CORRECTION:
We want to thank Carter Parrish for bringing to our attention that the File hulls that were built out of Baltimore, MD were built by Jim File not Joe.

CHALLENGES:
Jeff Grigg tells us that E. Milner Irving III can be contacted at Riverside Electric of Miami, FL (305) 642-3520 

EVENTS:
January 31 - Feb 2, 2002 Seattle, WA APBA National meeting at the Crowne Plaza Hotel. Make your plans to attend the Vintage meeting. This will be a planning session for next year’s events. For the first time APBA Vintage and Historic Performance awards will be given out at the APBA Awards Banquet. This should be a must on your things to do calendar.

ON A SAD NOTE:
From Art McDougall “We have just been advised that George Loeb passed away on September 9th. He was another great 48 ci hydro racing friend. Grace and I will both miss him.”

REPORTS:
Hampton, VA. A tip of the hat goes out to Buddy Roper and Jerry Glass for spearheading the V & H East Coast Racers Reunion. There was no doubt that all in attendance had a great time at Friday night’s cocktail pit-party. For their first time event this was a tremendous success with an attendance of approximately 300 former owners, drivers, crewmembers, V & H members and families. The Virginia Vintage Raceboat Group gave out awards for historic contributions to Inboard Powerboat racing greats of the Eastern Shore. Recipients were Rodney Brogden, Buddy Roper and Henry Lauterbach. We send out a special thanks to the Hill’s Point Gang of Cambridge, MD for making this event even more special. They were there in force to keep the memory alive of Skeeter Johnson, one of greatest inboard drivers ever. On a personal note I very much enjoyed my conversations with many former racers. Men and women that I raced against in the 60s, 70s and 80s we shared memories. Converations flowed about some famous names of the past, such as Ronnie Hern and his Miss Peaches, Rudy Gurlie and his many Ruddie’s Comets, Shorty Hogart and Shorty’s Lauterbach Special. Shorty sold me my first Lauterbach 150 hydro. 
Obviously running these vintage hydros and skiffs on the famous Hampton Racecourse was the Highlight. I ran the Wa Wa Too F-247 on Friday afternoon in a shakedown run. So that everything was ready for Henry Lauterbach’s run on Saturday. Henry is 82 years young and what a thrill it was for the fans and me personally to finally see Henry run the boat he last raced in 1959! The memories going thru his mind had to be incredible! I want to thank Terry Hoffman, Kathy Shuler, Bill and Judy Fisk for crewing like troupers for me thru out the rainstorm. 
 Another highlight was seeing the John Morsheimer’s beautifully restored 280 The Last Farmer. John left early on Sunday to take the boat back to the Richmond, VA boat shop where it was built, specifically to have Will Farmer the designer and builder autograph the deck of this last Farmer raceboat. Will Farmer JR wrote “When Henry walked up on the dock on Saturday after the rain delay and I explained that Dad didn’t feel well enough to make the trip, Henry said, “Tell him since “The Last Farmer” is here, we could run together on Sunday.” The Wa Wa is beautiful. There is no way to describe the feeling I had in seeing Henry back in it.”
 Jim Thompson from Horsham, PA brought the Mystery Boat in it’s unrestored condition to the Hampton pits. Thanks to Steve Jones and Chuck Woodruff the raceboat has been identified as the Miss Miami, 266 ci. hydroplane. Ray Maloney from Key West, FL brought his Go Go Girl 280. Chris Hall of Hampton brought out the newly restored Blue Water Special. Cecil Sooy brought down for us to enjoy Dick’s last Sooy 280 hydroplane Double Eagle. The boat, motor, trailer is ready to go and is for sale at a bargain price, contact Cecil at (609) 625-5151 or email DixceeEagle@aol.com

COMMENTARY: 
It is a sad state when you cannot leave items in the inboard pit area without worrying about them being stolen. Our Vintage & Historic APBA Banner (paid for out of the APBA small Vintage budget) welcoming Race Fans was stolen at the Hampton Saturday night Inboard Pit Party. The sign is easily identifiable as it has a APBA logo and Gold Cup on it. Obviously someone liked the banner well enough to remove it without permission. We asked for its return at the Inboard Driver’s meeting on Sunday morning. It was not returned. This banner was intended for the enjoyment of all the fans, not just one person. If any APBA’s members have seen this banner, please let us know. The banner’s value was $100. We would like it returned as we use this banner at other vintage events.

BOB SILVA’S WEST COAST REPORT: 
Ron Morrison of Vancouver, WA is the owner of one of the last Ron Jones built conventional limited hydros. The hull is a copy of the TIGER; S-86 raced by Californian, Harry Schneider during the 1961-62 seasons in the 136/145 class. The hull minus engine, cowlings and prop was sold to a Scandinavian boat racer and shipped overseas. Schneider, soon after, took delivery of a brand new cabover, one of the very first built by Jones. The TIGER TOO, N-86 gathered a lot of attention after smashing the 225 class competition record and was the beginning of the cabover revolution in the limited ranks.
Morrison was able to acquire the original V8-60, cowlings and prop to go along with the conventional hull he’s now restoring as the 136 ci, TIGER, S-86. Ron is hoping someone can provide photographs and other detailed information so he can finish the vintage hull, which is about 80 percent complete. His # 360-576-5819 and email: rmorris@pacifier.com

Photo caption: 
At his Richmond, VA shop, the legendary designer/builder Will Farmer autographing the deck of John Morsheimer’s E-150, The Last Farmer.

Photo caption:
Hampton, VA 2001. Henry in the cockpit. “The smile on his face says it all.” After 46 years, designer/driver/builder Henry Lauterbach is reunited with his 1955 Orange Bowl Grand Prix winning 266 ci hydroplane.

©2001 Tom D'Eath