"Letters from Heaven" Miami 1960's

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10-20-2006, 08:46 AM
gofish7070

Greenville Miss.

Hey Velox, BTY That was 40 years ago,,,,,, The old memory is fading pretty fast,,But I am pretty sure skeeter was Roy"s son -in-law who was his service manager, I think his first name was Jim ,,,,,,,,,With this currant brain will come up with his last name in about a month,,,,,,,,,,,,, Roy was a really great guy,, tough as nails and worked hard all his life,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Had a good relationship with Carl K. and he could really run that river,,,,,,,,,,,So he had good equipment,,,,,,,,and new what to do with it,,,,, While I traveled Mississippi Roy took me to a famous Steak house their called DOES if anyone out their has been their they would remember it,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, Thanks for the photo,Powercat ahve been iin front of Fulton Company many times in the early "70s,,,,,,,,,BTY Velox live just down the road in Jupiter Fl..........Maybe a cold on sometime,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
10-20-2006, 11:59 AM
velox

Quote:

Originally Posted by gofish7070

Hey Velox, BTY That was 40 years ago,,,,,, The old memory is fading pretty fast,,But I am pretty sure skeeter was Roy"s son -in-law who was his service manager, I think his first name was Jim ,,,,,,,,,With this currant brain will come up with his last name in about a month,,,,,,,,,,,,, Roy was a really great guy,, tough as nails and worked hard all his life,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Had a good relationship with Carl K. and he could really run that river,,,,,,,,,,,So he had good equipment,,,,,,,,and new what to do with it,,,,, While I traveled Mississippi Roy took me to a famous Steak house their called DOES if anyone out their has been their they would remember it,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, Thanks for the photo,Powercat ahve been iin front of Fulton Company many times in the early "70s,,,,,,,,,BTY Velox live just down the road in Jupiter Fl..........Maybe a cold on sometime,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Boy, It seems like half the old racers are living in Stuart, Pt Saint Lucie, Jupiter and Palm City. The other half are somewhere else in Florida. As Yogi Berra would say " The rest live somewhere else"
Lets plan a get together soon.
I have a large yard, with pool and on the water with ocean access.
I also have a pretty good scrap book from the early to mid sixties for S Florida.
I talked to Odell about a month ago and he said he will be coming to Florida in November. The next Story will be about Odell and his really bad accident in the 64 Around Miami Beach race.
If anyone wants to get together please E mail me at [email protected]
10-20-2006, 01:04 PM
gofish7070

Stuff

Count me in on that get to-gether would be good and will get out e-mail,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,For what its worth anyone going to Ft. Laud boat show next week?????????? Will be in Rampage (Offshore Sport Fishing Boats) Booth,,,Love to see S&Fers and say Howdy,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
10-20-2006, 08:19 PM
lilabner

velox

Hi Charlie,
Are you saying Rusty was Ray Bonds son? I was at Ray's every day when Bob Waldo ran Dade Marine farther south, in fact he was next door..I remember Rusty from Porsche's, he was a great guy, really good mechanic..but I never put that together..

Butch
Is the pool heated?
10-21-2006, 06:04 AM
velox

Quote:

Originally Posted by lilabner

Hi Charlie,
Are you saying Rusty was Ray Bonds son? I was at Ray's every day when Bob Waldo ran Dade Marine farther south, in fact he was next door..I remember Rusty from Porsche's, he was a great guy, really good mechanic..but I never put that together..

Butch
Is the pool heated?

Hi Butch,
Yes Rusty was Ray Bonds son.
I met Rusty through you ,back when I need some help with my 930 Porsche.
You recomended him to me and we became instant friends.
He was one of a kind. Had a lot of friends and treated everybody with respect.
I met Rays other son Dell in Stuart through flying. He is another great guy and an excellent pilot.
He taught me more about flying in several flights than I learned from anyone else. He and Rusty both had a relaxed style about them that let them transfer knowledge without over complicating things.
Sorta like you. I learned a lot just from hanging with you at Dave Craig's Skyway Marine and Dade Marine in the early sixties. I am sure you don't remember but you helped me rebuild the very first Merc I ever had ,a MK 55.
After you left for the marines, your co worker Don Pearson and I became good friends. He left Skyway and became an engine mechanic for Don Wilcox, the top inboard engine guy back then. I always tell people you taught me about outboards and Don taught me about Chevies. I always knew who to be friends with!

