Propeller July/August 2017 by APBA

VOLUME 71, ISSUE 3 • JULY/AUGUST 2017

NGK FORMULA 1

Gulfport and Port Neches

VOLCANIC ACTION Mount St. Helens Regatta

THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT J Classes at Maple City Regatta

APBA.ORG • USA: $5.00

Thank You

for your Financial Support for the past 50 Years! TRUSTEES Geo. Byers Jr., Founder/Chairman Rick Sandstrom, Vice Chairman/Treasurer Dave Richardson, Secretary R. Steven Hearn, Dr. Dan Joseph, Larry Lauterbach, Gary Romberg, Edgar Rose, Robin Shane, Charles Strang Honorary Trustees: Jeff Magnuson, Fran Muncey

APBA HISTORICAL SOCIETY 17640 East Nine Mile Road Eastpointe, Michigan 48021 Phone: (586) 773-9700 Fax: (586) 773-6490 Linda Likert, Bookkeeper www.apbahs.org

The APBA Historical Society has paid out over $90,000 in grant requests for such things as: 1) Supplying propellers for the Junior Classes 2) Funding the Hall of Champions Breakfast 3) Funding APBA Outboard Driving Schools 4) Designing and supplying Honor Squadron medals 5) Buying helmets and life jackets 6) Funding various rescue team projects 7) Funding and promoting the 300SS Class 8) Helping fund the Hall of Champions Ceremony 9) Helping outboard racers attend the World Championship in Europe Please donate today. Sincerely,

Rick Sandstrom Vice Chairman-APBA Historical Society

Stan Fitts, Kay Hallett, Bernie Little, & Bill Sterett Jr. in Memoriam Non-Profit Tax Deductible IRS 501(C)3 Photos courtesy of Gleason Racing Photography, Paul Kemiel, David Recht and others

IN THIS ISSUE 17640 East Nine Mile Road, PO Box 377 Eastpointe MI 48021-0377 PHONE: 586.773.9700 WEB: apba.org EMAIL: apbahq@apba.org twitter.com/APBARacing facebook.com/APBARacing EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR ACCOUNTING MEMBERSHIP SANCTIONS/ HIGH POINTS PROPELLER EDITOR

Patrick Mell Linda Likert Sabrina Haudek Cindy Minoletti Tana Moore

pmell@apba.org llikert@apba.org shaudek@apba.org cminoletti@apba.org tmoore@apba.org

2017 APBA OFFICERS AND BOARD OF DIRECTORS PRESIDENT VICE PRESIDENT NATIONAL COMMISSIONER TREASURER SECRETARY LEGAL COUNCIL CATEGORY REP REGION REP

Mark Wheeler Fred Hauenstein Charles Strang Steve Compton Mary Williams Steven Hearn J. David Augustine Sr. Kyle Bahl Chris Fairchild Dan Kanfoush Jean MacKay-Schwartz Howie Nichols John Runne Jeff Brewster Roger Carr

president@apba.org VP@apba.org NC@apba.org treasurer@apba.org secretary@apba.org legal@apba.org patndave51@gmail.com racerkyle@hotmail.com chris@fairchildracing.com dankanfoush@yahoo.com jean84c@earthlink.net apba113@gmail.com j.runne@hotmail.com jeff_brewster_59s@yahoo.com rcinr12@aol.com

COUNCIL-AT-LARGE: Penny Anderson, Bruce Broussard, Jeffrey Conant, Gloria Crim, Richard Fuchslin, Patrick Gleason, Alex Jennings III, Jack Meyer, Steve Noury, Bob Wartinger, Rachel Warnock, Matt Yarno

2017 RACING CATEGORY/COMMITTEE CHAIRMEN Inboard Inboard Endurance Junior Classes Modified Offshore OPC Outboard Drag PRO Special Event Stock Thundercat H1 Unlimited Vintage and Historic

James Sechler Ted Kolby Patrick Gleason Tom Sutherland Mark Wheeler James Chambers Jr. Chris Fairchild Kristi Ellison Scott Schatz Jeff Brewster Jeff Howie Doug Bernstein John Krebs

inboardracing@apba.org ted@tedkolby.com junior@apba.org modifiedoutboard@apba.org offshore@apba.org jchambe1@tampabay.rr.com chris@fairchildracing.com prooutboard@apba.org roshaboats@yahoo.com stockoutboard@apba.org masterauto1150@yahoo.com DBernstein@plunkettcooney.com krebs233@yahoo.com

2017 REGION CHAIRMEN Region 1 Region 2 Region 3 Region 4 Region 5 Region 6 Region 7 Region 8 Region 9 Region 10 Region 11 Region 12 Region 14 Region 15 Region 16

Dave Jones John Krebs Ann Shaw Richard Shaw Jeff Titus Eli Whitney Kris Shepard Brian Tabara Denver Ray Mut Rick Sandstrom Julian Rucki Roger Carr Buddy Tennell Carleton Callahan Dutch Squires

region1@apba.org region2@apba.org region3@apba.org region4@apba.org region5@apba.org donaldeli.whitney@sbcglobal.net region7@apba.org brian@tabararacing.com denvermut@hotmail.com info@propshopltd.com renegadep28@aol.com rcinr12@aol.com region14@apba.org region15@apba.org region16@apba.org

PROPELLER© welcomes unsolicited articles and photos. Views expressed herein are not necessarily those of the publication and do not represent official APBA policy. Advertising herein cannot be construed as an endorsement by APBA or its members. PROPELLER (ISSN 0194-6218) (USPS 0047-800) is published six times yearly for $25.00 (U.S. and Canada); $55.00 (foreign) by APBA, 17640 E. Nine Mile Road, PO Box 377, Eastpointe, MI 48021-0377 Periodical postage paid at Eastpointe, MI, and additional mailing office. Postmaster: send addresses to APBA, PO BOX 377, Eastpointe, MI, 48021-0377.

From the Top We Get Questions... 2 Award Nominations Deadline Coming up Oct. 1, 2017 3 Briefly... 4 The Maine Connection A New Friendship with Ecuador 5 NGK Formula 1 Series Kicks Off in Gulfport, Port Neches 6 Detroit Hydrofest Paul W. Smith and Sandy Ross to Preside 8 Race Calendar

Volcanic Action Mount St. Helens Regatta 10 From Here to There Creating Sponsor Benefits—Part Two 12 Dayton Test & Tune Springtime School and Speed! 14 CORRA Rocks in 2017 Sanderson Repeats at Boatnik 16 The Kids Are All Right Junior Classes at Maple City Regatta 18 Hydro Basics Chapter 2: Angle of Attack and Drag 20 Solar Splash 2017 Sun Power in Springfield, Ohio 22 Category Corner Junior Classes Outboard Performance Craft H1 Unlimited Modified Outboard

24 25 26 27

Region Roundup 1, 5, 6, 10, 12

Race in Peace

ON THE COVER: Racer Daren Goehring’s nephews Austin and Kaiden McGregor get a taste of the fast life. Ana Cappelletti photo

FROM THE TOP BY MARK WHEELER, APBA PRESIDENT

We Get Questions... From time to time a member asks a question concerning the way APBA “works.” I was recently asked why rule changes that come from APBA committees, such as the Junior Classes Committee or the Race Management Committee, need to be approved by the APBA Board of Directors. The reason for this is pretty simple. APBA’s bylaws don’t provide a way for an APBA committee to add, delete, or modify our rule books. Because of this, the only way that rule changes devised by APBA committees can become “official” is for the changes to be approved by the APBA Board of Directors. This is in contrast to rule changes that come through APBA racing commissions. The rule change procedure for our commissions is outlined in Bylaw 12.7.

APBA President Mark Wheeler. Photo by Robert Koschka

Portage Bay Systems, Inc.

Steve Greaves 206-371-0486

Email: sgreaves@portagebaysystems.com Web: www.portagebaysystems.com/marine

Speaking of rule changes, they are a primary focus at a typical APBA National Meeting. You might visit most any commission meeting and find members vigorously proposing, discussing, revising, and voting on rule changes. Sometimes the majority of changes are voted down, but only after a lengthy presentation and discussion. In our three days of meetings, rule changes occupy an enormous amount of time. It’s been suggested that many category rule change proposals could be handled via commission conference calls ahead of the National Meeting. That could free up time for other topics when we meet face to face. We do need occasional revisions to our rules, of course. The rule books create a level playing field for competition, and provide the framework for safe racing. However, if you compare APBA’s heyday to today, we have gone from one fairly

simple rule book to 12 individual category rule books, plus several technical manuals, and a separate set of General Safety and Racing Rules. If you race in multiple categories, as many of us do, are you taking the time to read all the rules that apply to you? If so, good for you. If not, does the sheer volume of information have anything to do with that? It seems likely that it does. Moving forward, I hope all of APBA’s commissions and other rule-making bodies will take steps to simplify our rule books. At the most recent National Meeting in Los Angeles we held sessions on topics such as Safety and Rescue, and Insurance, to educate members about issues and changes that affect us all. However, this year we heard a new presentation on Marketing and Promotion by Sherron Winer and Jean MacKay-Schwartz. It caused many of us to rethink the way we promote and run our races. At the next National Meeting in Chicago, we plan to incorporate more such seminars to get members thinking in new ways. Another Promotion and Marketing Seminar will offer more valuable strategies to attract members, sponsors and fans. Other possibilities are seminars on driving schools, inspection, and other topics. Our National Meeting could become more of an exchange of ideas. Also, see the “From Here to There” articles in SPIN and Propeller, and use the material available from APBA Headquarters (see www.apba.org/club/ club-support.php). We want to help all of our members and clubs achieve success. We’re in this together. Meanwhile, see you at the races!

award nominations Deadline Coming up Oct. 1, 2017 DON ALLEN AWARD NOMINATIONS

HONOR SQUADRON NOMINATIONS

Each year the Don Allen Sr. Memorial Leadership Award shall be presented during the APBA Annual Meeting. This award honors service contributions to the American Power Boat Association in the areas of leadership, officiating, safety, or other activities contributing to the benefit of the APBA not directly related to the racing of a specific boat.

The APBA Honor Squadron is the highest nonracing award that the APBA offers each year.

Previous honorees are: • 2008 Penny Anderson • 2009 Ernie Dawe • 2010 George Thornhill

Edmonds, WA Indio, CA Tacoma, WA

• 2011 Brian Small

Dracut, MA

• 2012 Tracy Trolian

Milan, MI

• 2013 Roger Carr San Juan Capistrano, CA • 2014 Bill Boyes

Yuba City, CA

• 2015 Jeff Williams

Ford City, PA

• 2016 Kyle Bahl

PROCEDURE: 1. Nominations reminder will be in the June, July, and August Propellers, and on the APBA website. 2. Nominations are due October 1st. 3. Ballots and copies of the nominations are mailed to the Honor Squadron Committee by October 15th. 4. Ballots are due October 31st. 5. To be a candidate for induction, the nominee must receive a vote of at least 50% of the Honor Squadron Committee members. 6. A maximum of two (2) nominees will be selected by the Committee for induction into the Honor Squadron, for presentation at the next APBA Annual Meeting Banquet. In case of

a tie, the chairperson will resolve it with her/ his vote. CRITERIA FOR NOMINATION AND SELECTION OF CANDIDATES: Extensive service and contributions to APBA and powerboat racing such as: (a) major boat race promotion accomplishments (new race sites; race sponsors); (b) major structural improvements in APBA’s organization; (c) major contributions to APBA’s functioning through rule restructuring, driver and official recruitment, committee activities; (d) Major technological improvement to one, or several, aspects of the sport; (e) Exceptional long-term racing accomplishments may be considered. The description of each contribution, exceptional service, or accomplishment must be specific.

Snohomish, WA

The contribution may be judged on the efforts of a single year, or for work done over a period of years, at the judgment of the selection committee. The selection committee is chaired by the sitting APBA President, and shall comprise the previous five surviving selectees. It is not required that there be a selectee each year, but it is encouraged that there be a selection process each year. Any member interested in making a nomination for this award may submit the nomination with written details to APBA Headquarters. All nominations must be received no later than October 1st, 2017.

