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Thread: An Amazing Story: Part 2

  1. #131
    Team Member Master Oil Racing Team's Avatar
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    Default the "shark" tour boat....

    I am guessing "Moby Dick" is the one you were referring to Eric. I too remembered it as a Shark, but when I took a look this morning I found it to be a "whale" of a boat. This pic was taken at Strandbad Oberhavel the previous year.
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  2. #132
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    Jack Chance got us rigged up and we put "TEX" in the water for "training". The weather was bad. Cold, intermittent rain and worst of all....wind.

    It didn't take long to find out that if something didn't change drastically, we would sit this one out. Coming up the front straight I hit a roller and was launched into the air. Not the boat......ME! My legs were a couple of feet above my head and my grip is all that kept me in the boat. I only went a couple of rounds. This was impossible. At this point we still didn't think the sponson and bottom design were all that bad. After all even the European boats were having trouble in this water, and they were made to run under rough conditions.

    Dieter is checking things out next to Hans Krage's proprider.
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  3. #133
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    Default Race day June 11

    The weather, if anything, was worse. Wind was a steady 20 to 30 miles per hour with gusts up to 35 or 40. The barges helped, but with 15 to 20 feet gaps between them, rollers made it onto the course. The plans were to start on schedule at 9:25 am. The OD World Championships would be 8 laps and all other classes 6 laps.

    There was no way I was going to race in that kind of weather with a boat I couldn't keep under me. I did have to suit up and go out for the cameras though. I made a couple of laps and was glad to get back in. Then I was informed there was a problem with one of the cameras and I had to go back out because they had no footage of the previous run.
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  4. #134
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    At the drivers meeting there was talk of waiting to get started, but with two hours necessary between heats of the world championship, the decision was made to start on time at 9:25.

    Austrian Erwin Zimmerman borrowed Ernst Bisterfeld's cat and was never challenged from the start. Erwin normally raced kneelers, but he chose the cat for these conditions. Fellow Austrian Wilfried Weiland (112) was second for 3 laps but was passed in turn 1 on lap four by Jorg Lipinski- a Berliner. All these boats were catamarans, or tunnels. Hans Krage ran 4th for two laps in his proprider, but began dropping back after losing his pipes.

    In my notes I wrote that "#30 cat will blow over before the final heat of OD. Too rough for propriders they are all bouncing & shaking all loose."

    "PiP" Willy Douglas ,No.1, from England finished last in his Proprider.
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  5. #135
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    One heat of OA was run and boats were out on the water for the first heat of OB when they were recalled to the pits. The constant wind pressure on the barges had dislodged several and they began to drift onto the race course.

    More than an hour later we were still waiting. Someone had brought a caravan to a spot next to the pits where we waited it out. Left to right are Harry Splettstosser, Debbie and Hans Krage. Mechanics and helpers were allowed to drink beer and schhnapps in the pits. Debbie and I chowed down on bratwurst and grog.
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  6. #136
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    The second heat of OD went off as scheduled at 11:25 but all other heats were postponed until 2:00.

    Wilfried Weiland was first across the starting line with Erwin Zimmerman chasing him. Hans Krage's motor wouldn't start right up so he was 20-30 seconds late. Erwin went into the lead on the back straight of the first lap and led the rest of the way. Jorg Lipinski was catching up to Wilfried until Lap 3 when his motor quit. Pip Willy finished 3rd. Hans was 5th or 6th. I didn't write down how Helmut Buschorn or #30 finished. The program didn't have a few of the names or numbers.
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  7. #137
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    The third heat started on time. Erwin Zimmerman didn't. He had trouble getting started and was out of position when the one minute gun fired. Jorg Lipinski did a snap turn around the safety bouy at the start and flipped. Wilfried Weiland led from the white flag to the checkered. Hans Krage finished second. Pip Willy and #28 battled for third most of the race with Willy Douglas finally coming out on top. In spite of a half a lap deficit Erwin was able to move up to 5th at the end.

    Just prior to the start of the third heat, Pip Willy had to set up his little table with a vase and a flower and have a cuppa tea.

    Karl Bartel told me not to pay any attention to the racers that were criticizing me for not racing. I didn't even know they were, but I told him it didn't bother me. I had sat out races before, and would again rather than getting hurt. Karl said all my friends backed my decision and it was only those who didn't know me that were being critical. Karl himself had lost a spleen when he stuffed a proprider some years back. He said the smart thing to do was sit on the bank. I knew I wasn't going to risk losing another year or worse.
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  8. #138
    David Weaver David Weaver's Avatar
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    Default What in the....??

    Quote Originally Posted by Master Oil Racing Team View Post
    The third heat started on time. Erwin Zimmerman didn't. He had trouble getting started and was out of position when the one minute gun fired. Jorg Lipinski did a snap turn around the safety bouy at the start and flipped. Wilfried Weiland led from the white flag to the checkered. Hans Krage finished second. Pip Willy and #28 battled for third most of the race with Willy Douglas finally coming out on top. In spite of a half a lap deficit Erwin was able to move up to 5th at the end.

    Just prior to the start of the third heat, Pip Willy had to set up his little table with a vase and a flower and have a cuppa tea.

    Karl Bartel told me not to pay any attention to the racers that were criticizing me for not racing. I didn't even know they were, but I told him it didn't bother me. I had sat out races before, and would again rather than getting hurt. Karl said all my friends backed my decision and it was only those who didn't know me that were being critical. Karl himself had lost a spleen when he stuffed a proprider some years back. He said the smart thing to do was sit on the bank. I knew I wasn't going to risk losing another year or worse.
    Wayne,

    In the second photo there is a bass boat on the course!! I did not realize that they have large mouth bass in Germany??

    Must have been quite a variety of racing craft. I did not realize that the 'cats" were in such numbers at this time.

  9. #139
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    I don't know about bass David, but they have a lot of eels. Eel soup is good for your health. It has so many bones it burns calories picking them out, then it takes so long to eat you finally lose your hunger.

    1978 was the first time I had seen cats in abundance in classes below OE. But I think it had more to do with the rough water this time, because in 1979 at Linz, the water was not as bad and there were fewer. Back then Wilfried Weiland was having great success with his though. He was sponsored here by Shuh Ski, then the following year by Citizen Quartz and he was giving them a good ride for their money. The "bass boat" I believe was Ernst Kozienski's. He shipped that boat to Texas in 1980 and gave it to Joe Rome.



  10. #140
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    Me and Hans Krage wasting film. "PiP" Willy Douglas always had some bloody bs stories. I would have loved to have seen a match up between him and Russ Hill.

    Here is the "Bass" boat. With the wide angle lens it looks like a ballistic torpedo launcher.

    I always think about toes when I see the Europeans fire their motors up on the docks. I guess now they have to have guards.

    The last pic better shows the water conditions than some of the racing pics.
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