2010 Popra Schedule

[Baja Fresh]

Someone put a solid gold roof on their building huh?!

I wish! A new aluminum trailer is on the wish list before any power upgrades. I am working on a deal for a roof over 2.5 million square feet though. That might put me in a new TS/TG!


Hey, if you get free on Saturday, a bunch of the ski race guys are doing a fun run/polar bear run to the island and back with lunch at Yardhouse after. I'm going to try to make it up. Give me a shout if you're around.

I saw that. I'd love to go but we just moved into a new house and have new furniture coming. I got a bunch of other crap to do too so no play time for me.

I do want to get a couple runs in before I do any racing this year. Still would like to get the external steering installed as well.

Hope you guys have fun and stay safe!

[shifter]

quick notes from popra bod meeting.

Dana Point several laps in front of Doheeny State Beach, parallel to PCH both Saturday and Sunday.

Havasu race looks like it will be fun with the speed runs then the race on Sunday. Good for race fans with a center of the action seat in the middle of the course... details coming.

anyone interested in helping out at the races being a patrol boat or corner boat let me know. We need lots of help to put the races on...

pat W

[imco offshore]

He is gonna need every bit of that if he is plannin on racing Miklos to Bimini and back.

your right, it,s going to be close,,we,ll be comming back on fumes,

[Dude! Sweet!]

quick notes from popra bod meeting.

Dana Point several laps in front of Doheeny State Beach, parallel to PCH both Saturday and Sunday.

Havasu race looks like it will be fun with the speed runs then the race on Sunday. Good for race fans with a center of the action seat in the middle of the course... details coming.

anyone interested in helping out at the races being a patrol boat or corner boat let me know. We need lots of help to put the races on...

pat W

Awesome. Thanks Pat. I'm really looking forward to the Dana Point race!

[shifter]

I need to add if anyone is interested in racing with Popra this season or next to contact me or someone with popra to get more info on classes and events.

I know now that it has been difficult to approach some members but there is a new group of people in Popra and we are trying to make it a fun weekend and good group of people to be involved with.

This is also an open invite to all of you to see what changes should be made to get more racers out there.

pat W

[Hot for Teacher]

Sounds great Pat..... we might be able to be in Sean's class....
Let us know when you have the approximate fee schedule so we can see what we can do....Looking forward to a great season.

[Dude! Sweet!]

Sounds great Pat..... we might be able to be in Sean's class....
Let us know when you have the approximate fee schedule so we can see what we can do....Looking forward to a great season.

C'mon Tom, you know me... I have no class!

[shifter]

Popra is busy working out the fees for this season. Tricky to say the least.

Tom/ Dude /Baja and future racers what would it take to see you run all the races??? We have some thoughts toward that I would like to see what you would want.

thanks,

pat W

[RACESDAD]

find me a ride, and i will be there

[Wazzup Racing]

Dana Point March 26-28 Tentative

Lake Havasu April 22-25

Long Beach July 15-18

San Diego September 24-26 Tentative

Salton Sea December 9-12

Dana Point is new this year. Looking at getting some of the Snowbirds to come down to play in the Pacific.

pat W

Team meeting today.......Road Trip. We'll be in Havasu. Let me know if you need any help Smitty

[Dude! Sweet!]

Popra is busy working out the fees for this season. Tricky to say the least.

Tom/ Dude /Baja and future racers what would it take to see you run all the races??? We have some thoughts toward that I would like to see what you would want.

thanks,

pat W

Hey Pat, I know I've mentioned this to you privately (and mentioned it when Troy called me as well) but I figure I might as well open this for group discussion... I think that POPRA should consider the apparent sucess that OPA has with their P class program and give some thought to mirroring OPA's methodologies where reasonable to do so. No need to reinvent the wheel if something works right?

I won't speak for Al (Baja Fresh) but he and I have talked a great deal about the differences between a low speed index P class program (P5 and P6) and a high speed index class (P1 - P3) or a "Pro" class (SV, SuperCat, SVL, etc.).

