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.