June 2011 Issue 5. Page 1

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Junior Rice
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1 June 2011 Issue 5 Page 1

2 Region 10: 2011 Schedule -May Kitsap Lake, Bremerton WA -May Williamette River, Newburg OR -June 4 Silver Lake, Everett, WA -June25-26 Cullaby Lake, Seaside OR -July 9-10 Silver Lake, Eatonville WA -September Moses Lake WA -September Lawrence Lake, Yelm WA -October 8-9 Devil s Lake, Lincoln City OR Region 11: -June Oroville CA -July 9-10 Chowchilla CA -September Copperopolis CA -October 1-2 Isleton CA -October Minden CA Region 12: -August 6-7 Long Beach CA (All Flat bottom Nationals) -September San Diego CA National Races: -June Seaside OR Western Divisionals -August 1-6 Wakefield MI Nationals -August 6-7 Long Beach CA (Flat bottoms are the only classes racing as their Summer Nationals) Red= Divisionals/Winter Nationals/Nationals/NA Champ Blue= Record Runs DEADLINES: The 15th of each month prior to each issue. Page 2

3 The Life and Soul of Boat Racing The Beauty of Rules Interpretation In the glory days of racing, when the outboard engine was coming of age, there was racing! Boat racing was growing faster than the horsepower ratings of several competitive brands of engines. As clear engine sizes began to popularly evolve among competitors, Stock Outboard racing was born, and thrived. There were races wherever there were bodies of water large enough to plane an A runabout. One of the more interesting and grueling types of racing was the marathon! Marathon racing was wildly supported by engine manufacturers because the marathon provided a practical test bed for engine development. Engine brands that won marathons were the next season s best sellers, so this format was BIG BUSINESS! Among the marathon races, there was a handful around the country that were true giants! The biggies were: Winnebagoland, Top O Michigan, Albany to New York City, and The Needles Colorado River Marathon. These races throughout the 50 s and into the 60 s were truly amazing! It was not uncommon to have more than 150 entries and many of the races covered more than 100 miles! Think about it, 100 miles through barge infested commercial waterways, on your knees in a Utility runabout!! Or as in the case of Needles, 115 miles, down the mighty Colorado River only to turn around and go back!! In temperatures hovering over 100 degrees! These were the true Glory Days! The marathon format differed little from location to location with very few exceptions. Most started classes, by cubic inch displacement, in ten minute intervals. For example: 36 at 10:00, AU at 10:10, BU at 10:20, CU at 10:30 and DU at 10:40. All classes had a winner, and an Overall Winner was never really considered. Marathon racing was more of a Happening than a race; there was always fan fair, parades, bar-b-ques, parties and excellent trophy presentations where almost everyone was recognized! They were beautiful! At every marathon, as in all racing, there was passing, in 115 miles of racing, a 65 mile per hour DU would pass the slower classes of boat, sometimes the whole rest of field! All 150 entries! This brings me to the story! The Needles Marathon was a very specialized affair, yes the parades and parties were always a part, there were highly specialized runabouts called Page 3

4 Mexican Floaters! A Mexican Floater was a Needles Marathon phenomenon! Mexican Floaters were fast! Faster than hydroplanes. A Mexican Floater was a chine less runabout, very thick in the middle, making it a true airfoil. Ron Hill had won 12 consecutive Needles Marathons, when he tested his best motor-prop combination on a Mexican Floater he picked up 8 miles per hour! Mexican Floaters were fast, except you couldn t turn one in an 80 acre field! As big of an event as the Needles Marathon was, with floaters and fan fair, in this instance, a single competitor, Dan Schwarzenbach, stole the show! Dan Schwarzenbach was a 36 racer! Dan was a fierce competitor and always finished well in his events. Dan was a beer drinker, hell if the truth be known, 36 s floated on beer most of the time rather than water! The 36 guys were as tight as any fraternity on the planet! They loved their 36 s and each other. If you don t know what a 36 is or was, it was a Westbend, soon to be Chrysler 36 cubic inch outboard, with a stock gear case, clamped onto a DU. Lane Curry, friend of Dan s and friend of the Hill family, held a kilo record in a 36 at 52 miles per hour! Well as I mentioned, Dan was a beer drinker. The Needles Marathon was always held on the 2nd weekend in September, you know, after it cools down in Needles. Cooling down in Needles means It might not get to be 110 today. HOT! Well, along comes race day, a beautiful day, bright, sunny and of course, More than 100 boats lined the shore, each waiting for the time when their class will start. The race committee, including head referee Russ Hill, Sr., are all standing by, all waiting for 10:00 when the 36 s will start, followed by, at ten minute intervals, the rest of the field. The race goes off without a hitch, all boats heading down river 57.5 miles, to Sight 6 now Havasu Landing. Ron Hill was favored to win in DU and quickly began to pass slower boats and slower classes. After Ron made his turn at Sight Six and began the return leg He noticed what he thought was a Coors beer can, Dan s favorite brew! Ron kind of just ignored this and kept on racing. A few miles later, there was another Coors can, then another! Ron thought to himself, Self? This river is closed today so these beer cans must be coming from a competitor! But, how can this be? Everyone knows that you can t drink an alcoholic beverage before or until one hour after a regatta! Well, Ron pulls up alongside of ol Dan, and sure as hell, Dan is in the cockpit knocking back a Coors! DURING THE MARATHON!!! Well Ron is flabbergasted! He finishes the marathon, wins, of course, and rushes to his dad, Page 4

