The sad end of .."The Cigarette"
11-11-2013, 03:40 AM
#81
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No but I do know Glenn quite well. I was introduced to Glenn because he owned Bounty Hunter, the 39' bubble deck.
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The boat was in the UK and he was having loads of trouble getting it going. He got in contact with my uncle, Tony, to ask if he could get some spare parts. Tony ownes this awsome machine,
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Tony introduced me to Glenn because in 1979 my Dad had taken me to 188th St to see the Magnum and Cigarette factories...........pretty mind blowing for a young lad!
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At the time, Cigarette were building the 39' bubble deck for Billy Martin and I got to see it at the factory......
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I then watched it in the 1979 Cowes Torquay and got a cut-out of the hull when they re-engined it before the race. I therefore had lots to say about the boat and as a result, I got to race on it in the Cowes Torquay 50th anniversary.
Charlie, you mentioned that Bob Idoni was at OFF. I'd love to meet him and get talking about Bounty Hunter, Fayva Shoes and Michel Meynard, etc............I've seen some video footage of that 39' way way out the water with those guys on board, they landed so hard it put them streight out the race. There's also the infamous Cougar cat crash with the engine flying through the air and Bob breaking his leg..........serious stuff!
Charlie's story about Vince above is also pretty serious stuff............you guys meant real business back then!
Bounty Hunter is one of two bubble decks built. I was watching the other one (Halter Racing/Popeyes) on ebay for months, thinking, if I could ever get the cash together, I'd buy it. I got beaten to it by a guy called Richard Carlton. We got talking on Boat Mad, or OSO, I forget and we have become friends thereafter. Richard baught the boat to do the London Monte Carlo race next year and asked me to race on it............
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This is my Dad, Ian Toll driving and his newly refurbished 1971 Magnum 27' called Sidewinder.............beautiful! Tony Toll is the one in the yellow, Mike Bontoft is the one inbetween them and Tony's throttleman and engine builder Trevor Pickard is on the bow.
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Charlie, was it Sammy James' Bertram that got turned into this? Did'nt those two roll their Bertram in one race?
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The boat was in the UK and he was having loads of trouble getting it going. He got in contact with my uncle, Tony, to ask if he could get some spare parts. Tony ownes this awsome machine,
[ATTACH=CONFIG]512132[/ATTACH]
Tony introduced me to Glenn because in 1979 my Dad had taken me to 188th St to see the Magnum and Cigarette factories...........pretty mind blowing for a young lad!
[ATTACH=CONFIG]512133[/ATTACH]
[ATTACH=CONFIG]512134[/ATTACH]
At the time, Cigarette were building the 39' bubble deck for Billy Martin and I got to see it at the factory......
[ATTACH=CONFIG]512135[/ATTACH]
[ATTACH=CONFIG]512136[/ATTACH]
I then watched it in the 1979 Cowes Torquay and got a cut-out of the hull when they re-engined it before the race. I therefore had lots to say about the boat and as a result, I got to race on it in the Cowes Torquay 50th anniversary.
Charlie, you mentioned that Bob Idoni was at OFF. I'd love to meet him and get talking about Bounty Hunter, Fayva Shoes and Michel Meynard, etc............I've seen some video footage of that 39' way way out the water with those guys on board, they landed so hard it put them streight out the race. There's also the infamous Cougar cat crash with the engine flying through the air and Bob breaking his leg..........serious stuff!
Charlie's story about Vince above is also pretty serious stuff............you guys meant real business back then!
Bounty Hunter is one of two bubble decks built. I was watching the other one (Halter Racing/Popeyes) on ebay for months, thinking, if I could ever get the cash together, I'd buy it. I got beaten to it by a guy called Richard Carlton. We got talking on Boat Mad, or OSO, I forget and we have become friends thereafter. Richard baught the boat to do the London Monte Carlo race next year and asked me to race on it............
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This is my Dad, Ian Toll driving and his newly refurbished 1971 Magnum 27' called Sidewinder.............beautiful! Tony Toll is the one in the yellow, Mike Bontoft is the one inbetween them and Tony's throttleman and engine builder Trevor Pickard is on the bow.
