Article on Key West
 

http://keysnews.com/290547077547793.bsp.htm


From KeysNews.com:


Races lag contract terms

Initial numbers indicate only 30 boats raced

BY MANDY BOLEN

keysnews.com

ROB O'NEAL/The Citizen (PHOTO)
Mallory Square is sparsely populated Sunday afternoon during the final boat race of the Key West Offshore World Championships. Residents questioned the policy of charging $25 admission to public property, which city commissioners approved after race promoters paid a $10,000 fee.


KEY WEST -- Race teams are towing power boats, now silent and wrapped in protective tarps, out of town, while county officials determine whether race promoter Lee Mills satisfactorily fulfilled the criteria in his contract, upon which $85,000 hinges.

Once the American Power Boat Association opted not to sanction the Key West Offshore World Championships races, Key West tourism officials set forth specific criteria stating Mills needed 40 boats to race at least two different days to get the reimbursement check.

The contract also requires national television coverage of the Key West races.

Mills said Monday that he exceeded the 40-boat mandate because he had 42 boats registered, and also had a production crew filming all the races for a top-notch television production, the airing date of which he says will be announced soon.

But Harold Wheeler, director of the Monroe County Tourist Development Council, said the contract required at least 40 boats to actually race, not simply register.

As of Monday the unofficial registration list Wheeler saw showed that 30 boats raced Wednesday, eight raced Saturday and 25 raced Sunday. Those numbers do not include the 20 stock outboard boats that raced Saturday, which he said did not count toward the 40-boat requirement.

"It does not appear at this time that he met the criteria of the 40 boats," Wheeler said. "But we haven't received any official race documentation from him."

Mills explained that it is fairly typical for some boats that register not to race.

"Some boats did not pass the technical inspection, and a few broke during test runs," Mills said. "There were 42 here in town, but not all of them raced."

Mills has until Jan. 30, 2004, to provide all the required documentation to TDC officials, who then verify it before passing their approval to County Clerk Danny Kolhage, who is in charge of signing the check for $85,000 made out to Mills.

Board members of Key West's District Advisory Committee, which set the contract requirements, will meet Dec. 3 and discuss the outcome of the power-boat races, said DAC 1 Chairwoman Julie Fondriest.

"I know it made some impact," she said. "I just don't think it was as much of an impact as [DAC 1 members] had hoped for."

Fondriest emphasized that the council's goal is to promote tourism and support events that will bring people to the Florida Keys, not provide the locals with an entertaining event.

"We're hoping for more than a local event, and I have to give [Mills] credit for putting together some excitement in the harbor," she said. "My concern is because it all came together so last minute, we really undercut our opportunity to build tourism with it."

Fondriest was referring to contract changes just five weeks prior to the races, when it became apparent that APBA would not be sanctioning the event.

The tourism impact of the races in Key West could also affect Mills' contract in Marathon, where races are scheduled for May, and his 2004 race contract with Key West, which states that the race will be sanctioned by the APBA.

The Marathon District Advisory Committee is being asked to approve a $125,000 contract with Mills, but was waiting to see what happened in Key West before doing so.

Mills, on the other hand, is moving forward with optimism.

"This week represented the turning point for next year's schedule and the affirmation of the monumental changes taking place in power-boat racing after a year of turmoil," he said, commending the Super Cat Owners Group that decided collectively this year to race in Key West despite APBA's decision not to sanction the race. "They have taken charge of their destiny and their participation in the Key West races was the ultimate act of defiance."

Mills is continuing his preparations for the upcoming Florida Keys Offshore Triple Crown featuring races in Key Largo, Marathon and Key West. The May races in Marathon will be the kickoff races for the three-pronged event.

"Key West has always been the place we want to race," said Danny DeSantis, whose Super Cat boat representing DeSantis Chevrolet took first place overall in the popular class. "The Super Cat owners' group voted to stick together, and wherever we go, the littler boats will follow."

[email protected]

Re: Article on Key West
 

"Key West has always been the place we want to race," said Danny DeSantis, whose Super Cat boat representing DeSantis Chevrolet took first place overall in the popular class. "The Super Cat owners' group voted to stick together, and wherever we go, the littler boats will follow."



That sounds just a tad arrogant to me, but it may be true. Don't know.

