mr_velocity

OK there may be a slight safety issue. F1 boats have a clear advantage in sight over the canopy boats that are not only restricted in visability, especially the older boats running the double canopies, but are running faster. Don't tell me you can't look down and see your compass, you need to use it. Most of the drivers don't have a clue where they are going, want proof. Last year in Pt Pleasant one boat get's lost and everyone follows. People need to run their own race and not play follow the leader.
Having the driver navigate adds skill to the position. How many drivers even know the compass headings from bouy to bouy?

mikejill

I watched that too... One guy made a wrong turn and 2others did the same.

I was like NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

hehehe

Ur right!

Jill

TYPHOON

Let me give you another example. Your told at the meeting at a turn there will be a 40' boat with a orange flag. Well folks that little 3x4 flag is worthless and as far as seeing the boat its hard at best. From a distance you cant tell it from a spectators boat. Its harder than it looks.
MD

mikejill

It's a 40' boat... but.. out there when youre going that fast its impossible.

I wondered why they didnt use the shrimp boats. You can seet those for a mile.
Perhaps they should make the turn boats Sail boats... Large ones and hang HUGE flags on them. The Mast is about 40' in the air... so im sure they could see that.

I dont know how the supercats do it. I was wathcing the races on TV and I wondered how they oculd see anything.

I love the APBA but its impossible to plan anything. THings change SOOOO quickly. At first I thought they were unorganized.. but after this time I realized all of the stress and comotion that goes on during these things. THings change at a moments notice... you cant plan ANYTHING! When I get with the team(other volunteers) we try to plan out what to do, and what we can do to help. We usually hang our flag on the back of the boat (a baja 25 doesnt come with a flag mast... so we use our light pole). I always try to give advice that way they know where to go or what to do.

Next time I think we are going to use some other signal on our boat. I watched the race on TV and event hough we are 25ft.. we are a DOT!I dont know how you saw our medic flag.

I will email poppie. Perhaps I could make new flags... I sew, and do a great job with costumes and gowns... perhaps I could make some 8' long florescent orange flags (or Pink) with the turn numbers on them. THen I could make smaller ones for patrol in Yellow, and orange one for medic.

We had trouble on Friday.... Our friend wore RED shorts... Bless his heart. When the boats ran down the river they kept yelling..."That guy is waving a Red Flag!!!! " and it screwed up their times....

I asked him after if he was shaking his butt.


He was a cool guy. He was a preacher. Without knowing us he offered to let us stay at his home and use his dock. I dont know many peopel that would trust soemone like that.

Spiderman scared him to death. He didnt see the preachers boat and almost took him out. We pulled up to bobby and he was white as a ghost and dripping wet. He kept saying he saw ANGELS!

Let me think for a while... If you come up with an idea... let me know. Ive got the talent and would do them for free just to make it easier. Sorry guys... I dont know how to make boueys.

Hugs
Jill

SteveD

BIGGER markers please - and can we make them WHITE? Why are they orange? And HUGE anchors. Then let's use the left over small ones for markine the slot and the spectator fleet.

Steve Delaney
Fury Offshore
SV #88

mikejill

Tell ya what... you sketch what you like and send it and I will make one. I will take a photo and send it to Jim to ask for permission to make more. I will create them for free.( the chance to work this close must be rewarded back to all)
What if it was white with an orange border... with the number in teh center? I think they are pink because White blends in and is hard to see. I will make flags for up to 10 markers (not that they get that high) I will have to sit down and plot out exactly how many... there are medics, patrol and flagboats... so about ... hmmm 20-30flags.

If you guys like them... bribe a few of the supercats to give us a ride
That will be payment enough!
(not that helping is not enough, I enjoy helping.)


(jill raises her bacadi...) CHeers!

-Jill

mr_velocity

There is no way in a course like Sarasota you could make a bouy large enough to see it on the back leg, or should I say turn 1. Also, the back straightaway at Corpus is long and you're not going to see the markers there either. You just learn how to navigate or find landmarks. In my corpus example it's the third pole on the bridge, haven't been there since 01 but I won't forget.

No one said it was easy but why should it be easy? Navigation skills are needed to race offshore. Although people want to compare offshore to nascar, it's not nascar. Sure we would like to see the success of nascar I don't think we want to see the roundy round of boring nascar.

Randy, I know it's hard. I've done it from within a canopy. You talk about not being able to see the marker and people getting cut off. Well the rules say in the run you must maintain your lane in the turn. As a driver in a canopy boat you can't see who's to the left of you, so it's even harder then being in an open boat. Drivers need to take responsibility for their actions on the course and they are the only people that can make racing safe. Even with huge markers drivers will always cut each other off in the turn in the quest for their "perfect" line.

mr_velocity

Cause there are too many white boats on the water. I do agree that do need bigger anchors!!

Ryan Beckley

For crying out loud CANDY do you want some body to hold you hand on the course or what??????? The courses use to have 40 mile laps and had the same size buoys, it's really not that hard to pay attention to where you are going, you should have some idea where you are on the race couse. You obviously know that you are so much better than everyone else so you should be out front enough to have the best sight of the buoys espesically since Hollwood got his eyes fixed right? Stop making exscuses and poles when you get beat, I didn't hear you complain after you won Marathon. I agree that it is hilarious when one guy goes of course and the whole fleet follows him. It's happened in our start 2 races in a row. I don't know who's more goofy the guy that leads everyone off course or the people that follow and don't know where they are going. The race courses are usually on the web before the race, print it out figure out where you are going. I have said it before COMMON SENSE will get you ALONG way in boatracing. But I guess if we had that we wouldn't spend all of our money racing would we?

mikejill

True...
I think if you watch for a marker it will make you slow down. I think those are just there.. just in case. So you can navigate from them on your gps.

Either way.. if they are needed, I would be glad to help.


Hugs
Jill