Cape Cod Cancelled
 

Just in too rough, cant race. Meanwhile the Jersey Boyz are out on the coarse spinning Donuts. Just spoke to my son he is fuming. "Dad I water ski in bigger stuff than this." "Cant believe I came here for this." " Better send Bail money." Smitty John Wolley is on the outside leg at 105 with Kurt in the Webbcraft hot on his a@@

Re: Cape Cod Cancelled
 

WHAT ??????!!!!!! :eek: I cant believe that...Run a shorter race. Dont just cancell it. Thats bogus. :hothead:

Re: Cape Cod Cancelled
 

Jersey Boyz new all time low. This one involves our OPA Pres, Kurt Burger. Kurt was out on the coarse waiting for boats to launch when the race was cancelled. Called in to the tower for permission for a flyby " permission Denied" .........................wrong answere..........Last seen the Marine Police were trying to catch a 1000HP Webbcraft.. Way to go Kurt How do you look in bracelets?

Re: Cape Cod Cancelled
 

Don't they know the Jersey Boyz like to run in 6 to 8s?

Isn't this in a protected bay? How big could it be? 3 or 4?

Sorry to hear that guys, let me know if Kurt needs bail money.

Re: Cape Cod Cancelled
 

This was the last race of the Silver Cup Series for the year. This one was to decide their Nat Champ. Why dont you guys join us in Cambridge or Camden, to decide your championship? The only time we will not run a race is if the ocean dries up. Smitty

Re: Cape Cod Cancelled
 

So who cancelled it? The Coast Guard? The Great lakes club? This is a great way to lose future races in Cape Cod. I feel for everyone who went thru the expense and effort to attend... :mad:

Re: Cape Cod Cancelled
 

That Sucks, We would be havin a few beers waiting for the awards ceremony if it was OPA.

Re: Cape Cod Cancelled
 

With the way security is this day and age, he'd be lucky to be in bracelets.

I wouldn't have been surprised if he was shot at after disobeying a direct order and eluding the officials. :eek: :eek: :eek:

Let's hope this ended peacefully and the OPA will be welcomed back... :drink:

Re: Cape Cod Cancelled
 

IF YOU CAN'T HANDLE A LITTLE DISSAPOINTMENT YOU ARE IN THE WRONG SPORT!! [/B] SO FAR THIS SEASON,TWO MOTORS, A CRACKED HULL AND A CALLED RACE AT THE LAST MINUTE! WE ARE HAVING A GREAT SEASON SO FAR!! WHO WANTS TO LISTEN TO ME COMPLAIN???

I honestly don't know for sure who made the final call, but I understand it was the rescue people, I respect their decision!

Half the boats were already in the water and we where on the ramp ready to splash when a few of the race officials came in from out on the course. They told us it was very snotty and that the further out you got, the worse it became! They felt that with such strong winds and gust that when the boats would catch air would be blown all over the place! Valid Concern!! There were also valid concerns of the ability to rescue in an effective amount of time in the case of an undesirable event on the course!! Having spent four years in the USCG I do understand what they are talking about!! It's not easy picking injured people out of the water in strong winds!
Again, I respect the decision made by the RESPONSIBLE PARTY.

If it had been my decision I would have started the race and watched it very closely for the first lap or two and would have called it if things started to go sideways!! At least there would have been a little more of a show for the public and everyone would have had a chance to splash their boats as well!
But That being said, I wasn't the one with that responsibility of running as safe a race as possible!!

It's easy to second guess other people's decisions when you aren't the one who is ACCOUNTABLE!!
But the people that where responsible made their decision and even though I didn't agree with it, I respect it! I'm quite sure that it wasn't a decision made lightly or without consideration of all of the efforts and expenses of the racers!! It was just too bad that the race didn't happen!

People traveled 12-16hrs to come to the Cape and I know that they didn't intend on doing it to just for the heck of it!! :(

The event organizers spent countless hours working on this, so I'm sure that they where also pretty unhappy!!

Even though we didn't get a chance to race today, I don't feel that it was all for not!! The fact is that there was a pretty good turnout of spectators and with the cooperation of the racers we were able to turn the Hot pits into a Race boat display that I know was enjoyed by a lot of people today! I spent the afternoon visiting with a lot of folks that even though they didn't have a chance to see us race enjoyed the opportunity to get a close up view of the boats and have a chance to meet the crews.
If nothing else we had a chance to do some very positive PR for the sport!!

Anyone who truly cares to see this sport grow will not take advantage of this to sling mud and wise ass remarks which will only hurt!!

I'm fairly confident after talking to the GLSCS people as well as the local chamber of Commerce people that there will be another Boat race on Cape Cod next year next year!

I want to say that the "Sonic Boom Racing" team was quite frankly, very impressed with the professionalism of the GLSCS group. They were very quick to let us know that there would be a prompt refund of a large portion of the entry fees. We felt this more than fair considering the feed both Friday & this late afternoon! I along with everyone else was handed a check with sincere appreciation of our participation.

I for one hope that the OPA and GLSCS are able to do some joint events. For my fellow OPA members that didn't make the trip I want to tell you the GLSCS group is a class act group of people! I think that organizing a few joint events in the future with these folks could be very beneficial to both clubs and for the sport of offshore powerboat racing as a whole!