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Charlie, was it Sammy James' Bertram that got turned into this? Did'nt those two roll their Bertram in one race?
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Last edited by Ratman72; 11-11-2013 at 06:24 AM.
11-11-2013, 08:23 AM
#83
Registered
I'll try again...short version
Filmaker looks at me and says do you have any stories our viewers would like?
Sure I said, do you know Sammy was a plastic surgeon?
No, he says tell me all about it.
I look over at Sammy and he is smirking and say....is this about Vince?
Yes, it is I said. The people should know how you treated that man.
I look at the camera and start.....When ever we raced Sammy and Vince in his 38 foot Bertram, Sammy would always finish the race with a different guy...or so we thought.
Filmaker looks at me and says do you have any stories our viewers would like?
Sure I said, do you know Sammy was a plastic surgeon?
No, he says tell me all about it.
I look over at Sammy and he is smirking and say....is this about Vince?
Yes, it is I said. The people should know how you treated that man.
I look at the camera and start.....When ever we raced Sammy and Vince in his 38 foot Bertram, Sammy would always finish the race with a different guy...or so we thought.
I see now....
11-11-2013, 08:55 AM
#84
Registered
Thread Starter
I also had the chance to meet Olie and as a way of saying ..Thank You!!! to him for stepping up and building a real open ocean racer, I presented him with a HORBA edition of John Crouse's book SEARACE. That version has a HORBA sticker inside and has been signed by both John Crouse and myself shortly before John passed away. I encouraged Olie to get as many of the other racers signatures as he could while he had the chance. I do beleive he liked it. I couildn't stay down there as I had promised to attend the OFF meeting in Taveres, Florida (Central Florida).
Next time your in Florida, let me know and maybe we can get together for a chat. I live in central Florida and am always ready to meet anyone to talk about offshore racing.
11-11-2013, 09:36 AM
#85
Registered
Thread Starter
No but I do know Glenn quite well. I was introduced to Glenn because he owned Bounty Hunter, the 39' bubble deck.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]512131[/ATTACH]
The boat was in the UK and he was having loads of trouble getting it going. He got in contact with my uncle, Tony, to ask if he could get some spare parts. Tony ownes this awsome machine,
[ATTACH=CONFIG]512132[/ATTACH]
Tony introduced me to Glenn because in 1979 my Dad had taken me to 188th St to see the Magnum and Cigarette factories...........pretty mind blowing for a young lad!
[ATTACH=CONFIG]512133[/ATTACH]
[ATTACH=CONFIG]512134[/ATTACH]
At the time, Cigarette were building the 39' bubble deck for Billy Martin and I got to see it at the factory......
[ATTACH=CONFIG]512135[/ATTACH]
[ATTACH=CONFIG]512136[/ATTACH]
I then watched it in the 1979 Cowes Torquay and got a cut-out of the hull when they re-engined it before the race. I therefore had lots to say about the boat and as a result, I got to race on it in the Cowes Torquay 50th anniversary.
Charlie, you mentioned that Bob Idoni was at OFF. I'd love to meet him and get talking about Bounty Hunter, Fayva Shoes and Michel Meynard, etc............I've seen some video footage of that 39' way way out the water with those guys on board, they landed so hard it put them streight out the race. There's also the infamous Cougar cat crash with the engine flying through the air and Bob breaking his leg..........serious stuff!
Charlie's story about Vince above is also pretty serious stuff............you guys meant real business back then!
Bounty Hunter is one of two bubble decks built. I was watching the other one (Halter Racing/Popeyes) on ebay for months, thinking, if I could ever get the cash together, I'd buy it. I got beaten to it by a guy called Richard Carlton. We got talking on Boat Mad, or OSO, I forget and we have become friends thereafter. Richard baught the boat to do the London Monte Carlo race next year and asked me to race on it............
[ATTACH=CONFIG]512137[/ATTACH]
[ATTACH=CONFIG]512138[/ATTACH]
This is my Dad, Ian Toll driving and his newly refurbished 1971 Magnum 27' called Sidewinder.............beautiful! Tony Toll is the one in the yellow, Mike Bontoft is the one inbetween them and Tony's throttleman and engine builder Trevor Pickard is on the bow.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]512139[/ATTACH]
Charlie, was it Sammy James' Bertram that got turned into this? Did'nt those two roll their Bertram in one race?