The pool is not heated, but we have a hot outdoor shower next to the pool You and Treasure are more than welcome.
If you want to come by boat you can. I live just off of the St Lucie River , due east of the inlet.
PS I remember Ray Bonds shop next to Dade Marine. Richie Baiz worked there and one day I visited him. There was a green ocean racer that I had never seen before. He told me, "That boat holds the Nassau to Miami speed record."
I said BS "Odell Lewis holds that record in the 25 foot Bertram the Mona Lou"
He then replied " That was the Miami to Nassau Record This is the boat that was used for the Nassau Jewel Heist and it made the run from Nassau to Miami in an unoffical record"
At that time the Robbery had not been solved, so I took it with a grain of salt. Several tears later the case was solved and the now famous "Murph the Surf " was named as the perpetrator using that boat!
10-21-2006, 10:52 AM
Da Bull

I think the guy you guys are talking about would have been Skeeter Edwards. He later became known as Big Skeet when his first son was born
and was called Little Skeet. I raced in Greenville, Miss. many times during the 80`s and knew these people and even ate at Doe`s steak house. All of the people there were really into boat racing and the big event of the year was the Jessie Brent River marathon. It was 500 miles on the Mississippi River and the last time I ran (1988) they still had the calcutta
the night before.
Roy Fulton`s boat was named "Lil Roy".

Velox, What was the guy`s name from Bossier that you drove his boat. I`m from Shreveport and should know him.

DB
10-21-2006, 11:37 AM
velox

Quote:

Originally Posted by Da Bull

I think the guy you guys are talking about would have been Skeeter Edwards. He later became known as Big Skeet when his first son was born
and was called Little Skeet. I raced in Greenville, Miss. many times during the 80`s and knew these people and even ate at Doe`s steak house. All of the people there were really into boat racing and the big event of the year was the Jessie Brent River marathon. It was 500 miles on the Mississippi River and the last time I ran (1988) they still had the calcutta
the night before.
Roy Fulton`s boat was named "Lil Roy".

Velox, What was the guy`s name from Bossier that you drove his boat. I`m from Shreveport and should know him.

DB

I am sure it's the same Skeeter.
He was a Local hero and won a lot around there.
I can't remember the guy from LA, I bet Jimmie Sewares will.
I still talk to Jimmie a couple of times a year.
The boat was a tiny Speedliner with a racing lower housing and a speedmaster with a Merc 100 powerhead.
It was a real monster to drive, but of course very fast for those days.
The owner of the boat was a real Good Ole Boy and a friend of Jimmies.
That was the first time I ever saw a Calcuta so you can understand my amazement! Boy, I would love to do it all over again, but we only get one trip .
10-21-2006, 02:53 PM
lilabner

Charlie,
I tested that boat in Mississippi in 62..it had an 800 speedmaster on it, cable steering with a real estate sign steering bar..I drove it about a mile and came back..said no way...

Butch
10-21-2006, 03:17 PM
velox

Quote:

Originally Posted by lilabner

Charlie,
I tested that boat in Mississippi in 62..it had an 800 speedmaster on it, cable steering with a real estate sign steering bar..I drove it about a mile and came back..said no way...

Butch

You can imagine what it was like with a 100 powerhead!
The only reason I drove it was for the money.
There was a $150 dollar first prize plus about $750 calcuta. That was 1963 and was more money than I had ever seen! Remember the biggest Mercury made the Merc 1000, was under 1000 wholesale!
BTY ,I went through my scrap book and found some really great stuff.
You are in alot of things I have. I also found the Newspaper articles about the Gold Coast Marathon for 63 , 65 and 1965.
I also have a couple of magazines including the 1963 Boat Racing yearbook. It includes the 1962 GCM , The Long Island Marathon,
The Miami to Nassau, The OPC 6 hour held at Lake X. and all of the Mile, Kilo and 5 mile records for APBA classes.
You are in the records along with Herbie Reeves, Jon Culver and Jonny Bakos.
To say the least it is a classic.
I will see how much it would cost to copy it.
I also found the program from the Greenville Mississippi Marathon.
It's in great shape.
10-23-2006, 07:05 PM
velox

