2021 NAMBA Nats Race Program

water subsided, my DragN’Fli 40 was no longer moving. That Super Tigre 40 ran great on 50% nitro, not so much on H2O. I don’t remember how I did racing my A Mono, other than I didn’t win any trophy with that boat either. Checking the final results printed in an old program, I discovered Ed won B Mono and C Hydro. Mike Meelbush, a very successful IMPBA racer from the Chicago area, won X Mono. Mike was racing an Octura Wildfire deep vee and after each heat he would throw a towel over the boat. He would also remove the prop between heats. Not sure what prop Mike was running, but I’m pretty sure it was an “Octura Something or Other.” Needless to say, Mike did was not presented with the Mr. Congeniality Award at the Nationals Awards’ Banquet. I do remember a few things about the Awards’ Banquet. Gary Johnson, our first NAMBA president and one of the four original Hall of Fame members (Myrtle “Mom” Coad, Don Coad and George Campbell being the other three), was the master of ceremonies for the event. Besides being gifted with the ability to apply stunning finishes on model boats, he tended to conduct rather extended introductions and presentations at national events. Gary’s introduction of the “Hawaiian Horde”, the model boaters attending from our Aloha State was memorable. Two of those members, Frank Hu (1989) and Ernie Bob (1996) are HOF inductees. The dinner was prime rib, a vegetable, and a dinner roll. As the server was coming by our table, Ron mentioned he didn’t want his serving of prime rib. I quickly asked the server if I could have Ron’s prime rib. I’ve enjoyed prime rib at several NAMBA Nationals Awards’ Banquet and those two pieces were excellent. Ron wasn’t much for vegetables so I managed to put away his portion of green beans as well. Ron did eat his dinner roll. Since I was the Director of the 1973 NAMBA Nationals in Seattle, WA, I was provided an opportunity at the conclusion of the awards to inform those still awake about the following year’s Nationals. I kept my presentation short realizing most attendees were more interested in going to the bar for a drink. When Al Hobbs asked me to submit an article for the 2021 NAMBA Program regarding my memories of the first NAMBA Nationals, my first thought was, “Jeez, what do I remember about something that happened 50 years ago?” Al was asking a guy who still has a home phone so he can call to find his cell phone, struggles to remember where he last left his keys, cuts out a part on the scroll saw, puts it down, and then spends time trying to locate what he just cut. So, with this disclaimer related to memory I will attempt to fulfill Al’s request. As good as any place to start would be the trip from the Seattle/Tacoma area to El Monte. My fellow Northwest model boaters were Ron Erickson and Ed Fisher. Ron’s experience in model boating dated back to the mid-50s and running tether hydroplanes in Seattle’s Green Lake. Ron was excellent at setting up model boats ranging from 20 deep vees to 1/8 scale hydroplanes. He won a lot of races in District 8 in the classes he entered. Without question, Ed Fisher was one of the most innovative model boaters I have met in my 56 years of model boating. Among Ed’s designs were the Northwind monoplane, Fisher Sport 40, and the Fisher canard hydroplane. Ed was inducted into the NAMBA Hall of Fame in 1984. With our boats in Ron’s red Chevy station wagon fitted with racks, we headed south on I-5. It was something like 18 hours of straight driving. The year previous to the first NAMBA Nat’s, we made this trip to attend the first NAMBA sanctioned heat race at Legg Lake. An important discovery we made on that first trip was Ron tended to doze off while driving his second shift. After Ron would drive the first shift, Ed and I would trade off until we reached El Monte. I do remember driving through the Siskiyou Mountains in Northern California at night isn’t all that enjoyable. I entered 2 boats at the first NAMBA Nationals, a Steve Muck designed Dumas SK Daddle 20 powered by a Veco 19 and a Frank Ward designed Dumas DragN’Fli 40 powered by a Super Tigre 40. Four years ago, I reconnected with Frank Ward who now lives on a lake in Ocean Shores, Washington. Frank has recently gotten involved with high performance gasoline deep catamarans and gas outboard tunnels. The only thing I remember about my racing endeavors was one B Hydro heat when I went into the first turn, couldn’t see my boat because it was behind several rooster tails. Once all the flying Dunny Sorta Remembers the First NAMBA Nationals - By Jerry Dunlap 2021 NAMBA Nationals Page 32