The PNC Bank ROAR on the RIVER July 15-16 will feature SST 45 and SST 200 World Championships, Stock Outboard and AXR Marathons, plus J Classes and Thundercat racing. In addition, there will be a special remembrance of our late, great friend Fred Miller. Be there!

IN BRIEF... DRIVER RESTRAINT SYSTEM RECALL SFI sent a message regarding a recall of the Corbeau brand camlock (rotary style) safety harness. Dear Sanctioning Body Official: Please see details of the Corbeau USA 5-Point Camlock Harness Belt Recall at: http://corbeau.com/product-recall/ Sincerely, CARL V. OLSON Motorsports Manager SFI Foundation, Inc. The file from Corbeau details the defect, which can cause unintended release of the right-hand lap belt. Affected categories include Offshore, Inboard, OPC and Unlimited. Please check your equipment and read the notice online. Thanks in advance for everyone’s efforts. — Don Whitney APBA Safety Committee Chairman

Above, ace photographer and PROPELLER contributor Paul Kemiel, of Michigan City, Indiana, received the LaPorte County Convention & Visitors Bureau’s R.O.S.E. (Recognition of Service Excellence) “Distinguished Artist” plaque May 10th at the Sand Creek Country Club in Chesterton, IN. (L-R) Rick Wright, Linda Simmons, Paul Kemiel, and Jack Arnett.

NEW HISTORICAL SOCIETY WEBSITE The APBA Historical Society has a new website: www.apbahs.org . New photos are up, and the aim is to post stories by veteran racers on a regular basis. Please take a look, and support the APBA Historical Society!

VINTAGE OWNERS, WE NEED YOU! As I write this, we Vintage & Historic participants in Region 10 are going into our third event of 2017.

INBOARD AWARD HAS A NEW LOOK Inboarders, the Bruce Broussard Award is now the Mark Weber Exceptional Service Award. Here’s what it looks like. So get going and earn your award!

How do I describe our Vintage season to date? Lonely! Kenmore, 7 boats and a blowout; Lake Lawrence, 5 boats (4 on Sunday) but 2 good side-by-side heats of exhibition. With Soap Lake coming up, we expect 6 or 7 boats, down from 15+ boats last year. Is this just a blip on the radar screen? I hope not. Vintage owners, please suit up and show up at our Region 10 events. It will be a lot more fun with you there. On a brighter note, the eastern contingent has a new stand-alone event at New Martinsville, West

Virginia. Many thanks to all who have stepped up to make this a reality. The leadership of V&H have put into place by-laws for the use of our promo fund. This was approved by your region reps, and our first grant is for New Martinsville to get things started. We have also agreed to fund the printing of posters for both east and west coast groups of V&H, to use as a promotional tool and for handouts and autograph sessions during our events. Look for these in the near future. Also from the fund I will be asking for a grant to complete a Vintage school boat for Region 10. Be safe, have fun, and let’s keep our history alive! — V&H Vice Chair James Olson/Ellen Olson

Grassroots is where it all starts! J Hydro racers Dominick Trolian and Emily Kerr at Pell Lake. Tracy Trolian photo

THE MAINE CONNECTION A New Friendship with Ecuador BY LOWELL HANSON • PHOTOS BY PAUL LUIPPOLD During this past winter, South Shore Outboard Association (SSOA) Chief Referee Jack Thompson established an online relationship with the President of Ecuador’s Club Juvenil-Vinces, Ecuador (CJ-VE), Dr. Rogers Moscoso. Their conversations led to an invitation being extended to Dr. Moscoso to attend SSOA’s Annual Standish, Maine Icebreaker event May 19-21, 2017. With great excitement, we heard that Dr. Moscoso accepted the invitation. Accompanied by his son Rogers and niece Lily, he arrived at the race site in time for Friday’s open test session and a delicious barbecue buffet hosted by Famous Dave’s Bar-B-Que out of Scarborough, Maine.

Mike Akerstrom worked his way to the front and took the checkers, followed by Wild Bill Forster and Tim Noury. As the drivers prepared for heat two, the announcer commented that they would be pushing the start, and one could possibly win the trip by being the only legal boat. As predicted, once again there were a slew of gun jumpers. After reviewing the start over and over, it was determined that Akerstrom and Thom Noury were the only legal boats. Not quite sure who the jumpers were, “Iron Mike” charged through the field, leaving the rest of the racers in his wake, and thus solidified his vacation plans to Ecuador.

(L-R) CSR drivers Michael Rorke, Howie Nichols, Tim Noury, Dr. Rogers Moscoso, Mike Akerstrom and Thom Noury.

At that time, Dr. Moscoso announced that on behalf of the CJ-VE, an all-expense-paid trip to the Regatta Guayaquil-Vinces Marathon would be presented to the winner of Saturday’s C Stock Runabout event. In addition to paid travel and lodging, equipment would also be made available to the winner to compete in the 63.4 mile race. The marathon is one of the world’s longest outboard races. The CSR class was chosen, as it is most similar to the modified Yamato 302 rigs that are run in the marathon. As a three-time winner of the marathon, Dr. Moscoso could not emphasize enough how welcome the American drivers are to participate, and that this is not the first time American drivers have been invited by the CJ-VE. The excitement began to build as the CSR drivers were called to the staging area for the start of heat one. As expected, with so much on the line there were several gun jumpers, but there was no doubt who had the fastest rig.

Mike Akerstrom above right, and here, at work in CSR.

Akerstrom is no stranger to international competition, as he has been a member of the U.S. A-Team, competing in the UIM OSY 400 World Championships in Europe for the past several years. Mike has also competed at Michigan’s Top O’ marathon, and will be well prepared for his debut in Ecuador.

The 61st running of the Regatta Guayaquil-Vinces Marathon will take place March 25, 2018. The drivers will be greeted by over 30,000 spectators along the route cheering them on their way. South Shore Outboard Association would like to extend its sincerest thanks to Dr. Moscoso for selecting Standish, Maine to promote this international event, and to club member Jack Thompson for extending the invitation to our Ecuadorian counterparts.

Gulfport, Port Neches Kick Off the...

NGK FORMULA 1 SERIES Above, the F1 start at Port Neches, Texas, by F. Peirce Williams. At left, a massive F1 start at Gulfport, Florida, by Kevin Pyles

Tim Seebold and crew are on the road this year to support the 2017 NGK Formula 1 Powerboat Championship Series. This six-race series is based on the past success and solid partnership of NGK Spark Plugs and team Seebold Sports. John Schubert and S.P.O.R.T. (Southern Professional Outboard Racing Tour) are also behind the series. Featured are the all-new APBA F1 Class, Formula Lights, Tri Hulls, and youngsters coming up in the J Hydro Class.

Along with NGK Spark Plugs/Seebold Sports, and Gulfport Grand Prix, LLC, it was Race Director John Schubert, Referee/Risk Manager Doug Rea, Assistant Referee Joseph Wespiser, Inspector Ken Scoville, Scorer Lyndsay Mathews, Chris Fairchild and Assistant Risk Manager Bob Schubert who made it happen. Congratulations to all on a superb series start. For more, visit www.gulfportgrandprix.com .

The kickoff was the Gulfport, Florida Grand Prix, April 29-30. Gulfport Grand Prix, LLC produced the first annual event, featuring Formula 1, Formula Lights, and Tri Hull racing; and a boat show. Gulfportâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s downtown area was jumping. Formula 1 teams opened their pit area to the public, and it was quite a show, with 25 F1 boats! Once the big show started on the water, Gulfport got a taste of the best in powerboat racing.

2017 NGK FORMULA 1 SERIES SCHEDULE (subject to change)

Formula 1 stars showed up in force. When the water settled, Rob Rinker walked away with the prize money, followed by Jimmie Merleau and Terry Rinker (right). The Formula Light (SST 45) class fielded nine hard chargers. Young Jared Wallach got a well-deserved dunking for his first win in the class. Congratulations, Jared! Right behind him were Steven Lee and Chris Swanson. Tri Hulls brought action to the Gulf. This time Jerry Rinker took the top spot, followed by Darryle Middleton and Travis Yates.

May 6-7 Port Neches, TX River Fest - F1, F-Lights, Tri Hull, J Hydro www.pnriverfest.com June 16-18 Thunder On The Cumberland - Nashville, TN F1, Tri Hull, J Hydro- www.thunderonthecumberland.com July 14-16 Trenton Roar On The River - Trenton, MIF1, F-Lights- www.trentonroarontheriver.com Aug. 26-27 - Springfield, OH- F1, F-Lights United Powerboat Performance Group, LLC and S.P.O.R.T. plan an inaugural event at the Clark County Fairgrounds. Sept. 16-17 Showdown On The Sabine- Orange TX F1, F-Lights, Tri Hull Top 3 (L-R): Jimmie Merleau, Rob Rinker, Terry Rinker. Kevin Pyles photo

The SST 45 fleet tears up the water at Port Neches. F. Peirce Williams photo

The Seebold support trailer by Rick Bagley.

Tri Hull action at Port Neches. F. Peirce Williams photo

Gulfport Final Results- Boat #/Driver/Points Formula One 1 30 Rob Rinker, Tampa, FL 150 2 69 Jimmie Merleau, Fennville, MI 138 3 10 Terry Rinker, Tampa, FL 129 4 58 Greg Foster, Orange, CA 120 5 94 Rusty Wyatt, Ontario, Canada 111 6 8 Michael Schubert, Richmond, TX 102 7 88 Tammy Wolf, Ontario, Canada 96 8 2 Lee Daniel, Augusta, South Carolina 90 9 241 Bryan Babineau, Ontario, Canada 84 10 96 Fred Durr, Port Charlotte, FL 78 11 34 Jeff Reno, Okeechobee, FL 72 12 12 Justin Gould, Vidor, TX 69 13 0.3 Dustin Terry, Thibodeaux, LA 66 14 38 Bill Joule, St. Petersburg, FL 63 15 5 Reuben Stafford, Richmond, TX 60 16 20 Ashton Rinker, Tampa, FL 57 17 59 Tyler Welch, Wayzata, MN 54 18 3 Tracy Hawkins, Willis, TX 51 19 91 David Johnigan, Texas City, TX 48 20 26 Steven Lee, Silver Springs, FL 45 21 95 Mark Welch, Wayzata, MN 42 22 81 Tom Ludwig, St. Petersburg, FL DNS 23 9 Johnny Fleming, Woodlands, TX DNS 24 4 Wesley Cheatham, Trinity, TX DNS 25 6 Kris Hilton, Spring, TX DNS

Formula Light 1 18 Jared Wallach, Redondo Beach, CA 2 25 Steven Lee, Silver Springs, FL 3 54 Chris Swanson, Laporte, IN 4 40 Austin Cheatham, Hempstead, TX 5 44 Colin Cross, Alameda, CA 6 2 Travis Thompson, Humble, TX 7 8 Jeremiah Mayo, Richmond, TX 8 24 Spencer Love, Santa Rosa Valley, CA 9 66 Steve Merleau, Bellevue, MI Tri Hull 1 10 Jerry Rinker, Houston, TX 2 110 Darryle Middleton, Montgomery, TX 3 99 Travis Yates, Richmond, TX 4 33 John Ottinger, Bay City, MI 5 52 Chris Rinker, Spring, TX 6 1 Cory Walker, Richmond, TX 7 54 Darren Ware, Richmond, TX 8 56 Klint Dillard, Richmond, TX 9 4 Rodney Cheatham, Trinity, TX 10 2 Charlie Donaldson, Sargent, TX 11 5 Jeremiah Mayo, Richmond, TX

