Dick & David Sooy
1953
 

Susan, Dick & David Sooy

 Sponsons, A Great Place to Hide Easter Eggs

Being Dick Sooy’s daughter made life anything but ordinary. In the 1950’s Dad and Mom bought a boat yard just across the bay from Atlantic City at the Jersey Shore.  That’s where we lived.  I call it a boat yard because that’s truly all it was.  Just a couple of buildings on a lot that was at the base of a bridge and surrounded by water on two sides.  Mom and Dad rented boats and sold bait in the summer months while Dad tried to get the race boat business off the ground.  The boat yard was a business, but to my brother Dave and me it was our personal adventure land that was filled with exciting people, fast boats, the back bay and most importantly it was our home.  We loved it.  The main building included the retail store, dad’s race boat workshop and our house.  Dad built the house on pilings over the water connecting it to his shop.  You had to walk thru the shop in order to get into our house. That made the shop our family room and the race boats were a part of our lives until they were delivered.  Dad spent his days working the boat yard and his evenings working in that shop. My brother and I would be in the shop with him until the local guys stopped by to hang out.  I can remember him letting me set the deck screws in the holes with my chubby little fingers waiting for him to come behind me and finish the job.
It was Easter time and Mom always tried to make things special for Dave and me on the holidays.  She would hide our Easter Baskets.  We had a great time running around that little house trying to find them.  One year in particular, I remember having an Easter egg hunt and it was in Dad’s shop! That meant that Dad was in on it. There was a hydro in the shop almost ready for delivery.  It had the old style open sponsons. We called them “wet sponsons”. I remember finding those pretty little dyed Easter eggs inside those sponsons and thinking that my Dad was a genius for hiding them there!  I don’t know whose boat that was.  I doubt that they knew that their race boat had been part of an Easter Egg hunt for the Sooy kids. But I am thankful for those boats being a part of our lives and I can’t tell you how special the boats and their owners were to all of us. 
Wishing you all a Happy Easter,
Susan Sooy Elkins and Family
 

David & Dick Sooy
 

Double Eagle T-777
Susan Sooy
 
 

Double Eagle T-777
Susan Sooy
 
 

Double Eagle T-777
Susan Sooy
The above 3 photos are from 1974 - 1976

We all ran boats with the same name. Dad had the 7-litre and Dave ran the 280. I actually had 3 boats in a very short time. 
That's what happens when your Dad is a boat builder and somebody wants to buy one.  He would sell mine and build me a new and better one.

I was US-1 National High Point Champion in 1976. Dad was also High Point Champion for that year and Dave was #2 in the highly competitive 280 class. 
Region 3 awarded us “Family of the Year” instead of the usual “Man of the Year” trophy. That was very special to us. We were living the high life. 
Dave was 25 and was working full time with my Dad building hydros and I was 22. 
We were old enough to appreciate the talent and dedication of our Dad.  Little did we know that our world was about to change. 
Dave was killed in his race boat at the Orange Bowl Regatta held at the Miami Marine Stadium in Florida in January of 1977.

© 2006 - 2009 Susan Sooy Elkins
 

Ginger 'B' too
  If you look at the pic of the boat running, the tail fin is not there and it seems to have a new paint job
The year had to be approx 1958 before Arnold sold it to Wes Carmen of Long Island, New York.
Ted Koopman photograph
 

Bill Block in Mist Maker E-109

I was visiting with the wife of Bill Block (Ruth) who still lives in Northfield, New Jersey. She said Bill built his boat from a Sooy design with Dick helping him along the way. As most of the racers did, he would work late almost every night in his small garage. As it turns out, Dick & Ceil Sooy and Ruth & Bill Block were friends, even before they were married. They always lived within miles of each other their entire lives. Even though Dick and Bill are both passed, Ruth and Ceil remain best of friends.

Ruth & Bill Block were long time members of the Winding River Boating Association.

Ruth was a score keeper on the starting line and Bill was not only a driver for his own boat and a few others, but was involved with the Safety Boat for Region III.

Cavalier Too E-351     &    Mist Maker E-109
 

Mist Maker E-109     &     Vagabond E-103
 

Ruth told me that after the death of Dave Sooy in his 280 at the Orange Bowl Regatta in 1977 (Dick & Ceil’s son), Bill retired from racing. 
Ruth soon followed and retired from score keeping at the Region III and IV races.
I want to thank Ruth for giving me some of her photos.
I told her that I would look forward to sharing her husband's past with the Vintage Hydro folks.
If anyone would like to share a story or would like to give a shout out to Ruth, just let me know, I would be happy to pass it on. 
You can contact me, Forrest & Susan (Sooy) Elkins at DblEagle2@Verizon.net