• Racing and Poker Runs

    Published on 02-20-2012 11:43 PM
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    1. Racing and Poker Runs
    2. On The Water News
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    by Serious Offshore



    Closing out our 11 from 2011, our number one story is the unprecedented number of mishaps and the tragic loss of three competitors occurring during the Key West World’s. Nothing hits any closer to home nor any harder than the tragic passing of friends. We wish this story wasn’t being written. For now we can only hope it doesn’t have to be written again sometime in the near future.



    We’re not qualified to speculate on the root cause or causes ...
    Published on 02-18-2012 11:46 PM
    Categories:
    1. Racing and Poker Runs
    2. On The Water News
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    by Serious Offshore



    Our choice for the number two story of 2011 finds us in the courtroom instead of on the water.
    It seems that there’s always some piece of litigation floating around the world of powerboating. Litigation is a fact of life in our present times. No industry or group of people is immune. We’ll leave the discussion of why this trend is curving upward for another time, but for now let’s take a look at some recent events.
    Over the last few years we’ve all read about various ...
    Published on 02-16-2012 11:50 PM
    Categories:
    1. Racing and Poker Runs
    2. Manufacturers and Dealers
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    by Serious Offshore



    One word. Reggie.
    No single name in this industry so rapidly conjures up such a wide variety of mental images and recollections at its mere mention. And you’ll never hear someone ask “which Reggie”.



    The saga of Reggie Fountain and his endeavors, past, present and future, is our number four story for 2011. While Reggie cuts a wide swath each and every year, 2011 will go down as one of his most dramatic yet.

    No story about Reggie Fountain is complete without at least a small glance to the past. A champion powerboat racer, Reggie founded Fountain Powerboats over three decades ago and swiftly gained a worldwide ...
    Published on 02-15-2012 11:53 PM
    Categories:
    1. Racing and Poker Runs
    2. Manufacturers and Dealers
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    by Serious Offshore



    In March of 2011 Powerboat P1 announced that the Liberty Associates production facility in North Carolina was in full production on the new 28SS Panther. For those of you that may not immediately recognize the Liberty name, this was the group in possession of the ex-Fountain production facility. The race sites announced were being led by the Madison Indiana joint venture with the Unlimited Hydroplanes. The second race for the series would be at the Detroit Gold Cup races, with the winner hoisting the Gar Wood trophy. Then in August, there would be a race in Morehead City, followed by an event in Huston, and finally ...
    Published on 02-11-2012 11:57 PM
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    1. Racing and Poker Runs
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    by Serious Offshore



    In the world of racing, one of the most anticipated stories at the beginning of 2011 was coming from the Super Vee Light class. A large group of SVL owners had pulled together in 2010 and joined forces, assembling unofficial association of like-minded SVL owners. At the beginning of that season it looked like they just might have a shot at pulling it off, with 9 boats participating in the season opener and large turnouts through the first half of the year. But putting something like this together is easier than keeping it together.

    It’s of no surprise that when you fill a room full of Type-A personalities for ...
    Published on 02-09-2012 12:07 AM
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    1. Racing and Poker Runs
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    by Serious Offshore



    No list of the top events of any year in this sport would be complete without the inclusion of the topic of racing. In the best of years there are no shortages of points of contention to be found in the stories coming out of the competition side of our sport. The 2011 season will certainly be one that’s remembered.

    Two events that particularly caught our attention in this past year were the rules changes in the class rules of Cat Lite (Super Cat), and Class 4 and the loss of race dates on the OSS calendar.



    Cat Light and the formerClass 4 two classes that have always been quite popular ...
    Published on 02-07-2012 12:09 AM
    Categories:
    1. Racing and Poker Runs
    2. Clubs and Destinations
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    by Serious Offshore



    2011 was an “interesting” year for performance boating events across the country. Of all of them, the NPBA-sponsored Aronow Memorial race ranks pretty high up on the interesting scale. After a twenty-one year hiatus, the Around Long Island Marathon quickly became one of the most anticipated events of 2010.

    The significance of this race is most likely best represented by the list of its former winners. That list includes Sam Griffith, Jim Wynne, Odell Lewis, Alan “Brownie” Brown and Dick Genth as well as the team of Bill Sirois and Fred Kiekhaefer.