I feel like guys who run small single engine or stock power twin engine race boats in the low speed classes are looking for affordable, fun racing. I think a crush of fees, in the interest of "improving the product" is probably going to alienate little guys like me and push us to seek other alternatives to get our kicks in a race boat.

So, I may be thinking about this wrong, but seems to me that offshore boat racing is cursed by the fact that the "race track" is always open and available for use at no cost to the user (its not like going up and renting big Willow for a test day). Frankly, I can go out and "race" my boat against 3 or 4 other guys with similar boats and have a similar experience as I would have racing with POPRA as far as on water fun goes. Plus, I wouldn't void my boat's insurance policy and I wouldn't have to pay extra or risk voiding my life insurance policy. The mechanical and transport costs would be the same either way, but I wouldn't have to pay the "participation fees" to POPRA. If I were to "street race" I would be giving up (so it seems to me) the safety teams and the credibility of racing with an established organization. So, from a fee perspective, the cost has to equal the benefit in order to make racing a reasonable decision.

That said, I'm planning on running all the races this year if the participation cost is reasonable and managable and if we don't have any unforseen personal or mechanical failures.

I don't want to come off like a know-it-all. This is only my neophite's opinion. I've got no problem with being corrected or being educated as to why my opinion is a load of crap. Thats how we learn, right?

Thanks,

Sean

[shifter]

Smitty,

What are you bringing?

Let us know your schedule. Pretty cool of you guys to come all the way to play. It was a lot of fun last year. We need help 12oz at a time. Try to bring Augie so he can help cook.


Mikey,

Sell the engines and drives and put something in the boat to go after Qatar. I can get 800hp out of our smallblocks that we are running plus you know what we do with drives and transmissions. I am sure if you show I can get you in something.....



Dude,

I have been watching the orgs for a while now and what is lacking in the racing out here is sponsorship.

From what I see with OPA is leading the pack because of a strong base group of racers, support from the local powerboat clubs, and sponsorship.

To get a series sponsor you need boat count. To get the boat count you need a series sponsor to pay the entry or purse for the little guys. Right?

Catch 22.

The key is to get boats to go to all the races. Right now you cannot guarantee that the boats will show. Without a secure boat count no racesite.

I like the Hi Point Champion as a part of the series. It shows who won the war not just a battle.

pat W

[Wazzup Racing]

Smitty,

What are you bringing?

Let us know your schedule. Pretty cool of you guys to come all the way to play. It was a lot of fun last year. We need help 12oz at a time. Try to bring Augie so he can help cook.


Mikey,

Sell the engines and drives and put something in the boat to go after Qatar. I can get 800hp out of our smallblocks that we are running plus you know what we do with drives and transmissions. I am sure if you show I can get you in something.....



Dude,

I have been watching the orgs for a while now and what is lacking in the racing out here is sponsorship.

From what I see with OPA is leading the pack because of a strong base group of racers, support from the local powerboat clubs, and sponsorship.

To get a series sponsor you need boat count. To get the boat count you need a series sponsor to pay the entry or purse for the little guys. Right?

Catch 22.

The key is to get boats to go to all the races. Right now you cannot guarantee that the boats will show. Without a secure boat count no racesite.

I like the Hi Point Champion as a part of the series. It shows who won the war not just a battle.

pat W

Gonna bring the Fountain, Louie from Strictly Business is going to follow me out. As soon as he tells his wife. I'll make sure I bring Tatoo...I mean Augie Pat 6 years ago when we have 13 boats, It took a lot of support from a lot of great race teams to build the OPA to what it has become. But I still remember all the growing pains. Just a little payback. Smitty

[AugiePensa]

Hey Pat, Smitty conned me! He said you wanted me to taste your cooking! OK, I'll cook. My cousin Val is also coming, He'll ride with Louie The Rigger. Close the doors, here come The Jersey Boyz! Maybe we can get Vern to make an appearance?