150 138 129 120 111 102 96 90 84 150 138 129 120 111 102 96 90 84 78 72

PAUL W. SMITH AND SANDY ROSS TO PRESIDE OVER METRO DETROIT CHEVY DEALERS

DETROIT HYDROFEST Double your fun at the 2017 Metro Detroit Chevy Dealers Hydrofest! Two of racing’s most coveted trophies—the President’s Cup and the APBA Gold Cup—will be awarded. And, two of the area’s most respected personalities will preside over the race. Detroit Riverfront Events Inc. President Mark Weber announced that Paul W. Smith is the grand marshal, and Sandy Ross the honorary race chairman. The 2017 Metro Detroit Chevy Dealers HydroFest takes place FridaySunday, Aug. 25-27. This year marks the 101st race on the Detroit River, a Motor City sports tradition and the longest continuously run hydroplane race on the H1 Unlimited circuit. An updated format this year will feature two sets of preliminary heats on Aug. 26 and a winner-take-all final for the President’s Cup, followed by three sets of preliminary heats on Aug. 27 with a winner-take-all final for the prestigious APBA Gold Cup, the oldest active trophy in motorsports. Watch as J Michael Kelly defends his Unlimited title; it will be a battle! Hear the roar as 15 Chevy-powered Grand Prix charge around the course. And, Vintage boats will lend an extra touch of class and history. Grand Marshal Paul W. Smith will preside over pre- and post-race festivities, and greet the drivers, sponsors and dignitaries. Smith is one of the best-known voices in radio. His career spans 45 years (20 years as the morning host for WJR AM 760). He was named best morning show broadcast personality by the Michigan Association of Broadcasters, inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame, and dubbed the king of Detroit talk radio by The Wall Street Journal. “As a fan of the sport and regular spectator for many years, I am extremely honored to serve as the grand marshal for the 101st year of powerboat racing on the Detroit River,” said Smith. “HydroFest is a quintessential part of Detroit’s sports legacy and I invite anyone who has yet to experience the thrill and excitement of hydroplane racing to be part of the action.”

Retired hydroplane racer Sandy Ross, 88, is the honorary race chairman. He grew up near the water on Detroit’s lower east side and was involved in powerboat racing most of his life. He got his start in 1948, building and driving Limited Inboard hydroplanes; and went on to serve as a crewman for the Mariner II and Miss Lapeer, among others. A highlight of his racing career was winning the APBA Gold Cup and National Championship in 1972 with the Atlas Van Lines team. In 2003, he and fellow hydroplane legend Fred Alter acquired a kit boat and spent the next five years rebuilding a Miss Vernors Unlimited replica to run on the Vintage circuit. “Although the sport is based on technical knowhow, the biggest takeaway for me is the friendships created over decades,” said Ross. “Hydroplane racing has been my avocation (my alter ego, really) for over 60 years, and it brings me great joy to see generations of racers and fans enjoy it as much as I do.” Today, Ross carries on the racing tradition as a historian, sharing the sport through thousands of photos. For the past 10 years, he’s hosted an annual presentation at Sindbad’s restaurant to showcase the pioneers and history of powerboat racing on the Detroit River to kick off HydroFest weekend. “Both these gentlemen are highly regarded in their industries and communities,” said Weber. “We are privileged to have them represent the 2017 Metro Detroit Chevy Dealers HydroFest.” To purchase tickets or for sponsorship opportunities, call the office of Detroit Riverfront Events Inc. at 313-329-8047. Visit www.detroitboatraces.com for complete details. 2016 Gold Cup winner J Michael Kelly. Paul Kemiel photo

RACE CALENDAR REGION 1 7/8-9 8/27 9/8-10 9/15-16 9/23-24

COA Annual Thompson, CT Regatta Fall River, MA Grand Prix Standish, ME Fall Regatta Wolfeboro, NH Vintage Race Boat Regatta 10th Annual Kingston, NH Fall Classic

REGION 7 PRO, MOD, Stock, J Offshore PRO, MOD, Stock, J Special Events PRO, Stock, J

REGION 2 9/15-17 Redwood , NY - Crystal Lake Regatta Lock Haven, PA Labor Day Regatta Mays Landing, NJ - Lake Lenape Lake Hopatcong, NJ Grand Prix Roxbury, NJ - New Jersey State Championships Fall Millville, NJ Regatta

PRO, MOD, Stock, J Inboard Offshore Inboard MOD, Stock, J

REGION 4 7/22-23 Huntington, WV - POWERBOAT NATIONALS 7/29-30 Leonardtown, MD 8/5-6 Ravenswood, WV - POWERBOAT NATIONALS 8/19-20 Cambridge, MD - Choptank River 9/1-3 Wheeling, WV - Vintage Raceboat Regatta 9/10 Ocean City , MD Grand Prix

OPC Special Events OPC Special Events, Inboard, J Special Events Offshore

REGION 5 7/1-2 33rd Annual Sarasota, FL Powerboat Grand Prix 8/17 Key West, FL - Lucas Oil Ocean Cup 8/19-20 Islamorada, FL - Grand Prix of the Seas 11/17-19 Tavares, FL - Fall Thunder Regatta 11/18-19 Englewood, FL - Beach Waterfest

Inboard, Unlimited MOD, Stock, J Inboard PRO, MOD, Stock, J OPC

REGION 7 MOD, Stock, J

REGION 3 9/2-4 9/9-10 9/24 10/7-8 10/14-15

7/1-2 Madison, IN Regatta 7/8-9 Rock Falls, IL River Chase 9/1-3 Evansville HydroFest 9/2-3 Oshkosh, WI - Shake the Lake 2017 9/16-17 Wausau, WI - POWERBOAT NATIONALS

Special Events, Offshore Offshore Offshore Special Events Offshore

REGION 6 7/8-9 Marietta, OH - POWERBOAT NATIONALS Inboard, OPC 7/15-16 Trenton , MI - PNC ROAR ON THE RIVER Stock, OPC, Thundercat, J 7/24-30 Grass Lake, MI - 2017 Stock & J National Championships Stock, J 7/30 St Clair, MI River Classic Offshore 8/12-13 Indian River, MI - Top O Michigan Marathon Nationals Stock, Thundercat, J 8/19-20 Kittanning, PA - Tri-Star Riverbration PRO, MOD, Stock, J 8/25-27 Detroit, MI - HydroFest Inboard, Unlimited 8/25-27 Springfield, OH - Ohio Grand Prix OPC 8/26-27 Dayton, OH -Great American Outboard Race- Record Runs MOD, Stock, J 9/8 Grass Lake, MI - Wild Ones Regatta Stock, J 9/9-10 Russells Pt, OH - Indian Lake Inboard 9/16-17 Big Rapids, MI - Mecosta County Regatta Stock, J 9/30-10/1 Duffy, OH - RegattaFest Inboard, OPC, J

9/16-17 Beloit, WI - Thunder on the Rock 9/23-24 Madison, IN Vintage Thunder

MOD, Stock, J Special Events

REGION 8 7/21-22 Hastings, MN - River Town Days

OPC

REGION 9 9/2-4

Shreveport, LA - POWERBOAT NATIONALS

OPC NATIONALS

REGION 10 7/1-2 Gold Beach, OR - Lower Rogue Outboard Challenge Special Events 7/8-9 Olympia, WA - Special Events, Inboard, Inboard Endurance, MOD, Stock, OPC, J 7/15 Burley, ID - WARP Sprint Track Special Events 8/5 Burley, ID - WARP sprint track Special Events 8/5-6 Seattle, WA - Albert Lee Cup/Seafair Special Events, Inboard, OPC, Unlimited 8/19-20 Eatonville, WA - Smilin George Memorial Regatta PRO, MOD, Stock, J 8/19-20 Oak Harbor, WA - Hydros for Heroes II Special Events, Inboard, IE, OPC 8/26-27 Lewiston, ID - Thunder on the Snake (TOTS) Special Events 9/4 Grants Pass, OR - Labor Day Regatta Special Events 9/9-10 SeaTac, WA - Frank Hansen Memorial Regatta PRO, MOD, Stock, J 9/9-10 Spanaway, WA - Yapachino Memorial Regatta Special Events, Inboard, OPC 9/16-17 Yelm, WA - Lake Lawrence World Record Regatta PRO, MOD, Stock, J 9/23-24 Lincoln City, OR - Rockey Stone Memorial Kilos Special Events, Inboard, Inboard Endurance, PRO, MOD, Stock, J 9/30-10/1 Manson, WA - Norm Evans Memorial Apple Cup Special Events, Inboard

REGION 11 7/15-16 Nicolaus, CA - Lake Minden Inboard, PRO, MOD, Stock, OPC, J 7/16 Klamath, CA - Klamath River Hydroplane Race Special Events 9/2-3 Redding, CA - Labor Day Regatta Inboard, PRO, MOD, Stock, OPC, J 9/30-10/1 Nicolaus, CA - Bonus Points Regatta Inboard, PRO, MOD, Stock, OPC, J 10/28-29 Lathrop, CA - Bob & Stevie West Regatta Inboard, PRO, MOD, Stock, OPC, J

VOLCANIC ACTION The Mount St. Helens Regatta

BY KYLE BAHL • PHOTOS BY GLEASON RACING PHOTOGRAPHY

For the fifth consecutive year, Seattle Outboard Association hosted the Mt. St. Helens Regatta near Castle Rock, Washington on May 6-7, 2017. SOA has a lot of picturesque race sites in Region 10 to choose from, but this one might take the prize. Silver Lake Resort sits on the lakefront just west of Mt. St. Helens in all her powerful glory. The resort again welcomed our racers with open arms for the Western Stock Winter Nationals. Three classes competed for double points and a chance to start the year off well. A year ago Kyle Lewis took home first place in CSH on his way to the Stock Outboard Hall of Champions. This year it was J. Michael Kelly taking home the win over 13 other drivers through two elimination heats and two final heats. Kelly was followed by 2016 PRO Hall of Champions inductee Ryan Gowin in second, and Ken McMurphy in third. In a strange twist of racing fate, the 20SSH Western Winter National saw the same top three results. JMK took home another championship, followed by Gowin and McMurphy.

Kierra Marquard won AXH and AXR. Trey Marquard won J Runabout, and Ryder Rabitoy won over a field of 7 J Hydros. Kyle Lewis won CSR, Daren Goehring paced the DSH field of 6, and Preston Reitz won 200ccMH, while Kelly Hannon cruised in 200ccMR over Reitz. Thanks go to Dave Anderson, Sheryl Rucker, Allen Thorsen, Jim Nilsen, Denise Johnson, Joel Policar, and David Salmon for being a great race committee. SOA would like to thank the Silver Lake Resort for being a fantastic host, and we look forward to coming back to their beautiful racing getaway in 2018.

Region 10 saw a welcome sight in the ASH class—a lot of kids coming of age and moving out of the Junior Division and into Stock classes. ASH became the third class to qualify with enough boats for a Western Winter National championship, and Ryan Gowin took home the win over Zoe Adams in second and Jacob Mauldin in third. By the way, none of those three drivers has a driver’s license yet! ASH in Region 10 looks to becoming back in a big way, especially after wily veteran John Peeters set the ASH 1 2/3 mile course record the weekend before at Yelm, WA. In other Saturday results, JMK took home wins in OSY 400, 500ccMH and 45SS. Jayson Shrock won 850ccMH, while 10

Taylor Anderson chases his sister Mahkai Anderson in a big, fast A Stock Hydro field.

Explosively loud 500 Mod Hydros saw J Michael Kelly take the win, ahead of Ken McMurphy (6R) and Sean Byrne.

Kierra Marquard 150R and Ken Zahn 396R get going in AX Runabout. Kierra swept both AX classes.

Shane Burkhart of Dupont, Washington running C Stock Hydro.