[ATTACH=CONFIG]512143[/ATTACH]
[ATTACH=CONFIG]512131[/ATTACH]
The boat was in the UK and he was having loads of trouble getting it going. He got in contact with my uncle, Tony, to ask if he could get some spare parts. Tony ownes this awsome machine,
[ATTACH=CONFIG]512132[/ATTACH]
Tony introduced me to Glenn because in 1979 my Dad had taken me to 188th St to see the Magnum and Cigarette factories...........pretty mind blowing for a young lad!
[ATTACH=CONFIG]512133[/ATTACH]
[ATTACH=CONFIG]512134[/ATTACH]
At the time, Cigarette were building the 39' bubble deck for Billy Martin and I got to see it at the factory......
[ATTACH=CONFIG]512135[/ATTACH]
[ATTACH=CONFIG]512136[/ATTACH]
I then watched it in the 1979 Cowes Torquay and got a cut-out of the hull when they re-engined it before the race. I therefore had lots to say about the boat and as a result, I got to race on it in the Cowes Torquay 50th anniversary.
Charlie, you mentioned that Bob Idoni was at OFF. I'd love to meet him and get talking about Bounty Hunter, Fayva Shoes and Michel Meynard, etc............I've seen some video footage of that 39' way way out the water with those guys on board, they landed so hard it put them streight out the race. There's also the infamous Cougar cat crash with the engine flying through the air and Bob breaking his leg..........serious stuff!
Charlie's story about Vince above is also pretty serious stuff............you guys meant real business back then!
Bounty Hunter is one of two bubble decks built. I was watching the other one (Halter Racing/Popeyes) on ebay for months, thinking, if I could ever get the cash together, I'd buy it. I got beaten to it by a guy called Richard Carlton. We got talking on Boat Mad, or OSO, I forget and we have become friends thereafter. Richard baught the boat to do the London Monte Carlo race next year and asked me to race on it............
[ATTACH=CONFIG]512137[/ATTACH]
[ATTACH=CONFIG]512138[/ATTACH]
This is my Dad, Ian Toll driving and his newly refurbished 1971 Magnum 27' called Sidewinder.............beautiful! Tony Toll is the one in the yellow, Mike Bontoft is the one inbetween them and Tony's throttleman and engine builder Trevor Pickard is on the bow.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]512139[/ATTACH]
Charlie, was it Sammy James' Bertram that got turned into this? Did'nt those two roll their Bertram in one race?
[ATTACH=CONFIG]512143[/ATTACH]
The story of that 39 first race is on both www.historicraceboats.com under stories and www.bananaboatco.com under media archives.
Michel was throttling not Bob when the cat exploded. He wanted to set a new speed record. When Sammy circled back he saw Bob swimming over to an unconscious Michel and thought.....He's going to kill him, I better stop him!!
11-11-2013, 12:34 PM
#86
Platinum Member
Hi Charlie, thank you very much for your kind reply. My wife and I were also down in Key West Tuesday through Thursday then drove back up to the Magnum factory to meet with Harold before returning to Longboat Key.
We had no idea about OFF until it was too late, but it will be on our list for next year. It would be great to meet up and hear more about the wild old days.
Kind regards
Ian Toll
We had no idea about OFF until it was too late, but it will be on our list for next year. It would be great to meet up and hear more about the wild old days.
Kind regards
Ian Toll
11-11-2013, 02:21 PM
#87
Registered
Thread Starter
Hi Charlie, thank you very much for your kind reply. My wife and I were also down in Key West Tuesday through Thursday then drove back up to the Magnum factory to meet with Harold before returning to Longboat Key.
We had no idea about OFF until it was too late, but it will be on our list for next year. It would be great to meet up and hear more about the wild old days.
Kind regard
i
Ian Toll
We had no idea about OFF until it was too late, but it will be on our list for next year. It would be great to meet up and hear more about the wild old days.
Kind regard
i
Ian Toll
Ian no problem, maybe we can have that chat next year at Cowes.
Enjoy your trip over here and safe journey home.