[Dude! Sweet!]

Fair enough. I always struggle with the concept/viability of sponsorship in club level racing (which is sort of the analogy I draw to the low speed P classes), because I see club racing as racer centric and not fan/advertiser centric.

This is probably a question best discussed offline (and Pat if your around, and free I'm driving by your shop on my way home this afternoon, we could grab a beer and discuss) but I'm really curious to understand what the break out of expenses is to put an event on. I mean I know there's insurance and permits, I assume there's sanctioning fees, I assume that much of the administration of the event (registration, patrol, some rescue) is volunteer so probably have to cover food for those guys, rescue helicopter rental, ambulance coverage... I just don't know what that stuff really costs so it's hard for me to exrapolate that into reasonable fees. The only comparison I have is the cost of SCCA and NASA club racing.

Seriously, I'm not ball busting, I want to be educated on this stuff. I think if people really understand what goes into the cost, it makes it a lot easier to swallow. I was just saying to someone that if eveyone had to build one race engine for themselves, nobody would compain that they cost as much as they do... But everyone complains becuase nobody understands what really goes into it.

[Hot for Teacher]

Also to help keep the cost lower, only have a purse for the "war" and not each "battle"...hand out trophies for each battle....just a thought...

[Dude! Sweet!]

Also to help keep the cost lower, only have a purse for the "war" and not each "battle"...hand out trophies for each battle....just a thought...

Might be more inscentive to show up to all the races too...

[Baja Fresh]

Sean (Dude) and I have been discussing this as he said. We are both low buck "privateers' and maybe boat racing is really just a pipe dream for us.

However, we are both very enthusiastic about it. I'll speak for myself from here on out but I think a lot of it rings true for Sean too.

I don't have a sponsor and work a full time job. I do okay but don't make a lot of $ like some of the guys I know. I am trying to get my company to help with some of the expenses.

The biggest obstical in running a full schedule is time and money. I can run the local races (Dana, Rum Run, San Diego, Havasu) but traveling is tough. Holding races on Sundays makes it harder too. It's easier for me to take a Friday off and run up to say, Pittsburg, race on saturday and then drive home on Sunday (and clean and put away the boat). Having the Havasu race on Sunday is tough too. I drive over on Thursday morning and having the race on Sunday afternoon means that by the time I get the boat back on the trailer, get all packed up and get on the road to drive home it's going to be pretty late. I would probably rather drive back Monday so that's another day off work. I know it would be harder to rescheulde that race due to the poker run and shoot out but early Sunday morning would be better.

I understand that you have hard costs to put on a race. I also hear what you are saying about series sponsorship requires boat count and the catch 22. You asked what it would take to get me out there and run all the races. If we are talking about the schedule in your newsletter (very informative by the way) I think I could run them all but here are my personal issues. I don't know if others that might consider racing would have the same or not.

1. Entry fees are too high for me. I know you have the first time racer deal which is great for my first race but after that it gets a little pricey for me. If you could do a two level program, one for privateers and one for pros (wth sponsors) that would help out. Maybe some of the pro guys could help us out putting together a marketing package to go after sponsors. Maybe after running a full season and getting some good photos of the boat racing and other material would help too.

2. I know how to drive my boat but I don't have a co-driver, crew chief or even a crew. I'm sure I can race the boat by myself but I think a co-drive/navagator would help. Maybe I can talk my girlfriend into it. But getting help from you experienced guys, at least until the green flag drops, would be nice. I'm not going to beat anyone anyway so don't worry about "helping the competition"!

3. Team uniforms. I'm checking into this but getting a just few shirts made up is not cost effective. How strict are you on this? What constitutes a team uniform? Can I wear black shorts and a shirt with sew on patches of team name or do they have to be the fancy race shirts? I'd be willing to pitch in to get generac POPRA race team shirts that we could put our own patches on too. That way we could buy a buch of them and get better pricing.