5 Russ Hill, Sr., the referee, and explains to him what he has just seen! Well over the next fifteen minutes or so, the time it takes Dan to finish, the whole race committee is a beehive of ideas on what should be Dan s fate. The punishments ranged from beaching Dan for an entire year, to banishment forever! Well the punishments never really got sorted out because before long, here comes ol Dan! Dan is rushed by the whole race committee, he is bombarded by accusations and read the riot act, yes the riot act! Read the riot act, but not the APBA Rule Book! Old Man Hill hits Dan with the line from the APBA Rule Book, and to Hill s amazement Dan says The Book clearly says no dinking before or until 1 hour after any regatta Dan smugly ten defiantly says: The book doesn t say anything about during a race! Dan had pulled of a miracle! Not drinking a Coors in the Needles sun, but beating old Man Hill! Immediately following these proceedings, Russ Hill, Sr. got on the phone to Detroit, APBA headquarters, and fixed the Schwarzenbach Rule interpretation! By the way. Dan won the Marathon in 36 class that year! By, Bunker Hill Page 5

6 Region News Region 10: Race fans: as of today, outboard regattas have been few and far between for the month. However, next weekend starts a slough of events that should keep us (and me) busy for the next five weeks, or so. To backtrack a few weekends, I had the opportunity to visit Moses Lake for the Solar Cup Regatta featuring Inboard category classes as well as Nostalgia flat-bottoms. The Sechler-Henderson Y1 driven by Dan Kanfoush proved yet again that their winning combination has yet to be challenged. However, an older hull in the 5 Liter class known as Wingin It piloted by J. Michael Kelly proved that a good start and flawless driving can still beat the latest-and-greatest equipment. The stage was set at the 1:15 line up: Mike parked his boat in lane one, and Jeff Bernard with the florescent-yellow Peters and May Racing E1 in lane 2. They putted around for the greater duration of a lap as the clock counted down. On their run to the start, both drivers punched it simultaneously and flew by the crowd side by side. The seamless roostertail continued through the first turn and until about mid-way on the far side. Bernard seemed to be edging Kelly down the chute, Mike flying the boat as high and free as it would go down the back stretch and into the second turn. The inside lane advantage allowed him to gain a boat length, maybe two by the exit buoy. Bernard chased fiercely down the front straight but Kelly s inside lane proved to be fastest way around the course. Kelly won the heat by no more than five boat lengths (don t quote me on that!) and was met by a cheering crowd around Dave Brown s Wingin It. Impressive win for the team, I d say. Good job to Bernard s team, as well, whom I believe is leading National High Points. That s all I can recall from that breezy Sunday afternoon. Nonetheless, racing went smooth, and the park was filled with boats and plenty of spectators. I was told by the Region 10 Commissioner that this venue, Connelly Park, was the preferred sight of the 2014 Stock Nationals. Renovations continue, and I hear there will be dozens of RV water and electricity hook-ups, camping spots, and Page 6

