Swimming at a race site

[MOBILEMERCMAN]

Ugly is when the first thing you see is the boat upside down whistling at you as it is sinking.

Or you swim to your buddy at see if hes OK and luckily he is. Then you notice the boat is ready to sink. Results of a first turn mishap.

Or when you steer the boat over to a buddy who landed in the water and you are unable to help him into the boat because your all busted up.

Then there are the lucky near misses when a bad hop lands you in the boat across your co drivers lap. Or you throttle buddy lands on the throttles holding them wide open as the boat launches again.

Racing is fun, I have been lucky, learned a lot of tough lessons, have survived my self, and am better for the experiences.

Cool and confident is good, fearless I think is foolish.

Safe boating. Things happen in an instant, always pay attention and remember nobody is exempt from misfortune.

*Seems in hind site this should have been in the safe boating forum.

[Racegirl3]

No more of these please

[MOBILEMERCMAN]

I'll have to scan my swimming pic from St. Pete in '99. Atleast our boat landed right side up.

The way I figure it is, if you race hard and push the limits you eventually take a swim.

[THEJOKER]

I'll have to scan my swimming pic from St. Pete in '99. Atleast our boat landed right side up.

The way I figure it is, if you race hard and push the limits you eventually take a swim.


Hey we are 1999 St Pete swimming partners-haha. You dunked w/ Sanborn on the Richy Rich challenge?

[Chris]

...or if someone turns into you.

[THEJOKER]

...or if someone turns into you.

I had Turmel beat in 2001 in KW in a 30 ft Phantom. I was so damn excited I missed the turn after the back straight away. Hell I was going to Lauderdale I guess.

[MOBILEMERCMAN]

Yep, First turn swim meet. Dick Simon's wake got full credit. I kept telling Dee that year I was tired of third place. I pushed that thing way past its limitations many times until that day I pushed it too far. Jamie Russell caught it I'll scan and share soon.
I was lucky we weren't killed that day. The picture show boats running around where we were.

[THEJOKER]

Yea that was one fast beak boat!

[MOBILEMERCMAN]

I had Turmel beat in 2001 in KW in a 30 ft Phantom. I was so damn excited I missed the turn after the back straight away. Hell I was going to Lauderdale I guess.

I took turn one wide in '01. I caught so much flack. Todd told everyone I was headed to Cuba. I just liked sweeping that turn. I lot of bad things have happened two hops east of turn one.

[glassdave]

The way I figure it is, if you race hard and push the limits you eventually take a swim.


yep . . . St.Clair last year. it's one of those things ya know is coming . . . just gotta get it behind ya. i was actually relieved after this one, figured i'd got it out of my system

[Racegirl3]

...or if someone turns into you.

Ya ... that hurts

[THEJOKER]

Ya ... that hurts

yikes!

[glassdave]

yikes!

Ditto on that one. :eek:


Destin 06 . . . almost swimm'in (note the strake we blew off the bottom) Both hatches also blew off and we believe ended up in Cube :D

another great sharkey pic

[Expensive Date]

I'll have to scan my swimming pic from St. Pete in '99. Atleast our boat landed right side up.

The way I figure it is, if you race hard and push the limits you eventually take a swim.

Were you driving with Martin on the throttles?

[THEJOKER]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rpn-9XYScik Check out 2 minutes 14 seconds. My Pantera friends used my ejection on their promo. They are great guy's.

[MOBILEMERCMAN]

Yes, we ran it after Mike A returned it. Martin and I finished third all year. It had already pitched others out of it. I believe the weight center was high and fwd compared the next lightning built Parts Runner. I raced that one as well.

As far as the swim meet I was lucky Martin had his left arm pinned I only bruised my right arm. It was my fault I was forcing the boat to do what it didn't want to.

I will post the pictures later today.

Its crazy how two boats can by built the same and run and feel different.
I ran the 38 Fever Matco/Fountain and the Another Fountain with Martin.
The first was awesome the second was different, I think its balance center as a little aft of the first.
And again the two Lightnings Parts Runner and Mastry were very different. I think they were consecutive boats too.

[Expensive Date]

Jim were you with Martin at the Matco show in Orlando 98.He had the boat you ran and Reggies boat.I have pictures somewhere if I find them I will post.
Tim

[MOBILEMERCMAN]

Tim,
I was not there in '98 I crewed V-76 for APBA and SBI that season. Martin and I became friends during the course of that year. I first drove for him in the Bahamas. Then Biloxi and Key West. I am curious was Reggie's the big Cat?

[MOBILEMERCMAN]

Well it only seems fair I show my bad day. These photos were taken by Jamie Russell

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[MOBILEMERCMAN]

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[Expensive Date]

Tim,
I was not there in '98 I crewed V-76 for APBA and SBI that season. Martin and I became friends during the course of that year. I first drove for him in the Bahamas. Then Biloxi and Key West. I am curious was Reggie's the big Cat?

It was a vee, was black if I remember correctly will try to find the picture this weekend.

[MOBILEMERCMAN]

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We didn't spin out. Reggie was in a copter and described it as corkscrew. The boat was always pointed forward. Richie Rich said he saw us fallout of the boat when it was 10 in the air upside down. It snap rolled so hard it broke Martins upper arm, bruised my upper arm so that it swelled the size of my thigh. The boat carried enough rotating momentum that it rolled right side up and came to rest pretty near where I had pointed it. After checking to see Martin was OK I swam to the boat, climbed in, assured it was pumping, secured a tow line and then surrendered to the rescue personnel. It was bad enough we were swimming, but I had to make sure the boat didn't sink as well.

Again, Martin and I were very lucky that day.

[THEJOKER]

St Pete was not offshore powerboat racing , it was the INDY 500!

[Expensive Date]

Jim Reggie's boat was white not black will post some pictures this weekend.Also on that roll were pictures of my then almost 2year old triplets it feels like that was a lifetime ago.Were is that 38 now?

[MOBILEMERCMAN]

The 38 fever was sold in '99. Raced thru '03. There are pix in my website. click race whore below. I has lucky to continue to race it a full season in '00 and the worlds in '01 and '03. The same owner added an interior from Fountain and he pleasure/poker runs it.

[RACESDAD]

we watched, mike a wouldnt let our newly rigged 36 skater run that year. we spent 7 weeks at lake x after that week in st pete..
you know what the old girl did the next year.! win, win, win, win,!!!!!!!!!:26:

[catmando]

Tim,
I was not there in '98 I crewed V-76 for APBA and SBI that season. Martin and I became friends during the course of that year. I first drove for him in the Bahamas. Then Biloxi and Key West. I am curious was Reggie's the big Cat?Reggie had a 46Skater he called the Big Red Sled. I saw it in the back lot of Fountain in 2005 when I went to pick up the Carlson I bought from Sanborn. I think he put some bigazz diesels in it and had a lot of trouble getting it on plane, maybe needed multispeed transmissions?

[Ryan Beckley]

The red boat WAS NOT a Skater it was an FB design , formerly the Ugland Group....

[MOBILEMERCMAN]

Good catch Ryan. I have never heard of a Skater called a sled.

[Ron P]

I swam. Damn glad they made us do the dunker.