I along with my two partners, John Franco & Bobby Giovanelli Would like to thank them for inviting us to race with their group! I for one was very impressed with the whole group and enjoyed meeting everyone!

As my friend Augie says, It's all about having a good time!!

Tom Rioux
"Sonic Boom Racing"


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Re: Cape Cod Cancelled
 

Well said Tom!

If medical support can't work under certain conditions, then it's quite simple. Cancel the race. How many sweep boats would have wanted to sit in those conditions as well.
Not being there, I can say it was a good or bad call. But the call was made and has to be lived with.... ;)

Re: Cape Cod Cancelled
 

Sorry to hear that Cape Cod was cancelled. I'm sure that the safety of the racers was the topmost concern, as it should be. A lot of people are disappointed when an event is cancelled but an injury or death is not worth the risk in some cases and it is a hard call to make.

We here in Maryland are looking forward to hosting the OPA championships and would love to have some or all of the GLSCS racers come down to Cambridge and mix it up with the Jersey boyz. We also promise a very safe race and so far the weather looks perfect (our venue would probably look sort of like Pt Pleasant only if there was a hurricane going on, and we're already done with those :D )

It is tough when an event is cancelled but at least everyone is ready to race another day.
See ya in Cambridge!

Re: Cape Cod Cancelled
 

Yep, all fueled up and ready!! See you in a few days.

Re: Cape Cod Cancelled
 

Tom, you have a great attitude.

With money spent on insurance, cranes, choppers, travel, registrations and everything else that goes into putting a race together, I would have thought a storm course would have been the way to go. Like you said, shorten the laps and close it down at the first sign of a dangerous situation.

Its a shame whatever the reason. I'm sure a lot of racers and fans were disappointed.

Re: Cape Cod Cancelled
 

We were all disappointed, but thats the way it goes!
Looking forward to Cambridge.

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The problem with a shortened course, or people knowing that they will call the race at anytime is that you will get people running 100 times harder in conditons that normally don't allow it.
Recipe for disaster. They played it safe, and just called it right from the start...

Re: Cape Cod Cancelled
 

how many boats had shown up?

Re: Cape Cod Cancelled
 

The decisions were made jointly by the local authorities and the GLSCS officials. The locals have been there before with putting on an APBA National race. They didn't want to have the same result they had in the past. As on the their water patrol people said in the meeting "there was fiberglass everywhere. I stand behind the decisions of our Officials. The safety of the racers is of the utmost concern. But you also have to look at the support fleet who has to sit out there and brave the elements also. These people are doing it for a T-shirt and maybe a free meal. Not worth it.

The GLSCS has a stellar safety record, and we want to keep it that way. We are just as disappointed and everyone else that the race was canceled. We will put on a T.V. show for the event showing the conditions and interviewing the competitors.

The race-site was great, the parties were great the local people who spent months putting this event together were awesome and ready to do it again next year. What more can you ask for?

As for the (19) race teams that braved the weather for this weekend I know a pat on the back a $100.00 in trailer money doesn't mean much when you come ready to race. But I hope everyone can understand the safety issues and move on.

We (GLSCS) will be supporting the Cambridge and Camden events. The Camden event will be the season finale and shown on The Outdoor Channel.

The GLSCS is excited to work with the OPA and hopes we can put a great season of racig together for the 2005 season.

Thanks For Your Support

Sincerely,

Andrew Bloom
GLSCS Chairman

Re: Cape Cod Cancelled
 

I want to personally thank the GLSCS and Cape Cod for a first class event. Having most of my events this year start with rain, wind and big seas, I can sympathize with the officials and the decisions they had to make. Their decisions were correct and justified. I was also very impressed with the fans that turned out to see the boats even in threatening weather conditions. My little stunt on the water was only to show appreciation to the fans that came to see a show. The GLSCS is a professional organization that I will be proud to be associated with in future events. I just hope after finally meeting up with the Jersey Boyz that they feel the same way about us ! Kurt

Re: Cape Cod Cancelled
 

Kurt,
Good first post,lets get ready for Cambridge.

Wil

Re: Cape Cod Cancelled
 

Kurt,

It was great to have you guy's come up!

I was also pleased to see the Wazzup and Lightning Jacks teams as well! Hopefully next year we can have a real successful event up here with both the OPA and GLSCS clubs.

Patti Lloyd from the Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce was also very appreciative of the OPA members support.

I'm looking forward to seeing everyone in Cambridge!

Tom

BTW welcome to "the board"

Re: Cape Cod Cancelled
 

Hi Billy,

Always good to see you. We need to plan a run together one of these days soon before the snow!

call me (508)237-3326

Tom

Re: Cape Cod Cancelled
 

Keith and I ran about 5 miles out after they called the race. There is no doubt in my mind the possibility for an incident was there. The helo was following us and the pictures they shot are amazing. We respect the decision of the officials and the support teams and like to thank all involved for an outstanding season. Special thank you to OPA for making the event that much better. It was a Great feeling being in the same room with so many outstanding talent. Kurt we were going to follow your fly-by but all the harbor patrol boats that Wren't chasing you were
after us. Thanks to all the racers and there family's. Jo Herbott/Swipes P4-88 APBA Central Div Champs, GLSCS Champs.