It's the people that make racing

[seacow]

We often highlight the engines, boats and props. We discuss the long term racers who make consistent wins. We sometimes forget another essential part of racing.... I propose a toast and salute to the drivers that race for 1 to 5 years and then fade into some other past time activity. Also the drivers who often race but hardly ever win or place. They are also an essential part of our sport. Even though sometimes personalities and racing politics can be vexing, we love our sport because we are a community. Many of the experiences we remember are not on the course but the the characters we meet and the times we spend together.

In my early racing years not many of us had motor-homes and we often camped together in the pits under the stars or in a tent. Saturday night campfires were a hoot. Heck, in those years I even remember getting amorous with my girlfriend on top of one of the a picnic tables at 2 am at a Bakersfield race weekend. The characters and events ..like when Billy Jack and Harry had a fist fight in the pits because they tangled their D alkies in a turn at Oakland and both had flipped. At one EBBC banquet we had a live band that a year later became famous as Big Brother and the Holding Company and topped the pop charts with Janice Joplin. There was Gary who barfed on his deck from fright at the start of most every heat when he was trying to plane off. There was a guy who I shall call "Dicks" who ran a B KG-7 disguised as an A KG-4. He of course was faster than the other As but he never allowed himself to take 1st because he did not want to be inspected. He just liked to be part of the pack. Everyone knew it and never said anything to the inspector who also knew it. There was Art who had a C service and was about 80 years old but loved to compete. And there was my friend Mike who came to every race one season and consistently could never get his 30-H started for any heat even though it ran well in testing.

Your characters and stories are not the same as mine but they are part of the fun and the fabric of racing. I learned early on that it was more important to enjoy the experience, mind to drive safely and to savor a truly special experience: people coming together to put on a "regatta" and making a good excuse to both have fun and enjoy each others uniqueness. Here's to all of us - the big shots and the little guys, one season competitors and seasoned champions. The wonderful pit crews and spectators. And here's to all of us who make a good reason to have experiences together and call it boat racing.

[Stuart]

Well said I could not agree more. It is the people and places as much as the racing itself that will stick with you for a life time. I think I may have been at some of the events you mention.

[1100r]

Very well said seacow. I have been out of racing for 13 years do to a couple of neck surguries but still enjoy reading about boat racing and seeing pictures of the many friends I have made being posted on the USTS section and others. You make so many friends over the years but I have made just as many by being on here and also keeping in touch with those from the past.
Sounds like region 11 hay days there seacow lol. NCOA, and EBBC sure had some great races over the years!!! Shawdow Cliffs and Lodi Lake where my 2 favorites for sure

Thanks to those of you who have these Forums for us to keep in touch with the boat racing family.

[Mark75H]

Worth repeating:

We often highlight the engines, boats and props. We discuss the long term racers who make consistent wins. We sometimes forget another essential part of racing.... I propose a toast and salute to the drivers that race for 1 to 5 years and then fade into some other past time activity. Also the drivers who often race but hardly ever win or place. They are also an essential part of our sport. Even though sometimes personalities and racing politics can be vexing, we love our sport because we are a community. Many of the experiences we remember are not on the course but the the characters we meet and the times we spend together.

In my early racing years not many of us had motor-homes and we often camped together in the pits under the stars or in a tent. Saturday night campfires were a hoot. Heck, in those years I even remember getting amorous with my girlfriend on top of one of the a picnic tables at 2 am at a Bakersfield race weekend. The characters and events ..like when Billy Jack and Harry had a fist fight in the pits because they tangled their D alkies in a turn at Oakland and both had flipped. At one EBBC banquet we had a live band that a year later became famous as Big Brother and the Holding Company and topped the pop charts with Janice Joplin. There was Gary who barfed on his deck from fright at the start of most every heat when he was trying to plane off. There was a guy who I shall call "Dicks" who ran a B KG-7 disguised as an A KG-4. He of course was faster than the other As but he never allowed himself to take 1st because he did not want to be inspected. He just liked to be part of the pack. Everyone knew it and never said anything to the inspector who also knew it. There was Art who had a C service and was about 80 years old but loved to compete. And there was my friend Mike who came to every race one season and consistently could never get his 30-H started for any heat even though it ran well in testing.

Your characters and stories are not the same as mine but they are part of the fun and the fabric of racing. I learned early on that it was more important to enjoy the experience, mind to drive safely and to savor a truly special experience: people coming together to put on a "regatta" and making a good excuse to both have fun and enjoy each others uniqueness. Here's to all of us - the big shots and the little guys, one season competitors and seasoned champions. The wonderful pit crews and spectators. And here's to all of us who make a good reason to have experiences together and call it boat racing.

[Beale Tilton]

Worth repeating:

Very Well Said

In June we are having a reunion of The Southern Maryland Boat Club. The club was active from 1957 until the late 70's. Have had contact from people all over the country planning to attend. We are all looking forward to telling those fun stories, remembering those no longer with us.
I made life long friends from racing.

[Master Oil Racing Team]

You are exactly right Seacow. Joe Rome and I often say to one another that "it's the people" in boat racing. Some of our very best friends we remember, talk about, and have laughs about what we did were racers that never really won anything big, and mostly ran in the pack or less. But there are many, many that did not even race. They were pit men and their wives, officials, scorers and their husbands (a sexist commit but I think truth is supreme...I don't ever remember a male scorer), safety and pick up crews, etc. I had a thread like yours several years ago to applaud the people without whom no races could occur. We cannot ever give those who make it happen, and support it in every way enough credit. They give it their all because they love the sport, and we all in our own way show our thanks by our friendship to them and the fun times. But they are the ones that are clapping when the trophies are presented. So I am right along with you in congratulating all those who have helped, been involved in one way or another, and have been there to make our memories good ones.