FROM HERE TO THERE Creating Sponsor Benefits—Part Two BY JEAN MACKAY SCHWARTZ AND SHERRON WINER The boxing term “punching above your weight” means to have such a strong punch you would be a contender against larger opponents. Making your sponsorships look and work like much bigger opportunities is a critical skill in a crowded marketplace. To achieve the bigger, biggest, better and best, you need to “punch above your weight” by creating methods for extending the impact of your event, expanding your benefits and including a larger target audience. In the May 2017 Propeller, “From HERE to THERE” covered how to identify zero-cost to low-cost sponsorship benefits—simple ideas with maximum dollar-value delivery. Now, let’s explore creating additional benefits, attractive to sponsors, that will also help market/promote your event. They are not free, but leveraged properly they can boost your ability to “punch above your weight.” Go back to your Benefit Identification and Inventory List. Remember, potential sponsors want to reach the maximum number of customers, in a cost-effective manner, that will push the life of the sponsorship beyond the actual event. You know what benefits you have and you understand how they can be used to attract sponsors. The second step is to create some “Blue Chip” benefits: Blue Chip full-color event program book Blue Chip radio advertising including your major sponsors Blue Chip television advertising including your major sponsors Blue Chip print advertising including your major sponsors Blue Chip hospitality with prime access to VIP parking, VIP viewing area, preferred display areas and sign/banner locations Program books: Cost will depend on the decision to print in full color (recommended) or 4-color cover with 1-color inside pages; the number of pages (including the front and back covers); page size; number printed, and whether you submit to the printer in completed format. For example, a 48-page full-color book, 8 ½” x 11” size, bound, on glossy stock, sent complete to printer (no additional graphic work required) with a run of 500 books will cost between $2,500 and $4,000. You can reduce the cost by reducing the page size (4 ¼” x 5 ½”), reducing the number of pages, using one type of stock for

the cover and cheaper stock for the pages. Budget still too high? Consider producing a scorecard (11” x 17”), folded to make eight panels, printed two sides with room for advertising (business card-size ads) and some editorial. Cost is now manageable and the range is $250 (one color, a run of 500) - $750 (full color, run of 500). Your sponsors should receive an ad in your program; the size is contingent on amount of sponsorship. Additional income can be derived from selling open advertising space within the book or scorecard. Do not make the program/scorecard advertising only—without some editorial content, most programs are ignored. Radio and Television Advertising requires professional help. Industry standards demand professional quality and studio time. Your local TV and radio stations can assist, but time, talent (announcer voiceovers) and editing are expensive. When looking at your budget, you must also allow for the purchase of air/broadcast time; these costs are factored by the day, the time of day (daypart) and the number of times your commercials are run. You can reduce your budget by supplying a completed script (timed to 20 seconds including intro music/sound effects) and industry-standard footage (no cell phone shots, no hand-held/home videos). When producing commercials, be sure to mention, “Brought to you in part by...” or “presented by...” and, if you have a title sponsor, their name/brand must be part of the event name and be used in all advertising. Ask your sponsors with advertising budgets to include your event as part of their ad program. Most radio and television stations have web sites and Facebook pages. Ask them to include your event, and ask about community event calendar placement. Budget at least $7,000 for a short television schedule (no specified day/time) in a small market, $20,000 in a metro market; and a minimum of $3,000 - $7,000 for radio. Consider choosing one radio station and one television station to partner with your event and give them an exclusive. Negotiate the terms of this media sponsorship carefully so that you receive the benefits of exposure, including good broadcast times. Keep in mind that creating a media partner sponsorship will significantly reduce your cost.

Print Advertising can be effective, but does cost money. Most newspapers (weeklies and dailies) have a graphics person to create your ad (“display” ad) so all you need to supply is photos (300 dpi), logos in a usable format, and copy (the information that you want in the ad). Pricing is based on height by column width and varies by area (metro daily vs. rural weekly), circulation, day/edition, section, and (if requested) specific placement. To be effective, you need to run at least two to three ads. Like the radio/TV stations, newspapers have web sites and Facebook pages. Purchased advertising normally includes some web advertising; and don’t overlook the community events section. Make sure to include your major sponsors in your ads. Magazines published close to the time of your event are another resource, and many have online editions. If you are considering this option, you will have to work with early deadlines. Pricing is based on size of ad and whether it will run in color. Budget at least $800 - $1,500 for newspaper coverage with a minimum run of two-three ads, placing them as close to the start of your event as possible; and $500 (on average) for small magazine ads. If your sponsors have an advertising schedule that includes print, ask them to tag their ads (close to your event) with a few lines (event, name, dates and location, brought to you by...) and maybe a photo. Hospitality simply means treating your sponsors to some exclusive benefits, usually on-site, during your event. Use trade sponsorships with local restaurants for food and beverages. You can also trade sponsorship benefits for paper goods (plates, napkins, cups), tents, tables and chairs. Isolate your VIP Hospitality area and, if possible, allow nearby space for exclusive parking.

This is an area that’s fun to work creatively, but you will need a volunteer staff to keep everything running smoothly. Budgets are flexible and will depend on how much can be bartered. Limit the hospitality time to manage your bottom line, and volunteer stress. Costs for one afternoon (1-4pm) of VIP hospitality, serving snacks and non-alcoholic beverages can be accomplished for as little as $300 for 250-300 people. Budgets will grow exponentially with more people, longer time frames and adding alcoholic beverages and/or fancier food. Allow at least $5 per person, and multiply that number by the total hours planned for hospitality. Make sure that you understand all local/state laws governing the serving of alcohol in your event area before you extend invitations. If you hold a driver/team dinner, don’t forget to invite your sponsors. Consider the following when creating Blue Chip Benefits: • Factor the cost of servicing the sponsorship into your overall pricing as well as your budget • Use the trade and barter system • Use cooperative advertising • Structure your proposals with various levels and use those levels as guidelines for sponsor benefits If you see the benefits of Blue Chip possibilities, but are not sure where or how to start, send us an email (Jean Mackay Schwartz, jean84c@earthlink.net or Sherron Winer, winer.sherron@gmail.com). It’s our continuing effort to get you from HERE to THERE.

VIP hospitality matters!

The APBA Inboard Driving School boat at speed. F. Peirce Williams photo

Springtime School and Speed!

DAYTON TEST & TUNE On April 29-30, spring had barely touched Ohio’s Dayton HydroBowl. The weather forecast was not great, but so what? This was a chance for Inboard, Outboard, Vintage, experienced and rookie racers to get out and DRIVE! The weekend went really well; everyone got as much water time as they wanted. Race Director Mark Weber said, “Getting butts in boats is fun; getting butts in raceboats is success!”

Mark Long in the beautiful Vintage A-5. F. Peirce Williams photo

In the morning, APBA racers took to the water to test their racecraft. In the afternoon, a very successful APBA Driving School drew over a dozen students. In fact, two of the graduates are competing in Inboard races this summer. One is driving his own boat (his dad promised that once he passed the school, he could take the wheel). The other will find a raceboat with help from Inboard mentors. Good Inboard race boats are available right now. A solid mentoring relationship with experienced racers is a major component of the School. The Driving School instructors, of course, spend hours teaching, explaining and inspiring. But every racer at Dayton was an unofficial ambassador for the sport.

Every Driving School student wore an identifying armband. As they walked around the pits, seeing a dazzling array of racecraft and watching boats fly around the course, they were warmly welcomed. Experienced drivers took time to talk to them, demonstrate how equipment works, answer questions, and

generally invite them into the sport of boat racing. It is a responsibility that racers take seriously. APBA members come to Dayton to test and tune, but also to bring the newcomers onboard. Five Rivers Metroparks and Eastwood Metropark & Lake again provided a superb venue for testing, tuning and learning. The Dayton team this year were: Race Director Mark Weber, Referee Steve Spisak, Assistant Referee Jack Meyer, Inspector Rich Evans, Scorer Billy Noonan, and Risk Manager Ron Snyder. For information on the APBA Inboard Driving School, go to www.apba.org/inboard/school .

Grant Hearn, getting a jump on the season in the 2.5 Litre Stock S-52. At right, the Driving School students await their turn at the wheel. F. Peirce Williams photos

Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Stover Hire hard at work on the E-37. F. Peirce Williams photo

Sanderson happy with his 1st place Boatnik trophy.

Roger Sanderson in the B-200. Joel Takarsh photo

SANDERSON REPEATS FOR 6TH BOATNIK CUP

CORRA ROCKS IN 2017

BY JAY REESE

Boatnik, in beautiful Grants Pass, Oregon on Memorial Day weekend, offers Cal-Ore, USSBA Jet Sprint, and Dragboat invitational racing. The Grants Pass Active Club event also features a moving veterans’ remembrance and an F-15 flyover, a wonderful wine and craft brewfest, and a baseball tournament. This year, veteran Cal-Ore racer Roger Sanderson, 54, of Hoopa, California piloted his B-200 hydroplane to win the 59th annual Tom Rice Memorial whitewater race on the Rogue River. The 4-time Cal-Ore Champion became the 7th driver in Cal-Ore River Racers Association history to repeat Boatnik wins: in 1993, 1995, 1997, 2007, 2016, and this year. Mechanical problems threatened Sanderson’s win at the start of the third leg of the 2-lap/4-segment race from Riverside Park to Robertson Bridge. Jesse Reinhart of Grants Pass (#17), who finished second in the 2016 CORRA Points Championship with two race wins, took the lead to win segment 3. Reinhart held a 1-point advantage heading into the final lap. Sanderson won the first two legs, lost the 3rd, then held off Reinhart on the 4th and final leg. CORRA rules state that in the event of a tie, the winner of the final leg is declared the winner. 16

With that win, Sanderson collected $1,750 and became the 3rd winningest racer in Boatnik history—behind Jeff Lewis, who has won the race 10 times, and Don Burnison, an 8-time winner. Only 6 boats of the 19 entered finished the race, due to mechanical problems. There were no crashes or major injuries. 2017 Boatnik Results: 1-Roger Sanderson #B200, Hoopa, Ca. $1,750 2-Jesse Reinhart #17, Grants Pass $1,500 3-Derek Ely #11 Grants Pass $800 4-Jeff Lewis #007, Grants Pass $500; 5-Jim Eldred #R35, Grants Pass $300 6-Cameron Kirkland #68, Grants Pass $150 7-Michael Dickson #20, Willow Creek, Ca. $100 8-J.J. Quintana #69, Myrtle Creek, Or. $75 9-Chris Heath #99, Hoopa, Ca. $50 10-Cody Sells #527, Grants Pass $50

Second place Boatnik winner Jesse Reinhart.

Willow Creek winners (L-R) Roger Sanderson, Justin Hood, Dereck Ely (with assistant), Jeff Lewis and Robert Buckman. Jay Reese photo

The next race on the Cal-Ore River Racers Tour was the Newt Grant Memorial Race, June 10-11 in Willow Creek, California on the Trinity River. And guess what? Roger Sanderson ran away with his second straight win on the CORRA seriesâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;his second Willow Creek win. Of a field of 17 boats entering Sunday, 15 started but only 5 finished. Mechanical issues plagued most. Justin Hood (#A1) motored up through the pack to take 2nd place after finishing 3rd in 2016. Hood finished 5th in CORRA points last season. Dereck Ely (#11) wheeled his way to a second-straight 3rd place this year, and 66-year old Jeff Lewis (#007) finished 4th, even after being tossed from his boat on the 4th leg of the 7-leg, 3 1/2-lap race. Jesse Reinhart won the opening leg of the event; then Sanderson took control, winning the next 6 segments. Reinhart, runner-up in the 2016 CORRA Points championship, exited the race after hitting his propeller and lower drive unit.

2017 Willow Creek Results: 1-Roger Sanderson, Hoopa, Ca. $500 2-Justin Hood, Grants Pass, Or. $400 3-Dereck Ely, Grants Pass, Or. $300 4-Jeff Lewis, Grants Pass, Or. $200 5-Robert Buckman, Hoopa, Ca. $100

Michael Dickson #20 at Boatnik. Aubree Lee Kirkland photo

A highlight of the weekend in Willow Creek was when Cal-Ore River Racers, fans, sponsors, and friends gathered to help raise money for Lilly Martinez, a 6-month-old baby from Humboldt County who is in need of a liver transplant. CORRA made a donation of $500 to help the family. The next stop on the Cal-Ore series is June 16-17 for the Hoopa Hydro Heritage in Hoopa, California with Time Trials set for Saturday, and the main event race Sunday at noon. For results, schedule, driver bios, and history, visit caloreriverracers.com or facebook.com/caloreracers.

