Once again, my post was not intended to offend.

But I have to ask, why is it that you feel that your boat cannot beat these two boats if they both have GPS units on them and are subject to the same rules?

Where are they vastly superior?

I think you missed my point. By no means was I suggesting that you cheat, but find an advantage and use it.

If they are beating you(us) based on their ability to carry speed in the corners, let's figure out a way to carry as much speed as they do and turn tighter.

In the end, testing is the answer not outlawing them.

Based on you going 3-0 last year, it surprises me that no-one was calling to ban "bat boats" from P4.

Prior to this year, bat boats had pretty much dominated P4, be it your 24 or the 28', these boats had tallied up the last couple national and world championships.

Lastly, you race not to say you raced, and not to win. You race to beat them! In the end if you really want it bad enough it will happen. The question is how bad do you want to win?

Once again, this post was not done to offend in any way. I completely repect the fact that you are a former national and world champion. But as a champion I would not expect you to throw in the towel after a few rough outings.

best wishes,
Rick

Hey Doc, you had a pretty tough time in Key West in 2002, big water, rough but you put on one hell of a show for the fans which is part of what it's all about. The Bat Boats are great boats and you run it well. Good luck in the 2004 season, we'll see you in Miami. Augie

ryoung99:
I know your intentions are good, I was not offended at all.

A.Pensa

No racing for me, I sold the boat.
I will be at the races as a fan ;)

P.S. Thanks for the compliments to both of you.

I was actually surprised we did not hear a lot of the "ban the batboats" in P4 as well, after all, we have been banned from every other class.

That being said, it is very hard to win when other's are cheating, we should do all we can to stop it, then go out and test and test and test.

There is a lot more that can be gained by testing than most could imagine. JT and Fuller are known for their testing, as is Mark Kawalski. Both won World and National Championships last year and are in the Hall of Champions.

We have seen newcomers come into the One Design class and win because the are willing to listen, and have certainly seen teams get much better with practice.

[email protected]

I like that photo. It is one of my favorites.

Chris, you have a great product, your a good apple and the people that run your equiptment are top of the line(Just take a good look at Rick) and The Doc, P4 is where the Bat Boats should be...no? I enjoyed the $hit outta watching Dr. Santiago in the 2002 worlds, they were very exciting and compared to my Flying Condo which doesn't leave the water too much, I had a great time watching them. Rick, I'm gonna take you up on that TURNING thing and I don't want to hear anything afterwords, HAHAHA! Talk to you all later, Augie