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The Vintage family wishes fellow member and all around great guy, Carl Wilson a speedy recovery from his recent surgery. He has been released from the hospital and is now at home with his wife, Becky. Carl, a veteran driver from his 280 and GP racing days, has dazzled the crowds at APBA Vintage shows with expert handling of his restored 225 Lauterbach hydro, TIGER, N-72. BILL JOHN III REPORT First of all, I want to publicly thank Lorrie Baird for her superb article in the Weirs Times. Our beloved vintage race boats from NH made the front page, and Lorrie again managed to capture the excitement and spirit of the Clayton vintage race boat regatta. A special thank you also goes out to Marv Hart and his crew for another well run Clayton Antique Race Boat Regatta. The Clayton Regatta began with a Drivers’ Clinic for drivers and riding mechanics. This was the first time such a clinic was offered at an APBA Vintage Race Boat Regatta. Intended for new drivers to help acquaint them with the course, this Clinic was well attended by both new and experienced drivers and riding mechanics. Marv Hart has worked a long time to develop this much needed Clinic, and we will repeat this session at Wolfeboro next year. Here is the link for lots and lots of Clayton photos: http://www.vintageraceboatshop.com/Clayton2006Photos.htm We are busy in the shop - thrashing on MY PRECIOUS – getting ready to rock & roll. Only a few minor items to secure on the boat after our debut at Clayton, but the trailer required some major repairs. The wrong style lug nuts were installed on the trailer wheels, and caused the studs to actually wear and oblong the mounting holes on the wheels. One stud actually broke off on our trek to Clayton and we almost lost the entire wheel, trailer and potentially the boat. No problem, The Obsession Boys fixed it – one new wheel, one new hub and tire. And on a personal note – my friend Carl Wilson is doing well after undergoing major surgery on Monday, and is now resting well. According to Jacq Bertolini, Carl has been moved out of ICU to a regular room, has no more IV's, and has 61 staples in his head. When he was moved into his room the nurse asked him if he wanted to know how many, and she actually counted them for him. They are in a nice horse shoe shape. Wheeling was a great APBA event on Labor Day weekend, on the Ohio River in downtown Wheeling, WV. Officially called the "Wheeling Vintage Raceboat Regatta", safety inspections and registration were on Saturday, along with a meet-and-greet for the public. Because of the weather, dinner was held inside followed by a public showing (big-screen!) of the movie "Madison." The mandatory drivers meeting was held on Sunday morning, and then we ran vintage exhibitions heats all day long on Sunday. This was our first event at Wheeling, and plans are already underway for next year - so mark your calendar and start making plans for Labor Day – 2007! Here is the link for lots of photos: http://www.vintageraceboatshop.com/Wheeling2006Photos.htm And the past came come alive when the vintage race boats of bygone eras returned to the Buffalo Launch Club to participate in a special vintage race boat program. The beautiful vintage boats started arriving on Friday morning, Sept 8th with registration and APBA vintage safety inspections during the day, followed with the now famous free "Pit Pass Party" at the Launch Club. The Vintage boats were on display on Saturday and ran demonstration laps on the historic BLC race course all day long, and the sights and sounds were spectacular. And perhaps the highlight – Tom Bertolini presented with the Bob Schroeder/Schenley Award, well deserved recognition from his peers, for sound and consistent leadership of our beloved APBA V&H Division. Here is the link to lots of photos: http://www.vintageraceboatshop.com/Buffalo2006Photos.htm And congratulations to Gerri Prusko for hauling her Jersey Speed Skiff all the way to Clayton, Wheeling and Buffalo and running all the skiff heats. Her diving skills and fear-limits are improving rapidly, and we pretty much ran with the pack at Buffalo. Congratulations also to the newest members of our APBA vintage group, Bob Mueller and Tiffany Shea for hauling their Jersey Speed Skiff to Clayton and Buffalo. They are having a ball with their new/replica Jersey Speed Skiff. ON A SAD NOTE:
BOB SILVA’S WEST COAST REPORT:
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