Rookie Robert Buckman (#05) finished his first race in 5th place. 17

the kids are all right

JUNIOR CLASSES RACING AT LA PORTE INDIANAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S MAPLE CITY GRAND PRIX JUNE 10-11. PAUL KEMIEL PHOTOS

Sporting the coolest graphics ever, Nathan Pittman of New Albany, Indiana ran J Runabout and AX Runabout at the Maple City Grand Prix in La Porte, IN on Stone Lake. Top, Nathan with his trophy; and here he is getting a little air. Paul Kemiel photos

From top: A determined Kori Ladd gets on plane in J Hydro. Ben Brabb of Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan drove J Hydro like a pro. A boatload of Hearn Racing: (L-R) Isabella, Kori, Ava and Ellie in the parade at La Porte. Paul Kemiel photos

HYDRO BASICS A Beginner’s Manual for Outboard Hydroplane Racing

Chapter 2: Angle of Attack and Drag BY JOHN M. ADAMS

Angle of attack is the angle the flat part of your boat makes with the flat water surface. There is an optimum angle where the drag is the lowest. Drag is a measure of the force it takes to move through the water. The motor generates a force to move you forward, and drag generates the resistance to that force. If the drag is low, that is good and your motor will make you go faster. For example, the worst case drag is a flat surface at 90 degrees to the water. This is like pushing a flat board or paddle through the water, and we all know that is not easy. Surprising is the fact that a flat surface at 0 degrees (level or even with the water) sliding over it is not the lowest drag! This is probably due to the large surface area dragging in the water. It turns out that the lowest drag is at 3-4 degrees angle of attack. You can search the Internet on marine design and will find this angle repeated many places. So when you see a hydro with the bow real high, packing 12-18 inches of air, you know it is not going as fast as it could. Actually, that is for two reasons—the angle of attack against the water is greater than 4 degrees, so the drag with the water is high, and it is pushing a huge amount of air out of its path as well. So a large portion of the force generated by the motor is spent pushing air and water aside instead of making you go faster. Ideally, you want the amount of air being displaced to be as small as possible and to have your angle of attack with the water to be at 3-4 degrees. Drag has another interesting aspect for boats and airplanes. It goes up dramatically with speed; the drag force increases with speed squared. This means the drag will increase 4 times if you double the speed. So a 7 HP J motor can make a boat go about 30 mph, but in order to go 60 mph it takes a lot more than double the power. So, as a racer, you want to keep drag as low as possible. That means “H,” or your angle of attack, is very important. Another interesting point is that the water drag force is several hundred times more than the air drag force. Next, we will discuss more things that affect angle of attack. The depth 20

of the airtraps at the rear of the boat will affect the angle of attack. Deep airtraps in the rear tend to trap the water there, making it more difficult for the water to be displaced as you go by.

Air Trap

Figure 9. The rear view of a typical left airtrap. This one is about ¼ inch deep at the transom. Figure 9 shows a rear view of an airtrap. The depth here lifts the rear and changes your angle of attack.

Figure 6. Wetted area changes effective “L” (Lift).

Figure 7. Lift. Figure 6 showed the wetted surface Y; and deep airtraps can shorten Y and cause less depth of penetration into the water surface. I think they tend

We all like photos like this but hydros really do run with the rear in the water most of the time. This is Ryan Gowin driving 20SSH at Castle Rock, Washington. Gleason Racing Photography

to act similar to the effect you would see if you had denser water. The APBA has a specification on the maximum depth allowed. Deep airtraps can have a stabilizing effect, kind of like an extra rudder, and the size affects how your boat handles in the turn and the straights.

Another time while I was an inspector, a racer came in and weighed one pound light. I DQ’ed the racer, who was very upset at me because, “What difference could one pound make?” I responded, “None, so add two pounds to your boat and be legal.”

Since deep airtraps at the rear have more surface area there will be an additional drag element associated with them as well. What is best is, again, an individual preference. Look around the beach and you will see every possible combination of airtraps or traction rails at the rear of the bottom. If you are having handling problems with your boat, the airtraps are a good place with which to experiment.

It is a lot more fun for you and the inspectors to be legal on weight. Since race officials use different scales from one race to the next, always weigh your setup before the race.

Earlier I said the weight of the boat was only partially lifted by air pressure within the airtraps. The rest of the weight—actually, most of it—is lifted by displacing the water at the wetted surface. You will hear that deep airtraps allow the air to lift the rear; this is not so. The air pressure is just not high enough to lift the rear, but the water pressure is. Deep airtraps do make the rear sink less deep at speed, and they change the angle of attack, but they do not lift it out of the water on a layer of air as is commonly believed.

When adding lead, where should you put it? You want the boat to be balanced about the center position of the driver in race attitude. For a very new driver, I would advise evenly spacing the lead on the floorboard under the driver area. Drivers will learn to move around the boat to control its attitude as they gain experience. Once that experience has been gained, many drivers like the lead at or near the transom so their body weight gives them maximum control of the boat attitude (angle of attack). Many believe the sponsons will lift off the water coming out of the turns faster with the lead rearward. Having the lead forward and evenly distributed for a new driver will dampen the response of the boat and tend to keep the front or bow lower.

Each class has a weight requirement where the driver, boat and motor must weigh a minimum amount at the end of the race. After the race you may be called to inspection where you and your boat will be weighed. Most drivers need lead to meet the weight requirement. You want to have enough lead added to your boat to meet the minimum weight, plus a pound or two for good measure. Your lead must be fastened to the boat. I recommend that it be bolted down. One time at the Nationals we were running in 2nd place in the finals and our lead was screwed down with wood screws. This seemed good enough but it was not. The lead came loose and, while bouncing in the back of the boat, it punched a hole through the hull on the last lap and we did not finish! Now we always use bolts!

The University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez claimed second place overall this year!

SOLAR SPLASH 2017 BY M. DAVID LUNEAU, JR. P.E. • PHOTOS BY LINDA HOGAN Twelve collegiate engineering teams gathered at the Clark County Fairgrounds to compete in the 24th annual SOLAR SPLASH® competition in Springfield, Ohio, June 7-11. Sponsored by IEEE-PELS for the 11th consecutive year, SOLAR SPLASH showcases the students’ innovative boat designs and gives awards for endurance, sprint, maneuverability, and slalom on-the-water events, plus awards for technical reports, visual display, workmanship, and engineering design. SOLAR SPLASH is a sanctioned American Power Boat Association event. Each competitor is a student team that spends the previous year designing, constructing, and testing their solar boat. The boats, driven by a single skipper, vary greatly in appearance but must conform to size, power, and safety specifications. The boats compete in maneuverability and endurance events with solar panels onboard. Skippers must be able to safely steer the boats around set courses. The same boats then compete in sprints, with or without solar panels. Batteries, however, must be charged by solar panels, many of which the students construct themselves. Cedarville University (Ohio) placed first overall, and received the George Ettenheim Memorial World Championship Trophy. The University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez and Carnegie Mellon University followed in 2nd and 3rd places. Stevens Institute of Technology from New Jersey, a rookie team, finished 4th in the overall competition. Cedarville finished first in the slalom, endurance, and sprint events, and finished third in qualifying, contributing to their overall winning point total. At the awards ceremony on Sunday afternoon, teams received awards for their boats’ performances as well as design awards as judged by teams of engineering judges. The Innovation award was given to the University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez for its battery energy management system, which optimizes the use of battery energy in the endurance competition. Cooperation and teamwork are important elements; so a sportsmanship award, a teamwork award, and a perseverance award are given. This year these awards were presented to Geneva College, Carnegie Mellon, and the University of Rochester, respectively. Champion racer Chris Fairchild brought his F1 tunnel boat, and entertained the crowd with a fast-paced exhibition during lunch breaks on Friday and Saturday. In addition to blazing speed and unbelievably tight turns, he demonstrated the boat’s ability to perform “doughnuts” and “wheelies”!

Chris wrote, “I was there to do a meet-and-greet for an August event but also to shine a light on what the SOLAR SPLASH is all about. I was there as a judge on hull design. They had other judges for drivetrain, whole design, battery usage, etc. I really enjoyed being a judge there. It is much like the APBA driving school—young fresh faces who are enthusiastic and excited about playing in the water with powerboats. Chris Fairchild demonstrated Mercury power vs. solar power...

“The competition had three different aspects—a straightaway ‘drag’ race, a slalom course for stability and agility in the water, and the endurance race (how many laps can you run in a 2-hour time frame?). All of this has to be done with solar power and 100 pounds of battery. Some of the teams had people with some knowledge of the competition; other teams started fresh with very little guidance from the boating industry. I truly enjoyed working with the kids and giving them ideas on how to better their boats for the competition. “After I did the exhibition run, it really opened their eyes as to what our sport has to offer. It also helped some of the college advisers realize their books don’t tell the whole story about performance boat racing. Some of the things we do defy the mathematical equations. I enjoyed it immensely and look forward to being invited back to judge again next year.” The students, numbering three to a dozen or more on each team, spend the five days in the tented paddock area or near the water while their boats perform. Launching and removing the boats from the water are team efforts. Pre-launch inspections include safety checks and verification of certified batteries and radios. While out of the water, teams must be ready for inspections by SOLAR SPLASH inspectors and by volunteer judges who question the teams regarding engineering decisions and designs.

Cedarville University once again was the overall winner at SOLAR SPLASH!

At a morning meeting each day, event officials, called Redshirts, update the students on the day’s schedule and answer questions. Lunch is provided on site each day, and the afternoon ice cream break is a favorite with the students and faculty advisors. An opening day welcome dinner is held each year. The first SOLAR SPLASH competition was held in Milwaukee in 1994. Eleven competitors participated that first year. Since the initial competition, more than 90 American universities, 10 international universities, and five high school teams have participated. Other sites have included New Orleans, La.; Buffalo, NY; Fayetteville, Ark.; Cedar Falls/Waterloo, Ia.; and Dayton, Ohio.

competition rules, arranging for the competition site, and providing meals and extracurricular events for the students participating. SOLAR SPLASH “Redshirts” are the officials who manage the five-day event each year. Dr. Jeff Morehouse, University of South Carolina; David Luneau, University of Arkansas at Little Rock, and Dr. Roy Hogan of Sandia National Laboratories are the

engineering officials of the event. Rules for the event, as well as results and photos from the past 24 years, can be found at www.solarsplash.com. Below, a proud and happy Cedarville University team celebrated another overall victory.

The Clark County Fairgrounds in Springfield, Ohio will host the competition again in 2018. SOLAR SPLASH had the honor of being the first boating event held on the newly acquired lake adjacent to the grounds, and has been invited back as part of a continuing series of regatta, which will feature power boat racing. Improvements to the lake site are planned and SOLAR SPLASH looks forward to returning in June of 2018. SOLAR SPLASH® is a trademark of Solar Splash Inc., a non-profit organization formed to promote engineering education and interest in solar innovation. Solar Splash Inc. seeks to involve college and high school students in hands-on educational activity by hosting the SOLAR SPLASH competition each year, in late spring or early summer. By partnering with engineering societies, corporate sponsors, and local volunteers, Solar Splash Inc. facilitates the event by managing

CATEGORY CORNER

Alden Merrill of Eddyville, Kentucky running J Runabout at Jesup, Georgia. Watch out for this racer; he’s off to a great start. Jean Tennell photo

JUNIOR CLASSES

BY PATRICK GLEASON R-19, JUNIOR CLASSES COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN With the racing pretty much in full swing at this point, all Divisionals and North American Championships will be over by the time you read this. The focus will be toward prepping for the J Nationals, to be held at Grass Lake, MI, July 24-29. One of the big issues we had last year at Hinton WV was a shortage of J “Championship” props available. This is a special set of propellers that have been tested and matched to be as close in speed as possible to each other, as well as being quick to plane off. Thanks to Craig Dewald and Dewald Propellers and the APBA Treasury, the J Committee has purchased 10 more J props to add to the set we already had. This should speed things up in inspection areas at both the North

American Championships and the Nationals. And, Jerry Davids was kind enough to build new boxes for the Championship props (no more milk crates). Mark Tate of Sun Coatings provided the final finish work on the props to make them all uniform, and (we hope) “tamper-proof”. I’d like to thank Craig, Mark, Jerry—and also Jeff Williams for his efforts behind the scenes to help us have these props ready for this year’s Championship races.

and Cole winning in AXH.

