ScottB

If you guys love history, check out the Bannana Boat section, Charlie Sr. and Jr are breakin out some old pics as well and they are awesome

JO - PANTERABOATS

Hey JR Banana, I believe Gara became Corsa, memory does not serve me right!

ask your old man if "Paul Hagertty" rings a bell ? He was an innovator in "the day" Look @ the low sides of the hull in the Corsa. It was not normal for an offshore boat.
later, Pepe @ Pantera

Fast Shafts

Didn't Paul race "Tightrope" a 30 Corsa? Tightrope won it's class in one of the Bennihana's (before there were 15 classes)
Catim,
Your very close-it was a Scarab 30, however not "Pure Insanity".

Top Banana

Hey Pepe

Paul Hagerty....boy now we are going back some years. He was a sharp guy with some different ideas. You were right about the years, it was '78 as my boat was not finished by JC Simon and I took the kids in the chopper from Rhode Island to New Jersey to fly over the race and shoot some photos. Unfortunately I was also flying over the race as my son remembers in '79 as I blew an engine and Phil Lewis asked me to do the narration for his filming from the chopper.

FountainCS...great shots of Betty and Paul...I didn't realize that she was your aunt. Betty, Howard Arneson and a couple more of us tried to put a drivers group together to push for more safety coverage in the sport in the mid 70's.

I was friends with some Formula 1 drivers around that time and they had just organized the same thing for their drivers. If they deemed a track too dangerous, they would not go out on it. Our problem with safety was, that we were so far offshore at times that it would have been a long time for anyone to come and help us, if they came at all.

At the race in Argentina in '78 Bill Elswick's boat sank in a very rough race. The crew was able to get the raft inflated and they all got in and waited...and waited and waited ...finally they were spotted just at sunset, by a freighter going to Buenos Aires. They were picked up and rode all the way, 250 miles north, to Buenos Aires with them.

Meanwhile back on shore, we were all trying to find out what was being done...language problem, spanish/english. The Italian team won the race. The race had been postponed a day and we all had flight reservations to leave.

Larry Smith and his wife and me and my wife had reserevations to go to Rio on our way home. We finally got word they were found and everybody scrambled for the airport.

The good old days were not so good all of the time. Please post more of Betty and Paul, I am sure everyone would love to see them. She was a class act, win or lose.

FountainCS

Thanks very much T.B. I appreciate it. Betty was very special, I spent a great deal of time with her thankfully. I will get some more pictures scanned. Here is one I'm sure no one has. It's taken when I was a kid. She's in her 26' Christ Craft which had twin Kamma's. She kept it at her house in Lake George which is now where my parents live. I'll try and find some pictures of my first boat. It was a Mini Hawk painted like the Kamma.

Caincando1

Great thread guys!!!

lowblue320

man those are pics Ive never seen great thread

Chatim Racing

FountainCS: WOW! Great picture - I think I speak for everyone in saying that we would all love to see more pictures of Betty. She was a great lady and I know my dad (Top Banana - Charlie McCarthy) really respected her as a racer and friend...she brought a certain amount of class to the sport that has not been matched since. I remember flying over the '77 World Championships with my dad - we followed her. Here's a quick pic of her in Key West in '76 (??) in her 36' Cigarette (the old Dante's Inferno) - she sure looks happy...

FountainCS

Wow! Thanks Chatim, great pic. Yes, she was very happy when she was in the boat. I will get as many posted as I can. Keep an I out for more.

ScottB

Fountain CS I grew up in Point Pleasant, and your Aunt was one of my hero's.
I have an autographed picture of her from back in the days of the Benihana.