7 ample parking for all. This is just a sneak peak of what could happen and any questions should be directed to Kyle Bahl, Region 10 Commissioner. This coming weekend will be the annual Kitsap Lake Hydrofest in Bremerton, WA. All Stock, Modified, PRO and Junior category classes are invited and (thankfully) the weather is expected to be a much-improved 70 degrees and sunny! The following weekend will be the annual Newberg, OR regatta, featuring the dog-legged Willamette river course. I encourage all drivers to come to this place at least once and give it a go. The party Saturday night, hosted by the Newberg Boat Club and the Thorsen family usually features a trophy presentation, dinner for all, and a very warm bon-fire. On the first Saturday in June racers in the Northwest venture just north of Seattle to the Salty Sea Days Silver Lake Regatta in Everett, WA. A bull-ring style course gives racers and spectators a sprint-course with challenging water conditions. I look forward towards the July article and I m sure I ll have much to report from the next several weeks worth of racing. Until then, hope to see everyone on the beach! Kyle Lewis Hydroracer93r@gmail.com Region 11: Lake Minden Race Results: (Driver, Boat #) ASH: 1. Tony Lombardo 2-US 2. Steve Wilde 73-C 3. Olivia Valentine 97-R OSY400: 1. Michael Harmon 345-R 2. Tony Lombardo C Rob Burrell 33-C Page 7

20SSH: 1. Buzz Rasmussen C-67 2. Michael Harmon 345-R 3. Bryan Croft 5 AXH: 1. Olivia Valentine 97-R NorCal400: 1. Bryan Croft 5 2. William Holman 2 CSH: CMR: 1. Steve Walde 560 2.

8 20SSH: 1. Buzz Rasmussen C Michael Harmon 345-R 3. Bryan Croft 5 AXH: 1. Olivia Valentine 97-R NorCal400: 1. Bryan Croft 5 2. William Holman 2 CSH: CMR: 1. Steve Walde Lance Destefans Mike Biglow Tony Lombardo C Buzz Rasmussen C Robert Burrell 14-C 1. Garland Powell 80-C 2. Andrew Jeppesen 79-C 3. Mark Tingley 2 Sport C: Region 12: Well we have now officially entered our offseason in Region 12, there won t be much going on here until Long Beach in August. As for me, I am getting my boat ready to head up to Region 10 for the Stock/Mod/J Western Divisionals in Cullaby, Oregon next month, and I am really looking forward to seeing all of my Region 10 friends and family! I m hoping for a good turn out and good weather! It will be a ton of fun! We re staying in Sonoma, Ca. on the way back home and staying on the road and then going racing in Chowchilla and debuting the brand new Gesler/Boyes built B&H A Hydro! Can t wait to drive it, looking forward to testing it sometime in the next week or two. Page 8

Some more big news in Region 12, I d like to personally congratulate Region 12 s SST 45 and 45SS driver Steven Dawe! He and his new wife Annie got married on May 14 in Del Mar, Ca!

Also, I meant to write this in last month s issue, but I would also like to congratulate my cousin Chad and Corey Hill on the birth of their new baby boy, Jake Russell Hill, born April 6, 2011 he was

9 Some more big news in Region 12, I d like to personally congratulate Region 12 s SST 45 and 45SS driver Steven Dawe! He and his new wife Annie got married on May 14 in Del Mar, Ca! Congratulations to the both of you! Look forward to seeing you again at the races! Also, I meant to write this in last month s issue, but I would also like to congratulate my cousin Chad and Corey Hill on the birth of their new baby boy, Jake Russell Hill, born April 6, 2011 he was 7 pounds 13 ounces 20 inches! So cute, and I m so happy for you guys! I m glad I was able to share the special day with you two! Congratulations again, Love you both! I went into the prop shop the other day and I went into Chad s office to find the cutest pictures of Jake in the world and a note on his desk saying, I Love You Daddy! Love, Jake It was the cutest thing I ve ever seen. I am so incredibly happy for you guys, and look forward to seeing Jake in a J Hydro in a few years! Look forward to seeing you all at the races again! See you on the water! -Marlee Hill On the Cover Pictures from Parker, AZ. SCSC Spring Classic. Top: A Stock Hydros waiting for their 3-minute gun, (L to R) Jeff Conant, Tammy Dawe, Mike Wright. Bottom: Picture of the Pits Both pictures taken by Mike Guardalabene Page 9

10 Looking Back Below: Pits full of some 1100ccR s ready to run in Yelm, WA. in 1987 Rich Fuschlin Photos courtesy of Derek Gesler. Page 10

11 SCSC Spring Classic, Parker, AZ. Photography by Mike Guardalabene Page 11

12 SCSC Spring Classic, Parker, AZ. Photography by Mike Guardalabene Page 12

February Issue 13. Page 1

February Issue 13. Page 1 February 2012 Issue 13 Page 1 APBA National Meeting APBA Annual Meeting, Hall of Champions, Honor Squadron and Category Awards in Chicago, Illinois, January 25-28, 2012 Marriott Chicago Northwest 4800