Judging by the frequency of recent posts, the hunt for permits must be more exciting than boat racing itself. So it's time again to shift one's focus at a new target. Which race can be pronounced dead now?

Let's see.

How about Sarasota, August 27th? Apparently, the permit posse hasn't picked up the scent yet, so here is a hint:

Is there a permit?

Go fetch, permit posse!

(Little hint for the challenged hunter: The Ringling Bridge 5K/10K Race.)

No there is not.

Due to "philisophical differences" with certain members of the leadership I resigned from the Sarasota Offshore Showdown Race Committee last Friday evening. I will not be the last.

Throttleman, thanks. It was the right/only thing to do. Unfortunate, but right. You have to be willing to stand up for what you believe in, or as in some cases, for what you don't believe in. As "info" becomes "public" I will post immediately.

You Should Check With The Guys In St. Pete, I Am Sure They Would Like To Have You Up There This Weekend, You Ar Both Class Acts.

The multiple personality disorder is alive and well on this thread.

Phantom, please clear out your PM box, tried to reply to your PM but could not.

All clear.

Phantom, why did you miss this one? VERY sloppy reporting on your part. I thought you are the resident expert on who has a permit and who not. Looks like you didn't get the memo on this one either. They are cutting you out of the loop, Phantom1/Catracer.

If they don't get their permit until August 21nd, or six days before the race, they will have done better than OSS did for the St Pete race. If they don't get it at all it won't affect me - I don't plan to attend.

I'm just looking forward to the big race, close to the beach, featuring the two premier offshore racing organizations - Sarasota for the 4th of July.

So there are all these people (well, about 5 of them) who show mock outrage about how this all looks in the public, and they say this with egg splattered all over their faces.

They are puffed up with worry about how this affects the sponsors. And then they **** on boat racing all day long.

And then they are totally unfazed when a prime national sponsor, a HUGE brewery, looks into an upcoming APBA race and finds - - - nothing.

According to a report making the rounds in Sarasota, that same sponsor had to call the city to find out that permits were not even applied for.

According to the same report, that sponsor had to find out that the Sarasota race was planning to use the Van Wezel parking lot as a pit area. They also had to learn that the same lot is already spoken for "as the beginning and ending point for the 3,000 runners" of The Ringling Bridge 5K/10K Race.

According to the same report, that sponsor is no longer "comfortable with donating money."

But no, that doesn't faze them. "I don't plan to attend."


Phantom1 doesn't race, doesn't have a boat. And he would like everybody to do just the same.