They've also posted a photo gallery from Key West, including this series of the WHM barrel roll....


http://keysnews.com/photogallery/gal...rydisplayid=94

Thanks for the link, BK. Wow!! :eek:
Glad those guys were all okay! :)

Well it appears to be a flop as far as the minimum boat count goes. Anybody with a brain knows 40 boats did not race. And do you think boats actually failed inspection? There are several good govering bodies to race with - APBA / SBI / OPA. We don't need another group to try and dillute our sport. Lee Mills I hope you don't get your check and they run you out of town! BH

There was no inspection!

Thanks again BK. As usual great investigative reporting..

That answers a lot of questions..

;) :)

You're right. Inspection for what? What set of rules?

Re: Article on Key West
 

Is this true ??????

This is the best part:

www.keywestworlds.com

Key West has always been the place we want to race," said Danny DeSantis, whose Super Cat boat representing DeSantis Chevrolet took first place overall in the popular class. "The Super Cat owners' group voted to stick together, and wherever we go, the littler boats will follow."

Sounds like the Super Cat Owners group has no clue as to why and were the "littler boats" race. It sure won't be where all racers are not treated with equal respect.

J

QUOTE]"Key West has always been the place we want to race," said Danny DeSantis, whose Super Cat boat representing DeSantis Chevrolet took first place overall in the popular class. "The Super Cat owners' group voted to stick together, and wherever we go, the littler boats will follow." [/QUOTE]



29 Boats, 10 Supercats, 6 Super Cat Lights, 3 Super V's, 2 F-2's, 3 F-1's, 3 Outboards, 1 P-3, 1 P-1.[

Yeh, looks like we followed:rolleyes:

Desantis it's Smaller not Littler. The smaller boats make up most of the boat count at races anyway. Mills thought just because some Cats showed up we'd follow , yea right! I'm not following your group. The boycotting group set our sport back big time. Ya think any big sponsors are going to be involved w/ offshore racing now? This boycott hurt the West Coast , East Coast and The Great Lakes - Thanks! The LLC did alot of right , some wrong and they admitted it. All of this should of been worked out over the winter. BH

the same thing can be said for the boat count in OB , the claim was "at least 100" the real # was a weee bit under that........ just an observation

I think someone has learned ENRON math :D


I was just glad to hang out n meet a few OSO people in person. The races were an added bonus.

Nasty:

APBA's prediction of 100 boats was before the boycott. Since 1998 APBA has had 100 boats easy at the World Championships. Mills knew his ass was in a bind and tried to trick the city. Well it didn't work. Key West Koolaid. I don't blame any people for going to Key West and partying , It's a great place. BH

10/30 Boycott announced

10/30 Boycott recognized

11/4 "at least 100 boats"



not splitting hairs but that is what was said. or at least what I read. I didn't race anywhere in any of the so called worlds next year I hope to race 3 or 4 or more...2004 Year of the Boat Race Whore

I understand the boycott but why would anyone want to race without a sanction or TV? What did the winners accomplish? I am a World Champion. Really!! Lee Mills Racing Club. WOW

Racers did not accomplish much of anything, in fact most of them LOST a LOT!!!!!!

Those of us who went to watch on the other hand had a BLAST!!!!!

Oh, there was racing going on?????? I just thought there was a few Million $$$$$$ worth of powerboats having Fun in the Harbor!!!!!!!!!

"Those numbers do not include the 20 stock outboard boats that raced Saturday, which he said did not count toward the 40-boat requirement. "

Did anybody actaully see this race? Where was it?

I saw some pictures of some little 12 footers with outboards that had #'s on them..Is that what he is talking about?:rolleyes: :rolleyes:

Were they the kneeldown stock outboards or the SuperSports that ran in the bay at St Pete??

A thread on this was started at the hydro site:

http://www.hydroracer.net/forums/sho...=9924#post9924

About Danny I know him and he is a down to earth nice guy. he helped me last year at the cape race I was thee smallest boat there !:o I needed a gen to run tools with and he said take what you need , and in 93 he started in stock class 28ft skater o he won the worlds that yr to give him a break gezz :D :D ps Idrive a FORD, JEEP

A bit of history
 

And the beat goes on............

