Waterford, Michigan

Quake On The Lake

July 19-20, 2008

J and Fae Report

 

"Quake on the Lake" is a major event. Each year this race feels like a special production carrying added significance due to the collaboration with the Rainbow Connection. Helping these special needs kids is a wonderful opportunity and shows that hydro racers have big hearts. The racing is fast and furious because of generally smooth water in a tree protected lake. As usual, several boats were right on top of records although none fell this year. If you like speed this is a great site. The Marine Prop Riders always do an excellent job promoting and executing this solid regatta.

 

Here are the J and Fae boat totals: (T-5) (Y-7) (S-9) (A-8) (E-9) (NM-1) (GNH-6) (Vintage-8) Total-53.

 

 T boats put on a good show led by Brandon Kennedy (T-1) Shameless Say What. This hull is absolutely “set up" running fast and consistently every week. Brandon has a fine touch allowing him to run smoothly and not scruff off speed at any point. He swept the four heats. John Shaw (T-5) Trophy Hunter and Alexis Weber (T-10) Flirtin With Disaster are flying as well. John (T-5) took a second Sunday and Alexis (T-10) garnered a second and a third. Shannon Black got a third in the Shaw's (T-11) My Mistake.

 

Y boats were about catching Jim Sechler's (Y-1) Fast Eddie 2. Sean Bowsher (Y-52) Casual Threat did the best job chasing Dan Kanfoush in that yaller blur. Sean is flying and he took two solid seconds but stopping the Fast Eddie may take an act of Congress (maybe a steroids investigation?) Doug Simpson (Y-126) Shattered Savings and Danny Walls driving Dave travelin, microphone man Archiable's (Y-91) Trafficade Knot Rod My Mistress took the thirds. Dave could be the next Letterman on the mike. Jeff Ayler was the usual "pro" on the main mic while Dave was a roving announcer. At any rate the Y boats were cool.

 

S boats had three solid favorites. They were Bobby Kennedy in Sam Horner's (S-88) Playin Again, Mark Johnson in Greg Barker's (S-9) Rewinders and Keith Anderson (S-17) Bad Habit. Saturday's final started with a ludicrous one mile per hour dredge to the line. What was that all about? The boats took off from the line charging down to corner one. Bobby (S-88) emerged on top and hung it out for five laps to take the title. Bobby's right foot must weigh thirty pounds. Keith (S-17) and Mark (S-9) followed him to the checkers. On Sunday Mark (S-9) turned the tables putting the (S-9) back to where it has been for years, first place. Here is a trivia question for you. Which family has the most trophies in 2.5 Stock, the Barkers or Willard Wilson? Back to the action, Bobby (S-88) and Keith (S-17) followed in a mega fast race. The

"Stockers" were quick!

 

E boats presented two boats carrying big National reputations. Joe Less driving Don Less' (E-500) Centsless 14 has been mixing it up with those crazy Canadian hulls this Summer and having a lot of success. Tommy Thompson in Donnie Thompson's (E-1) Batt Boat is always a major threat. Joe is from the Niagara Falls area and he must have felt right at home this weekend as several times he returned to the dock feeling like he was riding the famous "Maid of the Mist" You figure that one out for yourself. As expected Joe (E-500) and Tommy (E-1) both got a win this weekend in some wild heats. Tom English (E-75) Fat Chance 3 ran strong to two seconds as did John Jenkins (E-132) Merco Marine who took the thirds. This was a solid group of fives.

 

NM boats became NM boat as Tony Black (NM-928) Illusion was a one boat field. He got a win against 2.5 Mods on Saturday and put on a great show running with the GNH class on Sunday. To all you NM guys who live pretty close to Waterford, we missed ya.

 

GNH boats lived up to their reputation as the "ground pounders" (thanks Bob Blazer) Much noise and vibrations occurred as these monsters slugged it out for two days. “Super Cal" Phipps dominated in his (GNH-41) Happy Go Lucky. This combination of hull and driver is incredibly fast. To beat Cal you have to be running perfectly and nail the start and no one did. Cal took every heat. Tony Stalder's (GNH-83) Blue Mule ran great for two seconds. Mark Weber, the APBA Commish, strapped in and gave the mule a wild ride on Sunday. That dude can still drive folks! Mario Miraldo (GNH-59) Baby Doll was churning things up fast enough to beat Jimmy Deel's (GNH-8) for a third Sunday. Patrick Sankuer (GNH-6) Showtime Racing got a third as well. The ground was pounded!

 

 A boats reminded us of Charles Dickens this weekend. They were the best of times to the worst of times. The field was absolutely freakish with speed and depth you just never see. Along the way each heat was a boat fan's dream of scary action that brought goose bumps. However, that dream became a nightmare in Sunday's qualifier. After some earlier breakage five boats roared to the start and headed for turn one. Steve Lynn (A-63) Water Pistol was on the outside. As he traveled across turn one something went terribly wrong as the (A-63) apparently barrel rolled hitting (A-66) Mr. Bud 2 before being struck by Rob Hall's (A-1) Marine Dream. Rob had nowhere to go. The impact tore the (A-63) apart and did serious damage to the (A-1). Rob suffered facial cuts and Steve sustained several fractures requiring a hospital stay. We will be praying for a quick recovery and look forward to seeing these fine competitors back on the water as soon as possible. As for the rest of the action Tom Thompson (A-25) Fat Chance, Rob Hall (A-1), and Buster Graham (A-66) Mr. Bud 2 took the podium on Saturday and Mike Monahan drove Debbie Welte's (A-23) Jack's Geezerboat to victory on Sunday.

 

Well, that's the way we saw it. Waterford, Michigan is a cool venue and this was an exciting event. Our sport is awesome and unfortunately, it can be dangerous. The speed and agility of today's vessels is fantastic. Also, the improvement in safety is a blessing we are all thankful for, especially this weekend. As usual the Box 21 Rescue did a wonderful job during the accident. They are the unsung heroes of this sport. Put this regatta on your schedule for 2009 as it is a winner and hosting the Eastern Divisionals!  See ya at Cambridge. J and Fae