currently running. It should come as no
surprise that our P-Ltd Power Parameter
is the most popular. OPC’s, Cats,
Monos, Hydros and Sport Hydros all
have great turn outs in these classes.
And, the P-Ltd setups keep getting more
refined while offering some fantastic
competition.
It is always great to see new talent
enter the hobby and immediately add to
the competition, as well as fit right in to
the mix. Racing hard when they are on
the drivers stand, and also helping out
retrieve boats and pit when not. Adrien
“Penske” Gambino from France, was
here on a work visa and is an FE boater
in his homeland. He had a P mono that
finished all six heats (only racer out of
twelve to do it) for an overall fourth
place, and a very nicely built P-Ltd Cat,
complete with video mounts in his fleet.
Ray Presnall has joined us from the car
racing scene with a very impressive and
tuned Geico Cat. He pulled off some
very impressive heat wins and provided
some very good pitman assistance
throughout the event.
Having the Michigan group here for
this event was a treat. These guys are
busy getting the 2014 Nats organized but
they took the time to venture out here to
race with us. Thanks to Terry Davis,
Fred Seiwert and Tom Castellani for
making the trip.
Another first timer to our event, Mike
Paganelli, made it out from New York.
What a commitment this guy had made
making to enter FE racing events across
North America during the past few
years. I do not think anyone has flown to
more events than Mike has lately. He
was going to come out last year, but a
Kid Rock concert in New Orleans got in
the way. Fortunately, there was no tour
in 2014. Pags and I have had great racing
in any class but P Mono is where we
have had the strongest rivalry the past
few years. This year did not disappoint.
Wisconsin’s Doug Peterson was the
longest tenured traveler this year. He
again brought along Sean Kewley who
just can not be stopped with his P and
P-Ltd Sport Hydro. Doug built a
beautiful 32” German Cat (forget the
make). However, I found it rather
interesting that he skimped getting a
water cooling jacket for the motor. It’s
not like Doug to penny pinch like that.
PROPWASH
14
April 2014
NAMBA Goes I.T. With Dave
(Continued from page 13)
included my contact info for your use. I really want to thank Robert for asking me to
do this. He knows how important it is to me to play an active part in the organization
and be able to contribute in any way I can. Thanks and I am looking forward to doing
some fun things for NAMBA! daves@concentricsinc.com
In Memory of Herb Neelman
By David Neelman and Dave Rychalsky
Herb’s son and NAMBA History Chairman
On December 19, 2013 NAMBA lost one
of the senior members of our organization.
My dad had been an active member of
NAMBA since the 70’s. He was up in age and
had an unfortunate accident at home, and
succumbed to his injuries. My dad was the
Co-Contest Director of the 1984 Nationals in
Newark, New Jersey. He was also an active
member of District One’s Morris County
Roostertails. He attended every district
meeting and made a point of putting NAMBA
second to his family. At every race, he was
there helping and pitting for me. He always
had a gleam in his eyes because this hobby
made the thirty five year model boating bond
between us that much stronger. There is
nothing like having a father and son in love
with the same hobby. My mom Barbara, also
enjoyed the hobby with him, as both were
together at our District One races.
I have known Herb since I became a member and he was always promoting
NAMBA and trying to make it better. Many of our District One rules has Herb’s
“signature” all over it. He understood the hobby and passed his passion for model
boating down to his son and grandson. Both Herb and David attended every awards
banquet and enjoyed watching as the trophies were handed out. Many times, when the
meeting would veer off course, Herb was there to steer us back in the right direction.
Herb was the guy who did all of the club paperwork, went out to get all of the permits,
checked in to new racing sites, made flyers to promote NAMBA and model boating
and always helped man the booth at our East Coast WRAM show for NAMBA.
When one of our active senior members passes away, we do not realize the
tremendous value he / she has had until all of those things need to be done by the rest
of us. We have a big hole in District One, and it will take a few people to fill the void
that Herb added to model boating. We are all going to miss you at the pond and at the
meetings Herb.
2014 Arizona FE Winter Warm-ups
By David Newland
NAMBA FE Chairman
While most of the country seems to be struggling with this Polar Vortex thing, we
have had plenty of High Pressure patterns keeping the cold weather at bay this winter
in Arizona. It certainly made for a nice setting for our 10th Annual Winter Warm-ups
event in Scottsdale, Arizona. On February 21st-23rd, we gathered at McKellips Lake
to get our setups in tune for the upcoming racing season. With visitors from Michigan,
Wisconsin and New York, we again had a solid geographical representation.
We purposely select the class list so that it represents the most popular FE classes