4. I like the idea of group rates at hotels but a lot of the races are close enough that I could just drive home. I know you need to have a certain number of rooms to get the rates.

5. Risk. My insurance is not going to cover me if something happens to my boat. Because we are not on a track like auto racing the risk is less but something still could happen, epsecially on the circle courses were some really fast boats may (WILL) be lapping me. I know there is really nothing you can do about it but it is a factor for me (and you asked ).

One of the things I thought about was teaming up with another new racer to reduce costs. I talked to Sean about this but as most go fast boat owners know, we are a bunch of type A's and we want to race our own boats (plus you need boat count).

My boat is bone stock and is 10 MPH of the pace for P5. Rough water and navagation will be the only equlaizing factors for me (that and the lack of other bats in my class). I don't expect to be competative but I think it would be a load of fun. I'd like to see the organization be successful and have a bunch of boats out there racing.

Like I said, maybe it's really just a pipe dream for me but I'd like to give it my best shot. If I can get my boss to kick in some $ then a lot of issues will be resolved.

I'm thinking that a general POPRA meeting might be a good time for all of us to get together and discuss some of these issues. If not, I am willing (and sean is too) to discuss this with any board member.

[shifter]

General Popra Racers Meeting....

The last meeting we had was in Corona at a really good Mex restaurant. It is a happy medium for distance from everyone. Brad is up in Tahoe so he is hard to get to come down...but we can try. I will chase everyone that I know to make it a date and show up.

1st week in Feb??? Wed nite??


Thanks for the feedback on the racing part....I will pass on the info I am collecting to the group and see what they say.




Smitty, Louie, and Augie, Make sure you get there around Wednesday for the street party Thursday. Vern has a shop in Havasu now so we might have to lock you guys in to keep everyone safe.....I will cook for sure so bring an appetite and a clean liver.

pat W

[shifter]

January 22, 2010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Offshore Powerboat Racing is returning to Dana Point on March 27 and 28, 2010!
After a thirteen year hiatus, The Pacific Offshore Powerboat Racing Association (POPRA) will be lighting up the water off Doheny Beach. In association with RPM Racing Enterprises and the Dana Point Harbor, the POPRA members are campaigning their highly specialized race boats on a five mile lap course, just south of the Dana Point Harbor. Participating in the race, will be boats from 26 to 40 feet, with speeds upwards of 130 MPH. The race schedule includes two heat races on Saturday, March 27 and one final on Sunday, March 28. The dry pits are open to the public where the boats can be viewed up close and the drivers and crews will answer questions from the fans. The National Anthem will be performed at 11:00AM on Sunday by a local High School band followed by the call to “Start Your Engines” by a local dignitary.
There will be a personal watercraft race from Dana Point to Avalon on Catalina Island on Sunday morning as well. The PWC race will take off at 8 AM from the Dana Point harbor. There will be participation from the merchants and vendor booths at the Harbor area, making the event a fun day for all members of the family.
The Pacific Offshore Powerboat Racing Association is the oldest offshore powerboat racing organization in the world. POPRA was incorporated in 1966 by the late Bob Nordskog, known around the world as the “Grandfather of Offshore Powerboat Racing”. POPRA is an affiliate of the American Powerboat Racing Association, the oldest recognized sanctioning body for boat racing, in the United States. The production of a POPRA race has a significant impact on the economy of the cities they visit in terms of tourist dollars in hotel, restaurant and retail sales, from the racers and fans. POPRA draws participants from all over the United States and has produced races at race sites all over the west coast in cities such as Dana Point, Long Beach, San Diego, Lake Havasu, Oceanside, Benecia, Pittsburg, Ventura, San Francisco and Las Vegas (Lake Mead). Please visit www.pacificoffshore.com for more information on POPRA and their 2010 schedule.
Event Contacts:
Scott Arden, POPRA Director of Safety
(562) 755-8732

Brad Johnson, POPRA President
(530) 525-1638

Ross Wallach, RPM Racing Enterprises
(310) 318-4012