[Bill Van Steenwyk]

I could not agree more with the previous comments on this thread.

One other thing I think deserves a mention. Too often we put so much emphasis on winning and the person or persons who do a lot of it, that we have a tendency to forget the other competitors that make it possible for that National Champion, Record Holder, Hall of Champions Inductee, and other honors given to the winner/winners in our sport, that we forget the people who just love the sport so much they really do not care if they are "also runners". They compete for the love of the sport and the friendships made along the way, and they are who makes it possible for the very few to be "winners".

I mean no insult by this term in any way, as some of the folks that do the majority of the winning (and these type are in the minority in our sport) and take everything that goes with it, sometimes get so impressed with themselves and their accomplishments that they forget it takes all the rest of the competitors our there with them to allow them the opportunity for them to be winners.

Unfortunately some competitiors, and thankfully these type are in the minority, are so overwhelmed with their own self importance they forget it takes all the other competitors, and the folks that donate their time doing the "grunt" jobs at the races, so they can enjoy the honors they win. Some very few of these, because of their competitiveness, have ruined it for others because of this very trait.

But, I think Boat Racing is very fortunate as a sport that this type competitor is far overshadowed by the majority of the folks involved, and that type folks are responsible for the sport having given Eileen and I so much pleasure over the last 40 years.

You do not have to win, to be a winner, and some of the closest friendships I have made over the years, and people I respect the most, are those type folks.

[A Mosny]

The toast and salute is well said for I am a part of this group. All I have left are a few pictures and many fond memories. Gone are the torphies, boats, and all the friends from my racing eara. I also toast this web site because those memories can be shared, not forgotten. Therefore, lift that shot of tecqulia and lime and enjoy going back 40 years to your rolling days of thunder and blunder! See how quickly the smiles, laughs, and pride of accomplishment return even if your not running in the front.

[Gene East]

Lee and Lou St. Clair come to mind. It is impossible to mention one without the other! While most people remember Lee as an also ran, I've been to their home. It was full of trophies Lee had won in his younger days. As he got older, Lee would seek out other drivers in the middle of the pack and he held his own. I've seen him finish 5th or 6th and come in grinning from ear to ear. I well remember him giving me a driving lesson or two in one of the few alky races I drove.

Who could forget Lou? She was much more than Lee's wife, she was part of him. She also worked her tail off at the races at the registration desk, on the judges stand and as Lee's "crew chief". She even took a ride once in a while. I can remember her telling me during the 60's that if you lay down in a Swift "Big Bee" the boat runs faster! Would you not agree that statement was way ahead of the time frame? Who would have dreamed the day would come that most hydro drivers would ride on their bellies rather than their knees? Lou knew it 30 years before the rest of us!

[oldalkydriver]

While I was young(er) before racing, I used to watch all the people. Every region has their 'colorful characters', just like region 11 & 12. Ahhh so many nights before the great Salton Sea flooded. My sisters and I would run around and empty everyones coke bottles and turn them into Dutch. He would give our father $25 to $30 every Salton Sea race. Then the big flood! Heart Park at Bakersfield used to be the same way. Especially since Manual and his cronnies would have a FREE BBQ on Saturday night. In those days, we only raced ONE day. I can't remember with any certainty whom it was that drove their station wagon into the POOL at El Rancho Bakersfield? It was either Bill Combs or Les Botkins from Visailia, California. But they said it needed washing! I know it happened cause I spent the night with Merle Redden there (Dave Reddens son). Then there was the guy from Northern California (I think it was Art ??) He was 80 years old when I was a kid. He had a small crane on his trailer to unload his 'C' Service Runabout. I don't recall him ever winning, but he was at every race by himself. Bill Combs who ran 'F' runabout as a single, along with Ralph Holmes. I know Ron says that he and Bill Boyles were the first to run 'piggyback' in 'F' Runabout. However if you look at my post on 'how to post', you'll see a picture of the 'F''s at Long Beach. Take a good look at C-103, Bill Combs and his narrow *** cockpit for one! Now look at the deck handles! WOW, who would use those? Some crazy guy named Grant Gulick. Every once-in-a-while he would ride deck for Bill. Usually after a good beer party the night before. Grant use to cuss him all the time. I don't recall Bill ever winning a race either. George Peak who's famous 'anchor nail' 'F' Hydro went flying past the pits at Long Beach, way down to the bridge past the first single can turn. When we next saw what was left of his boat, it looked like a surf borad. Nothing left but the steering column and the bottom. The rest was on the bottom along with the motor! Arnie Adams of 'B' Hydro fame. At Parker, Arizona, he never meant a brand of beer that wasn't found under his tandou cover the next morning. Arnie would always arrive late from the hotel on Sundays and never take the cover off his boat until the 'five minute gun'. That is until the Jackson kids curred him. Parker was quite the place back then. One hotel, one bar and most importantly one caution light. Oh yaw! Lots of Indians.
I really miss the one day races and the nights before. The relative safe speeds and loud motors. They too have gone the way of 'disco pants'. Once a year the outboards were allowed on Lake Lodi. July 4th. Man, we could hardly wait. In those days we were allowed to camp out the night before. Such fun. I'm getting a little off track here. Guess my mind is starting to wonder. We had our share of GREAT people who made up our racing region. I could go on for days with thoughts of Glen Campbell, Warren Painter, Lou Morphy, Walt Gillo, Ellis Esterbrook. Dale Drake, Bill Crumley and etc, etc. All great families and good sports. Just fun to be with. Guess we all get old as time marches on. My hats off to all the families who made these memories possible. It sure would be nice to meet again. Salute!