Best
Charlie
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MASOMAN (10-17-2021)
11-11-2013, 05:25 PM
#88
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This is a story in its own right and one that I'd love to give you the full detail on but divorce is looming with the amount of time I've spent on this website recently, so I'll keep it relatively short!!! However, while we are all sitting comfortably, it would be rather rude of me if I don’t tell you a bit about my fathers Magnum in ‘68.
The boat ran the whole ‘68 season with 454’s and special 482’s were flown in from the US and fitted just before the ’68 CTC. This was because ‘Surfury’ had bigger ‘Daytona’ engines and had won the CTC the previous year. All was fine until half way across Lyme Bay when the bonding between the top of the ballast tank in the bow and the hull delaminated without the crew knowing. As a result they continued to fill the tank without realising that they were actually filling up the boat instead.
Ian wrote to Pruett immediately after the ’68 CTC and told him that he was a local powerboat enthusiast and that he knew the currents in the locality and wanted to buy the boat because he believed it would be washed ashore. Pruett was so impressed by this, he immediately contacted Ian to set up a meeting in the UK to “meet the nutcase that wanted to buy a boat 180ft under water”. The meeting took place in Southampton in early October ’68, Pruett took Ian and his wife Mary (my mother) out to dinner in a nightclub and during the course of the evening, agreed to sell the rights to the wreck. Ian drove back to his home town that night and was waiting on his lawyers doorstep at 08:30hrs the following morning. He then had a contract drawn up and returned with the document before midday to discover Pruett was still in bed at the hotel. Ian asked if he was still prepared to do the deal and Pruett signed there and then and Ian paid the cash.
Ian was going to try to recover the boat himself using a fishing trawler but the Royal Navy beat him to it because one of their helicopters had recently sunk nearby. The boat was recovered on November 26th 1968 by the Royal Navy and Ian persuaded the Navy that night to allow him on board to start taking the engines apart and placing them in oil. The Navy advised Peter Twist of Fairy Marine, who was the nominated agent in the UK on behalf of the Magnum Race Team, that the boat had been recovered. Peter then told Balestrieri who was apparently very pleased, until he was told two days later that when Peter Twist tried to arrange collection of the boat, Ian was already working on it and had a full Bill of Sale, signed by Don Pruett to say he was new owner!
Ian received a telephone call the following Saturday from Pruett, saying that although he had sold the boat to Ian, Balestrieri wanted it back and that “it was extremely advisable that he did so”. Ian said that he wanted to meet with Balestrieri to explain the situation and that he wanted to keep the boat. Pruett then had to meet with Balestrieri to explain what had happened and Ian was told about a week later by Pruett that Balestrieri found the whole story “very funny”. He also told Don that he wanted him to come to England and help Ian completely rebuild the boat at Balestrieri’s expense but Don cautioned Ian not to accept the offer and to say instead that he was an enthusiast and wanted to do all of the work himself.
Commander Petroni then contacted Ian saying that Balestrieri wanted to meet with Ian the next time he was in England and conveyed Mr. Balestrieri’s best regards and wished him well with the project. The following year at the beginning of August 1969, Commander Petroni contacted Ian again, saying that the Tornado Race Team would be in the UK for the ‘WD&HO Wills’ race, followed by the CTC and that Mr. Balestrieri wished Ian, Mary and my uncle Phillip, who worked with Ian on the boat, to be his guests on his pleasure boat and to be part of the ‘team’ for those events. The Tornado Race Team that year consisted of 2 x Bertram 31’ Nautic Specials, White Tornado for Balestrieri and Red Tornado for Cosentino. In addition, Balestrieri also shipped in a 36’ Cigarette Mistress in light brown/gold, as a support boat!!! Ian and party were entertained lavishly and made to feel very welcome and Mr. Balestrieri wished them all the best for the future!
All of them could not have been any more kind and Ian continued to talk to Commander Pertroni for a number of years afterwards. In fact I remember meeting him at the Royal Yacht Squadron the morning before the 1977 CTC, where he gave me an ‘Alitalia’ t-shirt!
