NAMBA April 2020 Web.pub

The cheers and applause I received at the dock when I returned was very gracious of all those on the beach. Made me feel like I had won an actual race. As I stepped of the deck and onto the dock, the first person to greet me with a hand shake was Jim Harvey. His first words to me were; “You drove the #$!@ out of that boat!” And I agreed. As I was fussed over for a bit, I found my beautiful wife and could see how she was doing. I found her right there on the dock near me. I could see that she was very happy to see my return. She told me that she was praying all the time I was out there and her blood pressure may be a bit high, but she also congratulated me and let me know it was all good with a hug. That was THE best part of my ride. The windy conditions? Yep, it was choppy. Not that I cared much. It made my ride that much faster. As a matter of nature on the river, the wind caused a delay of the rest of the race day. The last two School Boat drivers had to wait for the next day. The racing resumed on Sunday with the school boat starting it off. All of us received a certificate at the awards ceremony and the crowd gave their approval of the School Boat program and invited the school boat back the next year. It’s the ride of a life time. If you have any itch to try it, please don’t wait. I promise you, you will not be disappointed. Next chapter, U-146 Easter Seals vs. U-16 Elam Plus. Thanks for reading. Keep in touch on our FaceBook Page at Fully Loaded Racing, and “Pin It to Win It!”, , , “OK, let’s do it!” No matter to me, it’s been my water sport experience that a little chop is better for more speed. Last heat of the first flight is on the water and the wind chop is having its way with the small outboards. As I climb in to the capsule I take a last look at the water to see that it’s still choppy but not getting any worse. Front stretch has a consistent wind ripple and the back stretch has an occasional white cap. Jeff keys in on the radio to give me the go ahead. The harness was feeling a bit tight as I hit the start button and, oops, didn’t hold the starter on long enough. Let’s try that again. Hit the button again and the rumble pushed the sponsons forward and as I rolled on the throttle, the plowing of water was gone as I rose above the surface and headed for turn one. PROPWASH 24 April 2020 With a bit of spay on my helmet lens, I didn’t lose any sight of the first turn buoy and was running about half throttle to get familiar with the buoy line. As I exited turn 1, I rolled on the throttle some more to about 4000 RPM and checked the oil and water gauges. All was perfect. Coming around turn 2 for the first time, Jeff keys in again and tells me that I am starting my first lap at the starting line. When I heard that, I pinned that pedal to the floor. As I came around the apex of turn 2, I looked down at the tachometer and found my RPMs running up the numbers. The exit of the turn was flat water and when the prop hooked up it made me hop out of the water a few times and then in a split second, I was flat out, smooth and flying. I now was living the dream. Every time the turn fin would hook up in the turns, the G force would push me to the side and the turn fin spray was huge and the straights provided a harmonics of engine and prop. Going into the back stretch for the third time, Jeff keyed in again and asked me how I was doing. Only thing I could say was “YAHOO!! Is this heaven?” It was then I became so relaxed and comfortable that the remainder of the ride was like a full out race. I worked every line, in and out. At one point I was told to not cut so close to the buoys because they were a costly replacement. My ninth and tenth laps were coming up so fast that I was becoming disappointed that it was ending. So I started running on the outside boundary buoys to stretch out the ride and I found even more speed, and then came the checkered flag! As I headed back to the dock, I had a very genuine conversation with myself. A congratulations from within, if you will. And one of the best parts of that ride, along with the simple thrill of it all, is that once I mashed that pedal to the floor, I – NEVER – LIFTED! And it showed.