Key West news
 

I just heard that APBA LLC has moved the World Championship race from Key West to Alabama. Mike what are you thinking? Many others and I have already booked our hotel and airline reservations. I hope this is something that can be changed back to Key West. I personally will race in Key West in November with whatever race organization puts on a race. You can't change a race site just 2 months prior to a race especially the World Championship. We all look forward to this site every year and have made our contacts in Key West from prior years. This will not go over well with sponsors that have already invested money. Please reconsider this decision if it's true.

Your thoughts???

Randy
F1-29

We'll poll the gang.

See Poll: Key West or Alabama?

http://www.offshoreonly.com/forums/s...threadid=59311

so randy your gonna run for a title that means nothing. and it's not mike changing. lee mills will not pay the sanctioning fee.

Treadwell

If Key West does'nt happen with Apba, this will be the beginning of the end. This is the worst thing that could happen to offshore racing in an already unstable environment. I think many racers will finally say F--k this sh-t, it ain't worth it.

Why can't we do it without Lee Mills, Move the worlds to January, after the Holidays, just an idea.

I know nothing
 

But, I hear everything, Someone should listen. There are a lot of major players here, not happy. I'll race in Egypt if they have a puddle, but a lot of people dont feel the same way. work it out MEN!

I'm not sure I will even race in KW but just go for the vacation. I don't want to support Lee M. in any way.

Peconic change your vote to vacation in KW not race with LEE most don't want to race with him but have plans to be in KW for that week they cant change.This will cost people there sponsorships. Thanks Lee your greed will go down in offshore history.Talk about back firing in your face!!!

APBA needs better business partners!!!!
MD

lee sent me an email and ask for my phone number so he could tell me his side of the story. he says there is a lot of mis-information floating around and that he will address it shortly. i'll let you know if i hear from lee. i was glad to see he responded to my email. has anyone received a response?

Am i missing something here?? :confused: I am not condoning Lee in any way but it sounds to me like APBA offshore LLC is the one that is the greedy one here!aren't they the ones wanting the sanctioning money here? The same thing as the real APBA wanting sanctioning money from APBA offshore LLC?

dave,

i feel bad for you. i know you are looking to debut the new 29 open extreme. will the boat be ready in november? keep us posted on the progress of the boat.

unfortunately we should be getting used to schedule changes. it seems to happen often.

Its not all about money, it's also about rules.

APBA has worked hard to bring parity to the race course. Not Mills wants to rewrite the rules for this one race. No F2, Super Vee, P3, P2, PV, all twin engine vees will run together regardless of anything other than having two engines in the bilge.

Supercats vs Supercat light vs PX boats like Baccardi, all racing against each other. Can you see what's wrong with this picture?

And a class for Turbine Cat? I haven't seen too many of them racing, have you?

Single engine V
Twin Engine V
Twin Outboard Catamaran
Triple Outboard Catamaran
Catamaran
Turbine Catamaran

Amateur hour.

SCREW THEM ALL, I SAY WE ALL VACATION IN KEY WEST AND SPEND OUR MONEY PARTYING AND ON OUR SELFS NOT THE PEOPLE CAUSING ALL OF THIS CHIT

I AGREE WITH BJ THIS IS THE BEGGING OF THE END FOR APBA

KEVIN

I'll admit I'm not as current as some other folks on this board - can someone give me the reader's digest version? Who's this Lee Mills character? Isn't he the guy that used to be married to Farah Fawcett? And if he needs some cash, maybe he could sell off some of those spare bionic parts - 6 million in 1970's money has got to be worth some serious change these days, what with inflation and all. :confused:

i just got off the phone with lee mills. he said i could post info on what we discussed. i don't want to be in the middle, but here are a few non-confrontational statements from the conversation.

1) lee said that he has paid the sanction fee. there is more to this that i don't want to go into.

2) he will make a public statement by the end of the week. maybe in a day or so.

3) the races will be run using apba rules as the guidelines. this also means the classes racing will be the same classes that run in apba.

looks like the line has been drawn and people will need to decide wich race they will participate in.

hopefully mike a and lee will make their statements and we will be able to decide for ourselves.

