if people want to pay 600, pay early its that simple. I plan on paying early next year and will have separite ck account for fuel/hotel/gas. since we will be testing when the rain stops:lolhit:. wish I got it finished back in may/june that I had planned. good luck to Billy, Charlie, and all who race its fun.

19 ft monza co pilot is that ron hill