In the Divisionals that were held before we went to press, Nathan Pittman of Indiana led the way in the two runabout classes at the Central Divisionals, racking up wins in JR and AXR. On the hydro side of things, the powerhouse team of the Olson brothers took wins there, with Cody nabbing JH

It sounds like the Grass Lake race is shaping up to be a real barn-burner, with entries from both coasts planning to make the trek to Michigan.

At Jesup, GA, the Southeast J Divisionals were won by Alden Merrill in JH and Sam Tennell in JR, while Fisher Dyle took wins in both AXH and AXR. Divisionals had not yet been held in the Northeast or West Coast at the time of this writing, Regardless, we hope to see all our Divisional winners at Grass Lake for the Nationals.

Looking forward to seeing all of you in Grass Lake at the end of July!

OUTBOARD PERFORMANCE CRAFT BY SALLY TITUS, OPC • IMAGES BY GLEASON RACING PHOTOGRAPHY I have been scoring in the OPC category for 40+ years, and have seen a lot of changes. Most have advanced this category and made it very special. I remember the Eufala, Alabama Nationals when it was normal to expect 150 entries. Then, a few years later, Series racing came in. Jeff and I were fortunate to be a part of IOGP in the 1980s and early ’90s, and a different style of racing began. OPC changed their rules to state that if more than 5 laps were scheduled, drivers were given credit for the number of laps completed. (Many of the regattas were marathon-type events of 30 or more laps.) We tried using individual scorers for each boat in each event. That worked...kind of, depending on how serious the scorer was. Fay Waldrop was the first IOGP Chief Scorer, and she developed a method that really worked. We are still using it today for this type of event. It required one person to call ALL THE NUMBERS of each boat for each lap and, at the same time, note the lead boat so that two or more scorers could write the information down for each lap on the lap sheets. I scored one race in Pittsburgh, Pa. with 28 boats in one class on a 35-second course. Think about that—28 boats every 35 seconds for 30+ laps, and keeping a list of the top 5 as they changed over the course of the event. I am going somewhere with this information... At that time we made some strong rule changes in the OPC rule book. Rule 22 • Numbers specified where the boat number had to be located, what color it had to be, and what it had to look like. That rule is still in the book. I would often explain to a driver that I had to know the numbers of several boats—in order—before they came to the start/ finish line because, if there were more than one side by side, the inside boat’s numbers were not visible. I would ask the driver if he wanted me to miss his number on a lap because I was trying to read the boat number in front of him. I don’t know if we have 28 boats on the course every 35 seconds any more, but readable boat

numbers can still be an issue. If you score the same boats in each class in your local area all the time, you may think it’s a non-issue. However, what happens when a driver goes to a Divisionals or a Nationals, and no one knows him, and he has a fun/fancy number created by computer that cannot be read? At a few races in the past few years, that is exactly what I am seeing. I saw round numbers, not block; slanted, not vertical; some with no background; some with red or green backgrounds, etc. Do I need to continue? GEEZ, folks—read the rule book. If you don’t want to follow the rules, then go to your commissioners and change the rules so that anything goes. But, don’t complain when someone cannot read your number and you get credit for 29 instead of 30 laps. Get my point? Reminder: One more part of Rule 22 … The National Office assigned number must take precedence in case of a number conflict. OPC does not assign boat numbers per class, they assign them within the category. Obviously 1- or 2-digit boat numbers are easier to read and write down on the lap sheets. As a result, drivers who are assigned 3- or 4-digit numbers often pick part of this combination to be their boat number. If you stay local, you probably won’t have a conflict. However, if you race in other areas, be prepared to change your number if you conflict with someone who has the same number and it is their APBA assigned boat number.

Vertical block characters shall be used and be a minimum of twelve inches (12”) high and a minimum stroke of two inches (2”). Less than 12” minimum is acceptable only if the surface area will not allow otherwise, and the numbers must be as close as possible to the stated minimum standards. Should the background be the same color as the adjacent section of the boat, a 1/2” contrasting, approximately elliptical or rectangular, border is required. Spacing between numbers, and between borders and numbers, must be at least two inches (2”). Numbers, as well as the background and borders, may not be angled or tilted. The National Office-assigned number must take precedence in case of a number conflict. The legality of any boat numbering is the responsibility of the Race Committee only and cannot be protested.

Here is the entire OPC number rule as listed in the current rule book: RULE 22 • BOAT NUMBERS 1. Owners are to fasten their assigned numbers to each side of the boat in such a manner that the number is readily visible to the officials. Numbers must remain intact throughout the race. Failure of the number to be visible may disqualify the boat. Black numerals on a white background that is approximately elliptical or rectangular in shape, or the reverse of the preceding, is acceptable. 25

H1 UNLIMITED

BY DOUG BERNSTEIN, H1 UNLIMITED CHAIRMAN As I was returning from a conference on Mackinac Island, Michigan, there was much going on in the H1 Unlimited world. Several of the teams tested on the Columbia River in Kennewick, Washington, and news of the purchase of the former Miss Budweiser race shop in Tukwila, Washington by Miss Madison, Inc., with the sponsorship of HomeStreet Bank, was released. Despite the termination of the Anheuser-Busch sponsorship and sale of the Miss Budweiser hydroplanes several years ago, the shop remained an integral part of hydroplane racing. Several teams took advantage of the state-ofthe-art facility (not to mention the expertise of former Bud crew member in residence Mark Smith) in getting their boats race-ready. The shop will continue to be available for use by H1 teams. The importance of keeping the facility in operation for Unlimited hydroplane racing cannot be overstated. The world of Unlimited hydroplane racing owes HomeStreet Bank and its chairman, Mark Mason, a debt of gratitude for the commitment to the sport in making this transaction possible. With this type of investment in the sport, we will be able to grow, and achieve the goals which have been talked about for many years. We are hopeful that this is the beginning of a series of good news items, with the test session in Guntersville, Alabama up next. As the weather warms up, the season is upon us. Thanks to all for your support. Now is the time for your company to get involved with the most spectacular sport on waterâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;H1 Unlimited Hydroplane Racing. One of the most important aspects of motorsport is sponsorship. It is the lifeblood of boat racing and can be a valuable tool for any organization.

We will work with you to create a customized sponsorship package that accomplishes your business goals. It will be tailored exclusively for you. No matter the size of an organizationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s budget, openings exist at all levels. Promote your brand, build new relationships, and create top-of-mind awareness that drives interest and community support. Unlimited hydroplane racing presents the perfect opportunity to interact with your customers and your clients. Sponsorship should be as unique as your business. Our organization will help you find the driver, a team, a race site and the series to match your needs. Unlimited hydroplane fans are passionate, and respect companies that bring them their cherished sport. Take advantage of this great opportunity! Visit www.h1unlimited.com, click on our Contact Page and email Sponsorship or call Rick Corella at 206-218-8157 to find out more about the most exciting extreme sport on the water. 2017 H1 Unlimited Schedule June 2 Test session-Tri-Cities, WA June 17 Test session-Guntersville, AL June 30-July 2 MainSource Bank Madison Regatta Presented by Belterra Casino Resort-Madison, IN July 28-30 HAPO Columbia Cup-Tri-Cities, WA August 4-6 Albert Lee Cup at Seafair-Seattle, WA August 25-27 Spirit of Detroit Hydrofest-Detroit, MI (two races) Sept. 15-17 San Diego Bayfair-San Diego, CA

HomeStreet Bank has a flying billboard on the U-1 driven by Jimmy Shane. Paul Kemiel photo 26

MODIFIED OUTBOARD BY TOM SUTHERLAND, MODIFIED OUTBOARD CHAIRMAN David Bennett getting some air in 200 Mod Runabout at Tabor City, NC. Kristyn Bennett photo

With the racing season in full swing, and with the early Constantine Nationals, the Hall of Champions competition should be shaping up. Earlier this spring, the Winter Nationals held in Tabor City, NC overcame a very windy Thursday and Friday. However, with beautiful weather on Saturday and Sunday, the Race Committee was able to get three scheduled days of racing done in two days. The 2017 Modified Winter National Champions are Bruce Hansen from Hawaii in 200MH, and Tom Sutherland in 250MH. Rick Miller was a double winner in 350MH and 350MR, while Austin VanOver was the Winter National Champion in both 750MH and 850MHâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;only to be matched by Jerry Davids, Sr., who won 750MR and 850MR. George Luce salvaged a Mercury win in 500MR while David Bennett was the 200MR Winter National Champion. Braxton Miller won 400MH; and Matt Allen from Hurst, Texas was the 500MH Champion. As I write this, we are preparing for the Modified/ PRO Nationals at Constantine. Safe racing to all!

500 Mod Hydro driver David Salmon at Castle Rock, Washington. Gleason Racing Photography

(L-R) Josh Zahn of Issaquah, Washington and Pierce Brown of Portland, Oregon getting ready to race J Hydro at Castle Rock, Washington. Gleason Racing Photography

REGION ROUNDUP

REGION 1 We’re back... Region One is alive and well, and our number one priority for the 2017 season is to sustain the continued growth that we have experienced over the past several years. Putting this plan into action, the US A-Team and South Shore Outboard Association once again participated in the Maine Boat Builders show in Portland, Maine. The show came on the heels of the US A-Team being the featured cover story in Wooden Boat Magazine. The show was an overwhelming success, with several new members joining SSOA. Also in the marketing area, under the leadership of Region Chairman Dave Jones, the Region elected to purchase a new 300SSH sealed engine to have readily available for any prospective buyers. The engine was sold prior to its delivery to New England and, under the tutelage of Mike Akerstrom, Craig Laliberty made his racing debut at the Standish, Maine event. The Region rolled the proceeds of that sale into a second engine; that engine also sold prior to delivery, bringing the number of 300SSH Region 1 outfits to eleven. With the growth of 300SSH and the strong Region support in the J Classes, our future looks very promising. As we approach the mid-season mark, Connecticut Outboard Association (COA) is prepping for the 40th Anniversary of the Thompson, Connecticut Regatta. At that inaugural event in 1977, COA hosted the Northeast Stock Outboard Divisionals, and 248 entries in 16 Stock classes answered that roll call. Although we have not seen those types of numbers in quite some time, it is still one of the most popular sites in the Northeast. It will be interesting to see how many drivers from that first event will be on hand to once again take on the challenge of West Thompson Lake. The 15th Annual Standish Icebreaker Regatta hosted

by South Shore Outboard Association kicked off with drivers arriving at Watchic Lake early Thursday, May 18th. It has become tradition to have open testing on Friday to enable drivers to shake off the winter rust. This year’s testing conditions were very challenging, as strong winds persisted throughout the day. While many drivers took the opportunity to make a few laps around the course, others made those never-ending last-minute adjustments to their equipment. Bruce Nichols led the Driver School with students in the J Hydro, CSR and 300SSH classes. Friday’s activities wrapped up with a fabulous catered meal by Famous Dave’s out of Scarborough, Maine. Not to be outdone, the Kiwanis Club put on a delicious Down East dinner Saturday evening. As in the past four seasons, SSOA continues to grow, and we had four rookie drivers in attendance. Welcome aboard to Jackson Gallagher, Craig Laliberty, Dylan Murray and Adam Carruthers. Gallagher is the latest driver from the Region 3’s racing triangle of Pomphrey, Gallagher and Runne families, while Laliberty is getting his feet wet in the 300SSH class. Murray and Carruthers are second generation Canadian drivers and we hope to see them at all of our events this season. Jackson (2nd- J Hydro) and Adam (2nd- 20SSH) both took the ceremonial dunking in the lake after scoring their first trophies on Saturday. 20SSH was the largest class of the weekend with 11 entries. Nick Nowak earned his first career win in a 20SSH field that was dominated by ten Yamato entries. Surprisingly, ASR was the second largest class, with ten entries—six Sidewinders and four OMCs. Not surprisingly, they all chased the legendary Billy Simmons, who scored wins all three days of racing. The big winner of Saturday’s racing was Mike Akerstrom.