In 1988 a group of racers disappointed with APBA's handling of various issues......... broke away and formed OPT (Offshore Performance Tour). This group was formed by and ultimately consisted of...the larger class boat owners. The group, including Popeyes, Don Johnson, and other luminaries of the sport recruited the young John Carbonell as General manager...and began to sanction non APBA "National" races with a fair sized television contract .

A few years later, another group composed of northeast regional racers, who originally campaigned under Billy Frenz's NPBA banner, later changing to USOPBRA and finally Bill Gifford's US Offshore Racing Association, also formed a "National" Circuit.

In the early 90's there were, in fact three separate "national" circuits....complete with competing and confusing TV packages. This represented the worst possible scenario for a sport with barely enough traction to support even one full fledged "series". Anyone without a selfish or ego driven agenda realised that unity ...and only unity....... could allow the sport to prosper.

OPT declared bankruptcy giving a glimmer of hope, but like a tenacious bulldog, it re-emerged as first SBR and later SBI.......with ever diminishing fleets.

USORA after a number of years, staged joint events with SBI at times...and eventually faded away.

In the mid 90's Don Jones, then APBA Offshore chairman, was able to stage a joint World Championship event at Key West with all three bodies present...and it was the biggest race in many years. Unfortunately Don Jones was wildly unpopular with too many people and was discharged by APBA's hierarchy. Gene Whipp stepped in , and after a couple of years managed to , once again, get APBA and SBI together at Key West (USORA by then was an after thought).

Today after all the bluster and self congratulatory rhetoric...... We are back at Square one...or is it Square three?

My point you ask?

1. To acquaint the newcomers to the simple fact that nothing we have seen in the past three years is either "new", "unique", or an "improvement". In fact it has resulted in little more than a series of fading sponsor banners trumpeting everything from Warlock Boat's alleged "sponsorship", (Remember Richard whatsisname?) to one "Backstreet Boy"s" annointment as the "future"....and of course a string of lawsuits.

2. To break the problem down to the simple basic issue. The sport needs a single, unified.......sensible......non agenda driven......non litigious...... leadership and sanctioning vehicle....and such an entity ...in spite of the protestations from the young golf shirt wearing crowd in western Florida....

DOES NOT AT PRESENT EXIST.

Happy Thanksgiving to all .......even you lawyers, sales and marketing types and political guys.

T2x

Re: A bit of history
 

Want to hear something ironic?

In the Unlimited Hydroplane world, such an entity....

DOES EXIST.



But the funny thing is, these racers are STILL not satisfied.

Which goes back to my previous musings that......

If boat racers want this sport to ever succeed, they must come to the realization that a PERFECT SERIES, ONE THAT MEETS ALL DREAMS AND EXPECTATIONS OF EACH AND EVERY TEAM AND SPONSOR....

......WILL NEVER EXIST.



Here are snippings of the press release from yesterday:

NEW HYDROPLANE RACING SERIES TO DEBUT IN 2005
Tukwila WA: November 24, 2003

A major new initiative in hydroplane racing was launched at the annual meeting of the Unlimited Light Hydroplane Racing Association, Inc. on Saturday
November 22nd. The ULHRA, which oversees the rapidly growing Unlimited Light Hydroplane Racing Series, has created a new series for larger and more powerful hydroplanes, powered by automotive engines.

Visit www.ulhra.org

Re: A bit of history
 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by T2x
[In the mid 90's Don Jones, then APBA Offshore chairman, was able to stage a joint World Championship event at Key West with all three bodies present...and it was the biggest race in many years.


That was 1994, a total of 143 boats raced on wednesday!

143 Boats! Damn I bet all of OSO would be there for that. I know I would Love to see a race with 100 + boats. as would most I think.

