I think what you guys are doing for this family is great, and I hope they get all the info that they are searching for. Its also a great history lesson for us younger guys. I remember those photos and posters posted by Phantom. Those guys were like rock stars

Funny could say they were like Rock Stars...My brother Mike calls himself a Rock Star sometimes haha I knew he was like my Dad!

As I find more information i'll post it on here...along with Pictures I may have at home of us with him and his boat. Maybe we'll all find out things we never knew!

Does anyone know much about Tony Roberts? The year Dad died he won the Championship race racing "Mr. Roberts" He was great friends with Dad and Dick...I read an article in the Offshore Magazine saying that Tony Didn't know if he'd keep racing after his friends died and he'd won the Championship race.. but that he was going to rebuild Still Crazy and have it ready for the 86 season. He said it would go by the name of Mr. Roberts. That would be amazing if I could figure out whatever happened to the boat!

I grew up in Key West and the boat races were the best thing in the world to me. In 1985 Dick and Mike took out an ad in the world championship program and my friend and I were getting the programs autographed. The night before the race I got Dicks and my friend got your fathers. I think the Mike Poppa award was given out by the APBA for the throttleman of the year award. I know the raced the 30' Velocity as V-111 in 1984 and then built the Cougar in 1985. I am pretty sure the re rigged the Cougar partially through the season. I think it origanally had arneson drives on it and in Key West it had Mercury drives. Back then the course was much longer than the courses are now. The first leg was to Sand Key light house 7 miles out. If I remember they were running with one of the two SeaHawk Cougars after turning around sand key. There was a helicopter there following seahawk and the next second Still Crazy was gone. It was found later with Dick and Mike still in the boat. Reportedly it had stuffed so hard that it hit the bottom. It was recovered a few days later.I was at the crane site when they pulled it out. The boat was fixed a year or two later and raced a couple of times by Craig Barrie and AJ Roberts as Coors Light Silver Bullet. I have some pictures of some of these boats , I will try to scan.

Did your father race hydros as well early on?

E-122 Hombre, Mike Poppa, Dayton, OH

http://www.vintagehydroplanes.com/1980_nationals.html

When the helicopter got the to accident site Dad was floating in the water along with Dick's life jacket and helmet. Dick went down with the boat. They said that the damage done to Dick's chest killed him pretty much instantly...that there wasn't a drop of water in his lungs because he didn't have time to drown.

So the boat was raced again as a Coors Light boat? I wonder if it's still around somewhere in a warehouse? Any pics you may have would be awesome.

Tony Roberts won the worlds in 1985 in anothe Mercury powered Cougar called Mr Roberts. He had Steve Curtis throttling for him who now throttles the Reliable Carriers boat. After the accident Tony Roberts raced very little and I belive had someting todo with the Cougar USA V bottoms. I would guess that the boat is in South Florida somewhere. Last time I saw it it had Tony's #113 on it.

You said that AJ Roberts and Craig Barrie raced it a few times...Is AJ Related to Tony Roberts? I read an article that said Tony had planned on rebuilding Still Crazy for the 86 season and was going to name it Mr. Roberts, but I guess that never happened.

AJ was Anthony Jr I think. Craig Barries is a board member here CBdragon.

i'll try to get in touch with him! thanks! You've helped so much!