Competing in the CSR, 25SSR and 300SSH classes, Mike won all six heats to take home a variety of Maine-made prizes. In addition, by winning the CSR race, Mike took home the largest prize of all—a two-week, allexpense-paid trip to Ecuador—and the opportunity to compete in the 61st running of the Regatta GuayaquilVinces Marathon. Eli Campbell had an interesting weekend; he had single day wins in JH, JR, AXH and AXR, but was unable to duplicate any of his wins due to the strong J Class competition. The 300SSH class, which was just introduced to Region 1 in 2015, continues to grow as eight drivers answered roll call. With three more region outfits not in attendance, it could become the region’s largest class during the year. Many thanks to: Pre-race Director Shawn Cavanaugh, Race Director Larry Roberts, Referee Jack Thompson and our crack scoring team of Harriet Thompson, Annette Weber and Meaghan Allen. None of these individuals race—and without their selfless efforts, neither would you. Let them know how much you appreciate their efforts when you see them volunteering again at the next event. Standish Results - Saturday: J Hydro - Eli Campbell 42A, Jackson Gallagher 7J, David Woodle 43B; J Runabout - David Woodle 1B, Eli Campbell 42A, Jack Lyons 6A; AXH - Jack Lyons 6A, David Woodle 43B, Eli Campbell 42A; AXR - Eli Campbell 42A, David Woodle 1B, Becky Nichols 14F; ASH - Lily Deware 6B, Erin Woodle 44B, Rachel Warnock 22B; ASR - Billy Simmons 1J, Ed Pajus 13J, Bruce Nichols 20B; CSH - Billy Allen 16B, Bob Howe 2A, Dan Parker 1K; CSR - Mike Akerstrom 8B, Thom Noury 32A, Bill Forster 96D; 20SSH - Nick Nowak 81B, Adam Carruthers 38CE, Greg Hamilton 77A; 300SSH - Mike Akerstrom 8B, Greg Hamilton, 77A, Jack Cavanaugh 24A; 25SSR - Mike

Akerstrom 8B, Bruce Nichols 2B, Michael Rorke 4CE; OSY 400 - Bobby Cronin 26A, Jeff Sherwin 229A, Joe O’Connor 28A Standish Results - Sunday: J Hydro - David Woodle 43B, Eli Campbell 42A, Eden Deware 9B; J Runabout - Eli Campbell 42A, Jack Lyons 6A, David Woodle 1B; AXH - Eli Campbell 42A, Jack Lyons 6A, Eden Deware 9B; AXR - Becky Nichols 14F, David Woodle 1B, Eli Campbell 42A; ASH - Rachel Warnock 22B, Lily Deware 6B, Erin Woodle 44B; ASR - Billy Simmons 1J, Becky Nichols 14F, Ed Pajus 13J; CSH - Scott Clark 3N, Bob Howe 2A, Dan Parker 1K; CSR - Howie Nichols 4F, Tim Noury 33A, Thom Noury 32A; 20SSH - Jeff Sherwin 229A, Frank Longo 7N, Mike Akerstrom 16B; 300SSH - Jack Cavanaugh 24A, Jeff Hamilton 55A, Greg Hamilton 77A; 25SSR - Bruce Nichols 2B, Jack Cavanaugh 24A, Tim Noury 33A; OSY 400 - Jeff Sherwin 229A Third Day of Racing: AXH - David Woodle 43B, Eli Campbell 42A, Jack Lyons 6A; ASR - Billy Simmons 1J, Ed Pajus 13J, Pete Nichols 11F; 20SSH - Bob Cronin 26A, Mike Akerstrom 16B, Dan Parker 1K; 300SSH - Mike Akerstrom 13B, Jack Cavanaugh 24A, Jeff Sherwin 229A —Lowell Hanson REGION 5 Florida was busy in April and May! Good time to race boats down here, as it isn’t into the high 90s—yet! By the time you read this, it sure will be; but by then people will start heading north instead of south anyway. Jeff and I went to Gulfport, Florida the last weekend in April to watch the Gulfport Grand Prix sponsored by the City of Gulfport and the NGK Formula 1 Powerboat Championships. Gulfport is a very small town located just southwest of St. Petersburg on the Gulf of Mexico. There is a string of barrier islands just west, but they don’t block the view at all. About a year ago Bill Joule told me he was working on the event; he sure worked hard! He was joined by Tim Seebold, and the officiating, etc. was done by S.P.O.R.T. I was impressed! Race promoting is a lot of hard work, but this came together and provided good races both Saturday and Sunday. There were 12-plus entries in both SST 45 and Tri Hull, and 25 in Formula 1. The wind blew in the morning but settled down in the afternoon so all classes could run. Twenty-three Formula 1s hit the water—that is a race to watch. The hot pits were closed, but the cold pits were open, and the spectators really enjoyed visiting with the drivers. One woman got confused, took a wrong turn, and found herself driving down the middle of the pits on Saturday after drivers meeting. Not a good idea, but too funny. What do they say about “women drivers?” Loved it; glad it wasn’t me they were laughing at.

And to top it off, in the Formula 1 class, 1st and 3rd were Florida boys! Rob Rinker won, and Terry was 3rd. Now that is fun, when Region 5 gets to both host and win the event! I think Bill’s hard work paid off. I hope Florida has a new annual event in Gulfport, Florida.

(Great Lakes Challenge) for SO, MOD, and J, plus a 750ccMH NAC. The next weekend, the IOC hosts PRO and MOD Nationals and J classes NAC! July 4th, trot on down to nearby Region 7’s annual Madison, Indiana Regatta on the Ohio River, featuring Unlimited and Grand Prix action.

Now to the other side of the state—Stuart, Florida. This year is the 6th Annual Sailfish Regatta. Bob Pontek works all year to make this event a success. The event is held on the Intracoastal Waterway, so lots of environmental and Coast Guard permits are required, but it works! The helicopter flies over the area any time there are boats in the water—for good reason, as manatees, turtles, porpoise, etc. have all been spotted in the area. We used to race in this area before there were any controls, and this is a better solution...a winwin for everyone. The racers get to race and the marine life are safe.

July 7-8 Marietta, Ohio: Powerboat Nationals Grand Prix of Ohio for OPC and SE Inboards.

Hydroplane Racing League puts this event on their annual schedule, and 12 Grand Prix monsters come to Stuart. Watching this class run, up close, is something! Gotta climb on the picnic table to get the best view in front of the judge’s stand. OH MY! The GPs do not take away from the other classes on the schedule: 2.5 Stock, 5 Ltr., Jersey Skiffs, SE and OPC/SST120. The weather was perfect—a little wind, and lots of sunshine all weekend. No racing accidents and no manatee sightings. My kind of race! I hope the 7th Annual Sailfish Regatta is in the planning stages.

August 4-6 Pittsburgh, Pa.: EQT Three Rivers Regatta, featuring Formula 1 and Formula Lights NACs.

July 15-16 Trenton, Mich.: the PNC Roar on the River features two days of OPC, SO, J and Thundercat racing, plus SST 200 and SST 45 World Championships and a celebration of the late, great Fred Miller. July 23-30 Grass Lake, Mich.: SO and J Nationals hosted by MHRA; another Speedweek. July 30 St. Clair, Mich.: Offshore (OPA) racing is part of a giant town Summerfest.

August 12-13 Indian River, Mich.: Top O’ Michigan Marathon Nationals. R U Tuff Enough? August 19-20 Kittanning, Pa.: TriStar Riverbration is SO, MOD, and J racing, with 250ccMH NAC. August 25-27 Detroit, Mich.: Metro Detroit Chevy Dealers HydroFest, featuring Unlimiteds, Grand Prix, H-350 Hydros and Vintage.

—Sally Titus

August 25-27 Springfield, Ohio: The F1 Grand Prix hosts SST120/200/F1, SST45 and JH.

REGION 6 Racing is getting hot and heavy in Region 6 as the dog days approach, mostly in the outboard ranks.

August 26 Dayton, Ohio: The Great American Outboard Race/Dayton Record Runs Regatta with 1-mile records and racing on a ¾ mile record course.

First, Hoorah! to May and June winners. The Three Rivers Club hosted the John Read Memorial in Franklin, Pa., Memorial Day weekend. Nathan Pittman swept JH, JR, and AXH both days for a total of 6 wins; Karrissa Mitchell (AXR) was the only competitor to stop this junior juggernaut. Dana Holt took two wins Sunday; otherwise only Tom Sutherland, Frank Novotny, Joe Silvestri, Rob Dixon, and Jacob Alkema earned one win each day. Other winners: Larry Stenander, Amy Sweeney, Brandon Sutton, Billy Simmons, Adam Allen, David Breisacher, Stephen Lisius, Sam Buchholz, Will Augustine, Jeff Williams, Bill Keegan, Nate Mitchell, and Rob Lisius. This long list of 21 winners means competition! Any race day, anybody can win!

September brings on Inboard action! Over Labor Day weekend, Evansville, in neighboring Region 7, hosts Inboard Eastern Divisionals, NAC.

See the Solar Splash article in this issue. It was the first APBA sanctioned event in Springfield, Ohio. Constantine Speed Week runs two weekends: June 1718 and 23-25! First is MHRA’s Joe Whetstone Memorial

Sept 9-10, Indian Lake, Ohio: Sunday is a one-day race for Inboard classes. Back to quiet: we have lost races. The economy has hurt; but poor communication among ourselves has left hurt feelings, disjointed efforts, and little racing. Gotta get going to keep races so we have places to be showoffs. Quake 2018 is in the planning stages for next year. Also, work is ongoing for a renewal of the Stony Creek race. Next year holds great possibilities! Now, we need to get some Inboard action going in Ohio again! —Don (Eli) Whitney

REGION 10 Boy, have we been racing in Region 10! We start off with Commodore Ana Cappelletti’s news from Tacoma Inboard Racing Association: The first race is in the books at Lake Lawrence. The race committee and SIRA put on a great event. Thanks to all that participated and volunteered their time. There were a few records set over the weekend! John Peeters- CSH- 66.637 Mike Kelly- 45SST- 69.214 John Peeters- 20SSH- 62.454 John Peeters- ASH- he set a record on Sunday 1st heat and then broke that record in the 2nd heat at 51.267 And, congrats to both Dutch Squires and Jeff Bernard! 2.5 Stock Saturday- Dutch broke and reset the 1 2/3 mile record at 92.826; on Sunday Jeff broke Dutch’s record at 93.555 Congrats to all! This is a great accomplishment, and what a great way to start the year! Tacoma Inboard is going to be a busy club this year. We are holding both the Western Divisionals at Pateros and the Nationals at Spanaway! I know that Tim Hamilton, Julie Porter, and Sue Troxell-Harvey could really use anyone and everyone’s help on putting on these events. Just like raising children, it takes a village to put on these events, so please come support these events and/or volunteer if you can! It would be greatly appreciated! :) Ana also brings us up to speed on the very busy spring season that Seattle Outboard Association has had: SOA has been working hard this winter, but one of our biggest jobs was updating and working on our new rescue boat, which looks amazing. A very big thank you to Tim Mattson and Daren Goehring, plus the many people who worked on getting this boat ready. Over the winter, we lost a member of our rescue, Britt Mercer, and the board decided to dedicate the boat in his memory. Britt was always at the helm of the boat and he deserves to stay there. The boat was revealed to everyone at our club banquet in January. The response from everyone was a sight to see. RIP Britt! And we’re off! The season started with a great turnout at the Inboard event in Yelm, WA. There were 8 outboard classes there, and 4 records were set .Congrats to John Peeters in dominating CSH, 20SSH, and ASH, and to J Michael Kelly driving in 45SST! Here are the results from our classes that participated: CSH- John Peeters, 2nd Kyle Lewis, 3rd Aaron Adams 45SST- J Michael Kelly, Sandy Pearl, Brent Hall 20SSH- Ken McMurphy, Ryan Gowin, John Peeters ASH- John Peeters, Ryan Gowin, Zoe Adams