The Sunday race was good, Some pretty good action, But I got to tell you it was much more fun and exciting to watch some of the Poker Runners go out and play on the course. And the show they put on coming into the bight Sat afternoon was much better than any race over the week !!!! The poker run was the highlight of the whole weekend It just so happened there was a race in town at the same time

Bob

IT WOULD BE NICE TO HAVE SOMEONE TO RACE AGAINST IN P1 INSTEAD OF DRIVING AROUND FOR 7 LAPS BY MYSELF TO BECOME A WORLD CHAMPION. JUST MY 2 CENTS WORTH

P1
 

YOU MEAN SUPERCAT LIGHT INBOARDS WHO DONT CARE ABOUT BREAKING OUT OF THERE 110 MPH BRACKET. I RAN THE GLSCS SERIES ALL SEASON WITH ONLY 1 OTHER P1 BOAT. ORANGE BEACH WORLDS NO P1 BOATS SHOWED UP EITHER. SBI DEERFIELD BEACH NO P1 BOATS. THATS THE FACTS. I GUESS I BETTER BUY A 36 CANOPY SKATER TO RACE AND TURN MY 32 SKATER OPEN INTO A PLEASURE BOAT. SEE YA

Re: Re: A bit of history
 

BK:

I agree but ....my point is that when real leadership and performance at the top exists, quarreling diminishes, and racer populations increase. There will never, in fact, be a perfect series.......... But, that does not give license to a management theory of "Let Them Eat Cake". There are two sides to the swing of any pendulum...... with unrealistic expectations or results at each extreme.

What I am suggesting is that a truly successful approach satisfies most of the people...most of the time.
and Not....... a handfull of people, investors and sponsors ALL of the time...and the h*ll with everybody else......

This involves listening more....... and compromising at times......

T2x

P.S. Happy Thanksgiving to MS. K.

Wanna Race?

Ahh, the Gold Coast Marathon.. Got the pic of the guy on the door??

Scott B

Re: Re: Re: A bit of history
 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hi Rich,

Thank you and I hope you and your family are enjoying the holiday weekend!

Now about your comments above "a truly successful approach satisfies most of the people...most of the time"

This approach will only work when the sport of boat racing is on a roll. Satisfying the competitors happens AFTER the success. Success and satisfaction goes hand in hand.

If the sport boat racing is losing viewership and losing sponsorship, then a true leader will disregard doing the "popular thing" and make some bold moves to do the "right thing".

Following status quo is easy; but making bold changes that you know is going set some pretty important people off (most especially those who are used to always getting their way) is far more difficult.

But the majority of boat racers do not pay very much attention to the demographics or what makes a sport tick. Most cannot even begin to give stats on how many viewers are watching Offshore on TV today, compared to 5 years ago.

While there are some boat racers who know that to grow a series, there will be sacrifice. (Miss Bud Team and Bernie Little, for example) But there are many more who are only concerned with instant gratification and their own personal satisfaction; only what THEY are getting, not the full picture of what the goals are for the sport itself.

A true leader is doing what is best for the entire sport, despite any unpopular views. He knows he won't win every battle and knows he will lose friends. When making drastic changes sometimes things don't feel too good at first, but a true competitor who wants to see the SPORT succeed, will join the General as a soldier in this fight.




But in almost ALL of boat racing, we can never seem to get to that point. We could probably blame this on failure to communicate the winning "game plan" strategy. Perhaps an objectives committee needs to be established, one that keeps in close contact with the "soldiers" about their progress.


The typical scenario is that after only a few years, some *new* group always shows up to undo the previous leaders progress, and we start over from scratch
.........:::sigh:::

Re: Re: Re: Re: A bit of history
 

Amen.... Here's hoping that we can stop the pattern now...... and learn that in most cases.........

the wheel................ has already been invented.

T2x

In the late 1800's, Railroad barrons owned America. The world was under the impression that riding the rails would always be the main source of transportation for the masses.

Then came Henry Ford.



Conclusion: The notion that "things should always remain as they always have been" will lead you to straight to imminent defeat. The world will always make room for another inventor.

Yep.....But we seem to be creating single wheeled vehicles to ride backwards on double railed tracks......

Just because something is new and different....doesn't make it better.......

Offshore racing is about 3 "M's" Man, Machine and Mastering the elements. The idiot who added "Madison Avenue", and "Marketing Models" to this........ deserves his fate.

T2x

Ah! But we never get to the point to know if it would have! Reformation for a new direction takes time - It is not something that can be done over a few years time.



Also.........Whose 3M's are those?
In my world it could mean MOMS, MACHINES, and MASTERING ELEMENTS. :D

Anything is better then

MEDIOCRITY, MEDIOCRITY and MEDIOCRITY.

Have a great weekend.

Rich:D