OPA

Back In The Good Ole Days,

Traverse City
Bay City
Grand Haven
Detroit River
St. Clair
Sagatuck
Muskegeon

ViciousOne

MICHIGAN HAD SOME GREAT RACE SITES, I GUESS WE ARE LUCKY NOW JUST TO HAVE A FEW FULL SERVICE MARINA'S AND BAR'S.

h2oboater

LSCORA was one of the oldest Offshore clubs in the country, at it's hayday 1977 to 1990 we had 200+ member's. The cost then to put on a race, Divisional $5,000.00 or less, a National around $20,000.00, then the National Circuit split ABBA, OPT, USO, are club even split,, LSCORA vs MOPRA over this we all lost member's. Race sites dried up, some racer's quit, as the 90's rolled on it became harder to put on a race due to cost and people that wanted to help !! We tried a new approach Silver Cup Series and it worked !!! but higher cost Insurance, TV, Sight cost, ect, ect. We even put the clubs back together, but by 2002 LSCORA only had about 12 active member's to find sponsors. Our Metro Beach Race cost for the last 3 race's we did was $80,000.00 to $100,0000.00 in 2004 for a Silver Cup race. And when your boat count drop's to 30,, money come's out of your own pocket to pay the bill's,, that's very hard to do. I wish we could still race for Beer and a Trophy, our Michigan economy can't suport multiple race's now, money is very tight. MY HAT"S OFF to OPA, and the race sight's we have, Like St Clair River Race, and Algonac, Im sure they need help if you can !! please do,, so we don't lose these GREAT Race's. There are many more reason's than these,, but I have run off ENOUGH !!

h2oboater

Talk about Back In The Day, I found this add for Good Year in a Feb- 8- 1969 Businessweek magazine I thought it was so cool I have kept almost 40 year's. The Bahamas 500, the add say's it took 11 to 13 hour's to run talk about Endurance !!! Slamming through heavy seas at 65mph for 500 miles some drivers were knocked unconscious, others Hospitalized !!!!! Who up for a race like this today ???????? If you enlarge the add you should be able to read it.

powerqrudy

Vicious, you still have the AERO molds???

I thought that was a good boat....

racesdad

1989 or 1990 first team i was with was a active cat, kaisers old black cat, named priority one. we thought we were hauling but then. innovation injected engines
mike stancombe
peppers racing

h2oboater

It probley was Red's,, Active rent a cat, it went by many different name's. I know it was at one time G K Systems with Bob Kaiser.

7xchamp

Boys, that`s what it was all about, and how the sport really started. I happened to have been in the original first three 500`s, They were actually 582 statute miles long with one refueling stop halfway in Nassau. Notice the headlights on the bow. We started the race at daybreak, we went out Lucaya cut in the dark, which was scary, over 75 boats heading to the starting line in the dark, and yes it was rough. The first time I ran the race, I was in a 21` Seacraft we built at Lake X twin 110hp outboards top out about 48 to 50 mph. out of the 75 or so starters we finished eighth overall and first outboard powered boat, took us close to 16 hours, we stuffed so bad a couple of times, that it sucked us out of the cockpit and put us on top of each other in the motor well, after two times happening we tied ourselves into the cockpit and just blew through the rest of the way, in the dark. Our skin was shriveled like prunes from the salt spray, and it took us couple hours before we could stand up on land without falling over, I was 18 yrs old, forged my parents signature to race, you were supposed to be 21. Many stories to long for the forums to tell about the good old days and these types of races. I hope to one day write a book about all my experiences. I was the youngest guy on the Merc. team at the time, many stories.
Thanks for the pix of Mono Lou, Odell is still around in Fla. somewhere, he has some good stories as well. 7XCHAMP

h2oboater

When I found that pic in 1969 I was 16 years old, living in Detroit I never saw anything like that, it got me Hooked. Started Racing in 1974 and we even won the worlds in 1992 with the Skater Eastern Express and even today Im still in it as a Offshore Referee still HOOKED almost 40 years later because of that Pic. 7xchamp Im sure many never knew about those early Races [Back In The Day] many THANKS for your input !!!!

h2oboater

I know,, I was there, it was my first race, in my 24' Cheetah jet boat. Bounty Hunter lap me many times !!!!!!