I have been to LOTO!!! It is a GREAT Place for a race and Osage Beach is a great town for supporting a race


I helped my Wife (Cherie) put on races here a few years ago (She was Risk manager for the APBA Silver Cup Series) and we talk about putting on a different kind of offshore race possibly in the future

Cherie, Bob L, and Myself have put on a successful poker run here (SOTW) to great success so I know a little about putting on events

We billed the events in our area as a Mini Key West and it is with all the cool things needed to attract people to the area as well as the events

We had Good Food, Good venue, good staff, Ect... still we lost a bit of money in producing races.

Worse no one saw the race but the 100,000 fans that were here that day

After everyone left the event it was only a memory that was saved by a low budget film maker and never really dispersed to the public. Shown on some obscure network and moderated poorly and incorrectly and then never seen again

I probably own 1/2 of the video tapes produced from those events (I think I have 6 tapes LOL)


As far as the "IF" factor
There has always seemed to be one or two groups holding up the offshore racing experience more than anyone else

We need it to get to the point that when one big supporter (David Scott, John Haggin ect..) leaves that the impact to the sport wont be so large

We need MANY groups supporting in that fashion. We also need many sponsors and organizations helping out so these guys don’t have to foot all the bills to get the exposure

Enter in to the mix (weather you like it or not ) mainstream TV

Until more exposure is given to the event site, the process, the characters involved, and all the peripheral things that go along with boat racing (not just the race) we will never get it into mainstream

I still think there are a lot of racers on shoe string budgets that deserve an opportunity for there moment in the sun

These guys and girls are great professionals and we need to somehow help them get the exposure they all deserve buy having an entry level race circuit (Like home town dirt track racing ) followed by semi pro (Bush series) then Pro (NASCAR) so that those interested can work there way up to the top of the sport. Again this will provide many new challenges but also more exposure

I am done with my rant
I LOVE THIS SPORT I WANT EVERYONE ELSE TO LOVE IT TO

I think we know what the answer would be!

Boatme -

You, Cherie and Bob do put on an awesome event! Smoke on the Water grew to be a benchmark in poker runs. I have always brought up that OPA should have an event in Grand Haven. I could just imagine that city when the crew rolls into town!!! Would be a huge event and the potential for BIG water is there. Boatme....smitty....what'd ya say...Grand Haven in '08????

Oh and to answer the questions...boat count. It wasn't until I started having family and friends coming to the races that I realized just how boring a race can be with low boat count.

If you build it they will come...racers and fans alike!!!

[QUOTE=fantastixvoyage;2286995]Boatme -

You, Cherie and Bob do put on an awesome event! Smoke on the Water grew to be a benchmark in poker runs. I have always brought up that OPA should have an event in Grand Haven. I could just imagine that city when the crew rolls into town!!! Would be a huge event and the potential for BIG water is there. Boatme....smitty....what'd ya say...Grand Haven in '08???? QUOTE]

How about 2009 ? It is going to take over a year to do what we are thinking of doing

I will scan a couple of the articles from the last race that i helped Cherie put on here

You will be amazed by the articles

Everyone has good points and I think you definitely need a good boat count and that will get you a good fan count. As a race fan I want to see the boats racing as close to me as possible and on a short course of about 4-5 miles so that the fans and the racers can see and have continuous race action. Television coverage seems to be what is lacking. It has to be the same day or one week after the race, not 2-3 months later. Everyone is a buzz about the Discovery Channel Show ( Built Bigger ), why because things like that are seldom seen on TV and viewers get to see something different for a change instead of the same old thing. I want to see everyone racing together as a fan and not divided because it hurts the sport in a big way. This year I have seen racers and race organizations racing together and it made for some great race action for us race fans. Boat Count and Fan Count go hand and hand. I can't wait for next year and I sense a big change for the better coming to Offshore Powerboat Racing.

I'm leaving in 4 hours Pete!
With last minute plans, I will be there !

Also, I will be armed with a brand new EOS 1D ....

I just couldn't think of doing another event without having a back up camera.....

Our group, Sea Quest Kids "the little league of boating" has been trying to make race venues more family friendly. We have established Sea Quest Kids leagues in city's around the country and have tried MANY times to get sanctioning bodies to include us as part of the package that comes to towns along with the Main Event. We get kids from the local venue to build our Sea Quest 100, kids age 5 and up build the entire project along with learning boater safety and teamwork. We have had several race teams jump in and race the boats with the kids and ALL involved have a great time.
To make race venues more family friendly and promote the sanctioning body by leaving a legacy in that town, Sea Quest Kids is an affordable but long lasting impression

M.M.
My comment to you was made when it looked and sounded like you were a basher, that is obviously not accurate and I apologize for jumping on you. I invite you to come by our pits and say hey. It would be cool to put faces with names on this site, we will also have plenty of beer, so until Key West take care !!! Mike S-13 BOBKAT / STIHL racing