by Charlie Iliff
(This story appears on page 77 of the October issue of Proptalk)
Forty-eight drivers, 34 boats. National Champions crowned in seven classes after the most intense and exciting racing anyone could ask for. Close racing all around the course, a flip in a 6 HP final, perhaps the first ever, and a couple of snaprolls in the 8 HP showdown resulted in “Oohs” and “Aahs” from the crowd, but no injuries and no damage to the boats as the Lee Urbani’s safety crew quickly righted the boats and fished out the sheepish drivers. It was the Third Annual Cocktail Class Wooden Boat Racing Association (CCWBRA) National Championships at Rock Hall YC on Saturday, August 17.
BreeAnn and Debbie Edmonds kept track of all the entries and sorted them into classes by engine age: 6 HP Classic up to 1979 and Open for Post 1979 6s, plus the Open 8 HP competitors. A number of boats had multiple drivers and more than one motor, so Curt Bluefeld and his pit crew were kept busy lining boats up for their heats and keeping the race director Gretchen Granbery apprised of any problems in the staging area. Kim Granbery laid out a course with a short straight to a tight left-hander, then around a triangle to the left and a tight right turn back around the initial mark to a sprint to the finish. There were passing lanes, both on the straights and around the corners, but the drivers will tell you it isn’t easy to catch and pass a fast cocktail racer. So, a good start is important.
At the drivers’ meeting before the races, Gretchen announced that there would be no general recalls—no restarts when drivers jumped the start signals. Any driver observed over the line by Line Judge Nancy Bluefeld before the start horn would incur a penalty of three finish positions. As is always true in pre-race driver meetings, everyone seemed to be paying close attention. But the first class sent off by flag guru Marget Bluefeld and the new automatic horn system set the tone for the meet. Boats over the start line early in nearly every heat and final race kept Nancy a lot busier at the starts than she had expected to be. Racing was tight at every start, nearly every mark rounding, and the finishes. Debbie Edmonds was equally busy, recording not only the finish order called to her by Nancy, but lining up all the penalties with the offending drivers.
In the 6 HP Mixed Classic division, after three heat races and three in the finals, Chas Iliff in
Toothache II finally pipped Russ Bowler and his
Flying Kiwi by one point: Russ incurred one more penalty for starting early than Chas. Mike Johnson drove
Sea Squirt to the other podium spot by starting all three finals races properly. PropTalk’s Cory Deere was part of the “but for, might have been” group after two early start penalties in the finals.
In the 6 HP Heavy Classic class, Jack Pettigrew was first in all three races, nailing the class by three points even after incurring two early-start penalties. Mark Windmiller avoided penalties to place second, and Fred Potts in Russ Bowler’s
Flying Kiwi took the third podium spot, despite being over early twice. PropTalk’s
Molotov, this time with Zach Ditmars at the helm, again missed the podium after a couple of third-place finishes were obliterated by a seven point DNS penalty in the last race when a balky tank refused to supply fuel to the motor.
Zach’s problem with
Molotov’s tank not only set Zach back in the standings, but severely raised Jessica Rigelman’s pulse rate, since she was scheduled to be
Molotov’s pilot in the 6 HP Women’s Classic race. Fortunately, the problem was identified and fixed, and Jess lined up on time for her first ever Cocktail Class race. Having gotten her adrenalin and pulse barely under control, she calmly proceeded to dispatch the class with three first place finishes, and no penalties of any kind. Jess’s great runs brought a National Championship trophy to PropTalk, which we will display proudly. Julie Allerton drove
Smokin’ Loon to second, and Linda Burnett brought
Toothache II in third. None of the women had starting penalties, but it certainly wasn’t because the racing wasn’t fast and competitive. They just did it better.
Because of the consistent violations by the men in the morning, it was announced that early starters in the afternoon would be assessed double penalties—six points rather than three. To show their respect for authority and discipline, the entire first afternoon class save one boat started the first race of the 6 HP Mixed Post 1979 finals early. Since every boat ahead of him had already incurred a six-point penalty, Alex Iliff in
Toothache II started the second race atop the leader board despite a sixth place finish in race 1. But then Russ Bowler in
The Flying Kiwi and Chris Riddick in
The Urbanna Oyster Shooter put together clean starts and fast second and third races to claim the top two places. Alex barely held the last podium spot after an attempt to improve his standing resulted in testing
Toothache’s flotation in the inverted position. Alex waved to the crowd, and the boat floated high and was easily recovered.
Tom Bishop ran a penalty-free final to take the 6 HP Heavy Post 1979 class, continuing the winning ways of
Double Cross, which had been dominant in its debut regatta in Urbanna. Jeff Townes in
Lucy Rose took second, also with a penalty-free series, with Anton Webre in
Pickled Tink holding third despite two over-early penalties.
In the last 6 HP championship, Shannon Haley took
Pickled Tink to the top spot in the Women’s Post 1979 class. Jess Rigelman was able to move into second with
Molotov when Kenleigh Longest started just a bit early in the second race. The six-point penalty dropped Kenleigh and
Virginia Gentleman to third.
The final class, the 8 HP mixed class was a battle of excitement and attrition. The 8 HP runners are faster and looser than the 6 HP racers and more exciting for the fans. The 8s certainly didn’t disappoint. Racing was close and fast. In the first race, Morgan Friday in
Skittles demonstrated inverted flight. Anton Webre once again snaprolled
Double Cross, an aerobatic move which he had debuted in Urbanna. Morgan recovered to nail down a second place. Up front, Daryl Kepler’s dominant 1-2-1 in the
Silver Bullet claimed the championship.
The Saturday night party capped a great day. Thrills, spills, and close safe racing were followed by crabs, awards, and a party high. Rock Hall YC once again did itself proud, and left a lot of folks looking forward to next year.