750ccMH (Saturday only)- Aaron Salmon 850ccMH (Sunday only)- Jayson Shrock, Rick Tronson, Daren Goehring DSH- Dave Anderson, Rick Tronson, Mitch Sampson CSR- Tanner Cole, Kyle Lewis, Drew Thompson 500ccMH- Sean Byrne, Ken McMurphy, J Michael Kelly AXH- Kiera Marquard, Tim Mattson, Ryder Rabitoy The following weekend we travelled to Castle Rock, WA where there was beautiful weather, a great backdrop of Mount St. Helens and a beautiful resort to hold our event. The people at the resort were very accommodating; they always make it a great experience for racers and fans on Silver Lake. The race committee pulled off a great schedule—even with 104 entries they were able to get all of the heats in. Unfortunately, although it was beautiful, we got blown out on Sunday. This event was also the Stock Winter Nationals. Congratulations to J Michael Kelly, who won in CSH and 20SSH; and Ryan Gowin, who won in ASH. we had great support from our members in all aspects. The first race of the season just sets the bar. Kudos to everyone working together and making it happen! The next race was at Kitsap Lake. Dwight Malhiot and his race committee carried on raising the bar and pulled off another great race. There was a wind hold, but all heats went off and everyone enjoyed another weekend of beautiful weather, great racing and working together! Nothing can get better than that! We were heading to Silver Lake/Everett on June 3rd, so we will report on the results and other news from SOA next time. Hope all had a happy Memorial Day! Our Vintage inboard group is starting to heat things up, with their next event slated for Richland in early June. Ron Morrison provides us with all the details: For the Region 10 Vintage gang, the first three events of 2017 have brought out a small boat count. This will improve with the June and July Richland and Olympia, Washington regattas where a dozen plus Vintage rigs are expected. The Pacific Northwest has experienced a very wet/gray winter and spring, so some real boat racing weather—sunny and warm— would be all right. A couple of new-to-the-circuit boat notes: Mike Currie was at Soap Lake with his ”Coyote”, a 2300 Ford powered cabover Davis hull. We appreciate the history that small Vintage hydros represent, and it helps to recall it when another one gets wet and running. “Olson’s Vintage Hydro Restoration Enterprise” has the former “Mr. Whoppit”, a 1970s Ron Jones Sr. 225 hull, nearing completion for its new owner. The boat has Ford 221 power. The target for turnkey and go is

Black Lake. A pretty big part of what actually makes APBA Vintage activity go in Region 10 is Coordinator Jim Olson and the time, attention and commitment he puts in. With Vintage participants spread about, communication is key to informing the what, where, when and why, and getting feedback about what participants need. So, when Jim sends an email, Vintage participants must understand that a reply is necessary and expected. Jim can only do his job for us if he gets our response. As you read each Vintage related email, please punch the “Reply” button and tell Jim what he needs to know. Jim Codling and the SIRA gang had a great season opener at Lawrence Lake, and Seattle Drag and Ski is busy prepping for their annual Black Lake event. Jim tells us all the details: The Inboards rocked the Lawrence lake with the Jet Chevrolet folks helping with the bills. A nice group of Inboards and Outboards raced the Russ Dodge course, with several records set. The 2.5 Stock record got beat up a couple of times over the 2-day sanction. Jeff Bernard driving for Chris Fanaris ended the weekend with the mark. Dutch Squires and Austin Eacret were right behind, but the flying blue and yellow boat was too much. The SEs came, and ran well with the new guy and his brilliant Orange Starfire leading the way for a good part of the weekend, along with Barry Eacret’s # 6 right behind (or ahead, depending on which heat you picked)—good showing. We also had 6 beautiful restored Vintage boats on display all weekend. All the guys are looking ahead to Soap Lake and the Richland event. Our outboard fleet rocked the lake with a couple of records, as reported above by Ana Cappelletti. Many thanks to Jet Chevrolet and Dick Lynch; remember them at buying time. We moved to Soap Lake 2 weeks later and another beautiful Russ Dodge record course. One record will stand till next year on the big course—Jim Mauldin ripped off a couple of heats at over 110 MPH on the 3-lap giant course. The 1 Litres were disappointing, with the boat count and the breakdowns and stuck motors. Boy, those jet ski engines are tough to figure out. It was nice to see “Li’l Fish” Aaron Salmon drive for the “Go Fast Turn Left” racing team. Bill Wallace brought 2 boats to give the speed mark a go. One broke, so they dumped Aaron into the second boat, and wow! He did good

and ran a strong second place, leaving his roommate at home to feed the dog and wash the dishes.=))). Austin Eacret ended up with a bunch of firsts, fighting through Squires, Bernard, and Dan Surfus, whose boat looked very good. I expect to see this class get really full and competitive when the rest of the fleet gets their new motors running. Nick Bononcini made some great starts with his new 2.5, but not up to speed yet with the other 3 racers, while Paul Eacret ran the new option motor in the S-360. It gets faster each weekend with Paul and Jayson splitting heats. Some SE flatties looked good, bumping and pushing all weekend while referee Chas Dodge sorted out the differing boats and drivers. Tthere are 6 more almost ready to run; I see eliminations at Black Lake. Race Chair Aaron Stephens (aka “Li’l Jim”) really ran a nice show. Mom fed all the volunteers, the town was great, the mayor was pleased, the water was great. Thanks to GP guy Bob Schellhase and Lenny Baker for turn judging all weekend. And thanks to the Cole gang for coming with some of their fleet, and doing the trophies for the weekend. Many thanks to all the folks at Soap Lake who made this possible, and to Aaron Stephens who ramrodded the event. Even the big boats are warming up, with a successful Spring Training event held on the speedy Kennewick Columbia River course, which featured 3 H1 hulls, Jerry Hopp’s GPW racer, and the official re-christening and launch of the 1973 Pay n Pak hull, owned by Dr. Ken Muscatel and painstakingly restored to perfection by Mike Hanson and his crew of volunteers at the Hydroplane and Raceboat Museum. There’s nothing like the sound of a Merlin to make the hairs on the back of your neck snap to attention at 9 am on a sunny Friday morning! Also lots of talk about Homestreet Bank’s continued investment in the sport, by acquiring the assets and facilities of Hydroplanes Incorporated (aka Miss Budweiser) and establishing a facility that will be available to all H1 teams. Mark Smith will continue at the helm of both the Tukwila shop and the Lake Stevens Turbine dyno facility. Great news for a category that could certainly use it! That’s about it for this time. Race safe, travel safe, and have fun! —Patrick Gleason REGION 12 The summer months have always been a time when Region 12 drivers have to travel to race, and this year will be no different. It is impossible to race on Southern California water in the summer due to the watersport usage. A few times in the past we were able to race the Stock/ Mod Nationals at Bakersfield, but that is not allowed any more.

Some of our drivers have already gone for long trips. Spencer Love, Jared Wallach, and Colin Cross went to Florida to race, then spent the week getting to Port Neches, Texas to race. Scott Schatz raced all over the country last year in his Cracker Box in order to get into the Hall of Champions; and indications are he will travel again. Dave Hale just went to Newberg, Oregon for a race, and will definitely be at the Stock Nationals at Grass Lake, Michigan later this summer. While racing in Newberg, Dave then proceeded to Eastern Oregon where he picked up the 1 Litre hydro that he had just purchased. This gives the region at least three 1 Litres. With Dave and Jeff Conant both new to the Inboard Category, it will be interesting to see how much they travel this summer. Speaking of traveling, I would bet that our family has traveled more in the last fifty years than anyone. I went to the Stock Nationals 43 years in a row. We plan to be in Trenton, Michigan for the SST 45 World Championship in July. The Trenton Roar on the River is one of the many things that Fred Miller did in his many years of supporting boat racing and the APBA. A memorial is planned for Fred at this event, and I hope a lot of people attend. Fred and I were friends for many years. When I met him, we were competitors in the CSR class and not very

friendly at first. Over the years our friendship grew and we became best friends. I always looked forward to seeing him at the Nationals or the National Meeting each year. Many people have talked about what Fred accomplished over the years, but the one thing that really shows who he was is the Hall of Champions. The Hall was his creation and his dream for forty years, and many drivers were honored during that time. At the Los Angeles meeting Fred jokingly told Tracy Trolian and me that it takes two co-chairs to run the Hall of Champions that he used to run by himself! It is hard when a valued member is gone from our lives. Come to Trenton to honor the late, great Fred Miller—and attend a wonderful boat race! —Ernie Dawe

RJ West and Chris Hagerl race SST 45 at La Porte, Indiana. Paul Kemiel photo

RACE IN PEACE DAVID RAABE David R. Raabe, Sr., 38 ‚ of Forked River, New Jersey, passed away Sunday, May 21, 2017 in an Offshore racing accident. Born in Plainfield, NJ, David and his family had lived in Forked River for the past 10 years. David loved life, his family and friends—especially his wife, Leigh, the love of his life; and his children Alexis, David, Jr. and Landon. David excelled at everything he did. His competitive nature and drive for success led him to reach many professional milestones years ahead of his peers. Having worked in the financial world for 20 years, he was a financial advisor for AXA Equitable for the past nine years. He also was a partner in Envision Strategics, LLC. A top producer, he won numerous awards. David loved to travel. He and his family went to many exotic locations, including the U.A.E. (Dubai and Abu Dhabi), South Africa, several European countries,

Hawaii, Mexico and some Caribbean islands. Closer to home, David’s love for the Jersey Shore naturally made him an avid boater. He enjoyed pleasure boating with his family and friends. He always had that “need for speed,” which led to his career in Offshore boat racing. He was throttleman for the Class 5 REPEAT OFFENDER and the Super Vee REPEAT OFFENDER II. David claimed a number of checkered flags in his racing career, and also saw the back of many a tow boat. He is predeceased by his paternal grandparents, Eugene and Virginia Raabe and Grandma Sheenan. Surviving are his loving wife of 15 years, Leigh; his daughter Alexis; sons David, Jr. and Landon; parents David and Patricia Raabe and Debra and Robert McNamara; three brothers, Michael Raabe, Shea McNamara and Erik Raabe; and his maternal grandparents, Robert and Georgette Schulz along with many aunts, uncles, cousins and friends. The entire Offshore family grieves for David. He was a wonderful friend and competitor. —Asbury Park Press and www.legacy.com

Do you have what it takes? Top O’ Michigan, the World’s Toughest Outboard Race, is for the few, the proud, maybe the slightly crazy... Stock/J Runabout and Thundercat drivers, see if you can handle this amazing race August 12-13. Photo by Rick Babcock of Alanson, Michigan

Miss PAY N PAK rides again! At Kennewick, Washington, Ken Muscatel’s beautiful restored Unlimited hit the water to the delight of a gathered crowd. Gleason Racing Photography

2017 Top O’ Michigan

STOCK OUTBOARD MARATHON NATIONALS August 12th & 13th IndIAn RIveR, MIchIgAn Stock and J Classes JR • AXR • ASR • BSR • CSR • 25SSR • DSR All Thundercat Classes Top O’ Michigan Outboard Racing Club www.tomorc.org