Reggie Fountain 'King of Offshore' Documentary Coming this Fall
Platinum Member
01-18-2014, 09:51 AM
#63
Registered
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Winter Haven, Fl
Posts: 38
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Okay - No question Don did make a HUGE contribution to the sport at an early stage. By 1973 more than 50% of the high performance offshore product were produced by companies he founded. By the time Reggie hits the scene (no one can argue) the field is a lot wider and his product becomes just as dominant (on the race course and in the market place). So maybe we can agree that they were different guys at different times in an ever evolving sport.
Now for all you "Well if Don had not been killed then........" Lets discuss that, in order for Don to have not been executed it would mean his deal with Kramer was beneficial to both parties (or at least Kramer did not feel screwed). Follow that to its likely conclusion. When the Feds roll in Don gets wrapped with Money Laundering and Racketeering charges just like everyone else that had positive business relationships with Kramer. If you examine the relationships in the totality of the time and understand the circumstance of his death, I would assert his execution most definitely protected and somewhat defined his legend.
Now for all you "Well if Don had not been killed then........" Lets discuss that, in order for Don to have not been executed it would mean his deal with Kramer was beneficial to both parties (or at least Kramer did not feel screwed). Follow that to its likely conclusion. When the Feds roll in Don gets wrapped with Money Laundering and Racketeering charges just like everyone else that had positive business relationships with Kramer. If you examine the relationships in the totality of the time and understand the circumstance of his death, I would assert his execution most definitely protected and somewhat defined his legend.
01-18-2014, 10:23 AM
#64
Driver-441
Racer
I do not think Al Copeland, although one hell of a guy, was the king of offshore, and I doubt anybody has outspent him.
I love the ingenuity of the Gentry stuff. Wasn't a Merc part on his boats, I love that.
Not to mention the Trans-Atlantic crossing.
We had two Gentry Turbo 509s in our shop, very cool engines.
His own engines, his own drives, his own everything...and winning with it. That's amazing to me.
01-18-2014, 03:05 PM
#67
Registered
jackieboy;
Smarty, did you and you're father run the boat called Hairy Canary. If so nice to see you are still around, you're father was a good guy
Here is a picture of the "Hairy Canary," my late father (he passed away in 2008 due to cancer-melanoma) working/installing new rub-rail on the Phantom, and two aerial shots of me driving and my father as the passenger/owner of the Phantom on the Elk River (MD) in 2007, his last summer of boating, and the Phantom with me driving, with new graphics (red graphics) at Somers Point (NJ). He was a good guy, and he liked Reggie Fountain (or at least his boats, thank God for 33' and 35' - we raced many of that model)
I see you are in Gloucester, I like Gloucester City, I go to court there all the time for clients (I am a DUI-traffic-criminal defense attorney), I recently spent a Saturday night at Max's then went to Caps to play pool and drink beer. Nice Irish town.
Stephen
Last edited by Smarty; 01-18-2014 at 04:40 PM.
01-18-2014, 07:33 PM
#68
No grasshopper he was also referring to the X Racer Dealer. Considering the Inxs Fountain is less tha n two hours from me I am fully aware of it as well. It was a 30sec search of Founatian race boats. I invited you to the Fountain section last night.
http://www.offshoreonly.com/forums/fountain-37/
01-20-2014, 08:45 AM
#69
Registered
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: Hingham,Ma
Posts: 471
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
No grasshopper he was also referring to the X Racer Dealer. Considering the Inxs Fountain is less tha n two hours from me I am fully aware of it as well. It was a 30sec search of Founatian race boats. I invited you to the Fountain section last night.
http://www.offshoreonly.com/forums/fountain-37/
http://www.offshoreonly.com/forums/fountain-37/
beautiful boat!
Last edited by pinball; 01-20-2014 at 09:09 PM.
01-20-2014, 07:48 PM
#70
Registered
Join Date: Dec 2012
Posts: 37
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
:b sflag:Don had pretty much retired from racing and building race boats long before he was murdered so his career was probably not "shortened" by the tragedy.
I knew Don and know Reggie and am not a blind fanatic regarding either. But give the devil his due...Reggie hung in there and did win at any and all costs... so he does deserve respect in that regard. Personally I wouldn't use the term "King" since so much of any Offshore success story rests on the technology developed by an even more competitive Icon, Carl Kiekhaefer, (and his son Fred). But Reggie is and was the most prolific winner (by boat brand) in the sport's history. On the other hand, Peter Hledin had a lot to do with developing Fountain's race boat construction technology and has been successfully building winning boats over a longer time span. Peter is a much more humble guy and shies away from aggressive self promotion (yes you can read between the lines here.)
Regarding Reggie's Tunnel boat career, he was an outstanding driver, almost as good as the other two (overly humble) guys in the video. One of them, Bill Seebold, has won over 1000 races as compared to Reggie's 100+.and he (along with a fellow named Bill Sirois) deserve the title of (World's greatest Boat Racer...or maybe even "King").. The other, Earl Benz, is the greatest natural boat racing talent I ever saw, bar none, but had a relatively short career because he switched to family and building boat companies at a very young age comparatively.
At the very least Reggie is in some fine company and respected, if not loved, by most folks I know. Bear in mind that TV producers don't get rich by telling stories about simple folks who come in 3rd, and, as with all things Fountain, exaggeration is aq big part of the game..
I hope the show turns out well.....
T2x
I knew Don and know Reggie and am not a blind fanatic regarding either. But give the devil his due...Reggie hung in there and did win at any and all costs... so he does deserve respect in that regard. Personally I wouldn't use the term "King" since so much of any Offshore success story rests on the technology developed by an even more competitive Icon, Carl Kiekhaefer, (and his son Fred). But Reggie is and was the most prolific winner (by boat brand) in the sport's history. On the other hand, Peter Hledin had a lot to do with developing Fountain's race boat construction technology and has been successfully building winning boats over a longer time span. Peter is a much more humble guy and shies away from aggressive self promotion (yes you can read between the lines here.)
Regarding Reggie's Tunnel boat career, he was an outstanding driver, almost as good as the other two (overly humble) guys in the video. One of them, Bill Seebold, has won over 1000 races as compared to Reggie's 100+.and he (along with a fellow named Bill Sirois) deserve the title of (World's greatest Boat Racer...or maybe even "King").. The other, Earl Benz, is the greatest natural boat racing talent I ever saw, bar none, but had a relatively short career because he switched to family and building boat companies at a very young age comparatively.
At the very least Reggie is in some fine company and respected, if not loved, by most folks I know. Bear in mind that TV producers don't get rich by telling stories about simple folks who come in 3rd, and, as with all things Fountain, exaggeration is aq big part of the game..
I hope the show turns out well.....
T2x