    The resurrection of this iconic race was the result of the efforts of NPBA’s Billy Frenz and HORBA ...
    Published on 11-24-2011 12:15 AM
    Categories:
    1. Racing and Poker Runs
    2. Historical
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    by serious offshore


    Photos of Entire Sequence of the Stuff http://seriousoffshore.com/forums/sh...light=warpaint

    Looking at the photo sequence of the Warpaint crash in Key West brought back memories of an almost identical crash twenty-four years ago. Both crashes involved the Apache cat. Both crashes involved a virtually identical trip and stuff. And in both events, the crews fortunately survived the impact. In the most recent, the canopy was severely damaged. In the 1986 crash, the brunt of the damage was borne by the skull of legendary throttleman and boatbuilder Bobby Saccenti.
    We sat down with Bobby and discussed the boats, the design and the circumstances behind these crashes. In typical Saccenti fashion, he walked through the events of his crash as if it were nothing more than a stubbed toe. Becoming a living legend isn’t for the meek. ...
    Published on 11-17-2011 12:24 AM
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    1. Racing and Poker Runs
    2. On The Water News
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    by serious offshore


    A memorial service for Bob Morgan and Jeff Tillman will be held this saturday. The service is being held in the Arrowhead Ballroom at Port Arrowhead Resort in Lake Ozark.
    The service is scheduled to begin at Noon and run until 6 PM.

    For those wishing to attend, directions are available on the resort’s website-
    http://www.theresortatportarrowhead.com ...
    Published on 11-13-2011 12:28 AM
    Categories:
    1. Racing and Poker Runs
    2. On The Water News
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    by Serious Offshore


    A group of boaters from the Key West poker run assembed an impromptu tribute this morning that was halted by the Coast Guard. In a report from the course, the boaters planned a three-lap tribute run, one lap for each of the fallen racers. The run was taking place after the completion of today’s first race. Approximately one lap in, the Coast guard moved a 100-foot cutter and two smaller ...
    Published on 11-13-2011 12:26 AM
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    1. Racing and Poker Runs
    2. On The Water News
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    by Serious Offshore

    Team Warpaint


    UPDATE -
    Driver Bob Vesper and throttleman Danny Crank were successfully removed from the boat. Vesper emerged from the crash relatively unscathed. Crank was conscious and talking. He has been transported to Miami for medical treatment. According to our people on-site, the boat’s canopy suffered significant damage. Team Warpaint respectfully requests that individuals refrain from ...
    Published on 11-12-2011 12:29 AM
    Categories:
    1. Racing and Poker Runs
    2. Clubs and Destinations
    3. Historical
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    by Joe Offshore


    Don Johnson

    At 23 I accompanied a friend to the races at Key West. Awe can’t even begin to describe what I felt as we explored the race camps in Mallory Square. New boats, old ones, wooden, glass and aluminum ones were arranged casually about. Crated engines bagged and ready to be installed for the next day’s race. Engines going in and out, grinders spinning and wrenching in every direction. The sounds of engines running filled the air and seldom stopped. Boats from ...
    Published on 11-10-2011 12:46 AM
    Categories:
    1. Racing and Poker Runs
    2. Historical
    3. On The Water News
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    by Serious Offshore



    Joe Offshore
    We all know him.
    He’s that guy. Been there, done that, got the shirt.

    In reality Joe Offshore is a little bit of many people in this sport. He’s an enthusiast, he’s a boater, he’s an industry guy and alot of times he’s a racer. And sometimes… well, you know.

    How many times have you heard the line? “I’d tell you but some of these people are still alive.” For our purposes, ...
    Published on 11-10-2011 12:38 AM
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    1. Racing and Poker Runs
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    by Serious Offshore



    There are many descriptions for this class of race boat around the world. In the Middle East it’s X Cat. In Australia and New Zealand they’re called Superboat Lite. In the US we call them Superboat Stock. But no matter where in the world they are, they run by the same rules; 2.5 Liter Mercury Outboards at about 280HP; 28 to 32 feet, twin hulled, closed cockpit, carbon fiber, catamarans. The longer boats carry more minimum weight to offset the improved lift and handling ...
    Published on 11-10-2011 12:33 AM
    Categories:
    1. Racing and Poker Runs
    2. On The Water News
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    by Paul "Ratickle" Rose



    As many of you know, one of my favorite classes is SVL. There are a couple of reasons, including the camaraderie of the class and the competitiveness of the boats and teams. These teams will race to win during the day, and have dinner together at night. The part that amazes me is that during the dinner they will not only share the usual stories (fibs?), about how they happened to be better or worse than the other boats, they will also share items that may have helped them win or place on the podium. ...
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