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The boat ran the whole ‘68 season with 454’s and special 482’s were flown in from the US and fitted just before the ’68 CTC. This was because ‘Surfury’ had bigger ‘Daytona’ engines and had won the CTC the previous year. All was fine until half way across Lyme Bay when the bonding between the top of the ballast tank in the bow and the hull delaminated without the crew knowing. As a result they continued to fill the tank without realising that they were actually filling up the boat instead.
Ian wrote to Pruett immediately after the ’68 CTC and told him that he was a local powerboat enthusiast and that he knew the currents in the locality and wanted to buy the boat because he believed it would be washed ashore. Pruett was so impressed by this, he immediately contacted Ian to set up a meeting in the UK to “meet the nutcase that wanted to buy a boat 180ft under water”. The meeting took place in Southampton in early October ’68, Pruett took Ian and his wife Mary (my mother) out to dinner in a nightclub and during the course of the evening, agreed to sell the rights to the wreck. Ian drove back to his home town that night and was waiting on his lawyers doorstep at 08:30hrs the following morning. He then had a contract drawn up and returned with the document before midday to discover Pruett was still in bed at the hotel. Ian asked if he was still prepared to do the deal and Pruett signed there and then and Ian paid the cash.
Ian was going to try to recover the boat himself using a fishing trawler but the Royal Navy beat him to it because one of their helicopters had recently sunk nearby. The boat was recovered on November 26th 1968 by the Royal Navy and Ian persuaded the Navy that night to allow him on board to start taking the engines apart and placing them in oil. The Navy advised Peter Twist of Fairy Marine, who was the nominated agent in the UK on behalf of the Magnum Race Team, that the boat had been recovered. Peter then told Balestrieri who was apparently very pleased, until he was told two days later that when Peter Twist tried to arrange collection of the boat, Ian was already working on it and had a full Bill of Sale, signed by Don Pruett to say he was new owner!
Ian received a telephone call the following Saturday from Pruett, saying that although he had sold the boat to Ian, Balestrieri wanted it back and that “it was extremely advisable that he did so”. Ian said that he wanted to meet with Balestrieri to explain the situation and that he wanted to keep the boat. Pruett then had to meet with Balestrieri to explain what had happened and Ian was told about a week later by Pruett that Balestrieri found the whole story “very funny”. He also told Don that he wanted him to come to England and help Ian completely rebuild the boat at Balestrieri’s expense but Don cautioned Ian not to accept the offer and to say instead that he was an enthusiast and wanted to do all of the work himself.
Commander Petroni then contacted Ian saying that Balestrieri wanted to meet with Ian the next time he was in England and conveyed Mr. Balestrieri’s best regards and wished him well with the project. The following year at the beginning of August 1969, Commander Petroni contacted Ian again, saying that the Tornado Race Team would be in the UK for the ‘WD&HO Wills’ race, followed by the CTC and that Mr. Balestrieri wished Ian, Mary and my uncle Phillip, who worked with Ian on the boat, to be his guests on his pleasure boat and to be part of the ‘team’ for those events. The Tornado Race Team that year consisted of 2 x Bertram 31’ Nautic Specials, White Tornado for Balestrieri and Red Tornado for Cosentino. In addition, Balestrieri also shipped in a 36’ Cigarette Mistress in light brown/gold, as a support boat!!! Ian and party were entertained lavishly and made to feel very welcome and Mr. Balestrieri wished them all the best for the future!
All of them could not have been any more kind and Ian continued to talk to Commander Pertroni for a number of years afterwards. In fact I remember meeting him at the Royal Yacht Squadron the morning before the 1977 CTC, where he gave me an ‘Alitalia’ t-shirt!
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11-11-2013, 05:29 PM
#89
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There's more but I'm probably in enough trouble as it is, so I'll say goodbye for now.
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There's more but I'm probably in enough trouble as it is, so I'll say goodbye for now.
11-11-2013, 06:39 PM
#90
Registered
Thread Starter
Christian with your permission and Ian's I would,like to include that whole story with photos on our HORBA site. We are revamping the site and will probably be going live around the Miami Boat Show time in February. I will give you last look at any of this material for errors before we go live with it.
Thanks so much for sharing this with the offshore world.
Thanks so much for sharing this with the offshore world.