Re: I know nothing
 

Great metaphor. And from the spectator standpoint, we'd go watch you race in the Egyptian Puddle..........

Screw this, I cannot believe that I bought a race boat.

POPRA cancel's 40% of their races this year (granted only two races), we spend an enourmous amount of time planning to come to the Worlds and the race is moved?????

I just spent the last four months convincing my wife that we could vacation and race during the same week. Bought a new 40' diesel pusher motorhome to make the trip in, got a driver (my brother, no way will he go if the race is in Alabama) lined up and now the race changes sites.

The good news is I had not yet purchaed my unrefundable plane tickets on Expedia (that was on my agenda to do today).

This is why the sport is going to have trouble growing.

Maybe I need to move to Michigan as the only "stable" group in offshore racing appears to be the Great Lakes Series (or New York to race with the OPA, sorry guys did not mean to leave you out).

Who knows maybe we will see you next year. The wife and I will take the new land yacht and head off to Arizona to watch the Rams play the Cards that week instead.

The wife will be happy.

While this is totally frustrating and dissapointing as well, the folks in alabama have been nice enough to support this venture with very little time to plan.

I also did not enjoy hearing about this via OSO, this should have been posted immediatly on the apba website.

Remember 2 years ago in KW , locked out of the annex, hurricane kicked out of the keys.

As for the site the sbi race was on oln sunday and it looked like a great time.

Time to ride the storm out , or run for the hills.

Rick, Smitty and I can get you hooked up with just about anything if you want to race up on the Northeast next year, we will have loads of fun!!!!!!!!!!!!! As Smitty said, we'll race and play anywhere.Augie

That's the overriding OPA principle, and that's what's making OPA great.

Exactly
 

The Jersey Boyz and OPA are all about Fun, Family, and utmost comradery. All the other BS doesnt mean a thing.
Smitty once said.." on the course we will fight tooth and nail to get to the first turn. but, when its all over, we are all brothers gettin drunk at the bar."

Re: Exactly
 

I love it.

Randy,
You can't tell me that after a hard fought season with APBA, that you would throw it away to race with Mills and his no rules circus?
I'm surprised.

And Lobsterboy,
There is much more to this than Lee Mills not paying a sanctioning fee. If you like the way people like Mills does business, then take your race boat, (if you have one) to Key west and have a good time.

The change of plans sucks, but we know who is to blame.
Now, What do y'all say we plan for Alabama and show em the best offshore racing they've ever seen...

Gordo I am so so sorry it came to this. At this point I don't know who to believe any more:( The offer came from Gino to pay for the fees so what is the problem. I most likely wont race at all at the worlds due to my strong beliefs on schedule changes at this level of racing. I am so SICK OF THIS BS!!!!!! I have never hidden my feelings and feel this is the worst thing that could happen.
MD

Can't argue with that.
 

And I agree, This is certainly a hard hit for the sport of offshore racing as a whole.

i agree with randy,THIS SOUNDS LIKE MY DOG IS BETTER THEN YOUR DOG, SCHOOL GROUND FIGHT.
I THINK IT IS TIME WE DO A NO SHOW.

Great plan and post from APBA on what must be a very difficult situtation. I am sure not every one understands the problems with power boat race promoters, but they are all affected by their actions. I am sure APBA will react in a positive manner to make sure this will not happen again ever. Go Orange Beach, Al. and the 2004 Season!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!

Seadog,
The problem is, it is just not the promoters. It goes way deeper than that. I agree with Radioactive it is time for a no show in order to show the organizations that it is the racers that make these shows and that we have had enough with the BS. Believe I want to race and race and race but it has been a long tiring season dealing with this crap. If it wasnt my loyality to my teammates and the sponsers of those teams, I would quit right now. Racing takes enough physical toll on us throughout the season, but then when the added crap of the politics, its for the birds.

Right now I just want to get up to Maryland and have fun, and just race. Not bashing any other circuit, I will say a synonym for OPA is fun,no BS.