Back in the early to mid-sixties, Mercury had several guys that were their top guns. Johnny Bakos was one of them. I think he won the Miami to Nassau race.
Johnny got to drive almost anything he wanted. He was a really nice gentleman of a guy. Then came Odell Lewis, another really nice guy and tough as nails I think if you were in a bar fight you wanted Odell to be on your side! He was so tough he would drive the complete 9 hour marathon by himself. In 63 or 4 he won the Miami to Nassau race in record time, driving a
25 foot Bertram with twin big block Mercrusers.
When the next Around Miami Beach was held Odell was the favorite.
Jimmie Sewares and I along with my girlfriend (now my wife) and my sister borrowed George Griliey's Powercat Tri-marand and drove out to the ocean side of the race course to watch the race. The course went out the Haulover inlet and went back inside at government cut ,a distance of about 10 miles. The whole lap was about 25 miles and the race was 2 laps We watched the race halfway between Haulover and the Cut. It was a great day and the ocean was so calm you could have water skied.
As expected Odell led the race from the start and had a big lead as he approached our location on his second lap. When he was about a mile away a fairly small fishing boat crossed his path leaving about an 18 inch wake.
Odell had a boat that raced in 5 foot seas so, no problem with such a small wake. He was about 300 feet from us when he hit the wake. In a very freak occourance the Bertram got sucked over on one side and went bow straight up when he hit the other side of the wake. We saw Odell fly 20 feet in the air and come down near the stern of the boat. The next thing we knew the boat still going about 50 MPH started running with a mind of its own. It was circling us with no signs of anyone being able to drive it.
After what seemed like a long time the boat started to slow and I drove the Tri Cat while Jimmie was able to get on board. My Wife took over for me and I got on board about 15 seconds after Jimmie. By the time I got on Jimmie had checked on Odell and had returned to the front of the boat, white as a sheet and speechless. From the look on Jimmies face I knew it was bad!
I gathered myself together and went back to see what I could do. When I got to Him I realized he had come down face first on the open engine. His Jaw was almost ripped off and he has a gash about 6 inches long with teeth and blood bubbles coming out as he moaned "help me" as he grabbed my pants leg.
Jesus, I almost Sh** myself. Odells Co-Driver was also hurt and was already going into shock.
I told Jimmiy to drive into the beach while I attended to Odell, I straighted him out so he could breathe. I knew he need help fast if he was going to make it.
I looked up at Jimmie and he was driving the boat back around to the race start line. I knew Jimmie was really shook up as he was personal friends with Odell. I took over and drove the Bertram towards the beach, between two hotels, where I knew there would be a service road to drive an ambulance down to the water. Using a George Griley technique I waved the people on the beach out of the way hit the beach at about 30 MPH.
We called for 2 ambulances and within a short time loaded the Medics got Odell and his driver off the boat. Within minutes all of the people from the beach were starting to climb all over the boat and would have destroyed it.
Jimmie and I got about 50 people to help push the boat back to the water. it was a big heavy boat, but we managed to move it. Just when we got the stern in the water Jimmie let out a blood curling scream. It seems he had his thumb between the lower unit and housing when the boat got pushed back lowering the unit and almost severing his thumb. The ambulance with the driver was just leaving so we put Jimmie in there too.
After we got the boat back in the water I drove it back to the start while my girlfriend drove the Tri Cat. When we got to the dock old EC was waiting. He asked where is my driver? Told him what happened and he just said "Get the hell off of my boat" and walked off. Later that evening we picked up Jimmie with his re attached thumb and checked on Odell. They took Odell and company to Mt Sinai on Miami Beach. Miami Beach is mostly Jewish and they were know for a lot of plastic surgery back then. One of the best plastic surgeons around did Odell. By the time we got there Odell was recovering and had been put back together and looked great! He did say he would never race again. Most of his best races came after that!
10-25-2006, 10:14 AM
gofish7070

Stuff

Great story with regards to Odell,,,,,,,,,,,,, I was at Lake X in the mid "60's and never realized all that happened to him,,,,,of course at the time was only 18 years old,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, Rememember one day going over to Odells trailer with a couple of guys ( He lived off base with his family),,,,,,,,For some reason we had a couple glasses of what to me tasted like Hi-Test Race Fuel ( Rumor had it as White Lightin),,,,,,, The next thing I know we were with a 22 rifle shooting the plastic insulators off of the top of the telephone poles,This was really nasty stuff,,,and Odell was just drinking it out of a water glass,,,,,,,,,, Later on worked with Odell and Mel Riggs while in Fond du Lac,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,They were just great guys,,,,,,,,,,,,and taught me this game called Liars Dice,,,,,,,,,,,,,, I never had a chance,,,,,,,,,,, Still remember those Great Days
10-25-2006, 05:53 PM
2us70

1 Attachment(s)

I ran the Around Miami Beach race once in 1965. I had broken the bottom out of my recently purchased Raveau so Nick Chapman let me run a brand new 13 Curtis Craft flat bottom. We pulled the rigging out of the Raveau,tested for a few minutes and off I went. Mine was the smallest boat in the race and I did pretty well for about 3/4s of the race. I was holding down 2nd place in the E class when the boat became hard to handle. I turned around and found the motor had worked loose on the transom and was just about to jump clean off. The boat didn't belong to me but the motor and everything else did so I figured I had better stop and fix the problem. This is when I found out that I had pretty well beaten the bottom out the Curtis Craft. It became a race between me getting the motor clamped down and running again or going down with the ship. I won that race and managed to finish the race in 3rd place. After the race I beached the bow on the Miami Outboard Club ramp and jumped out and held my motor up out of the water until my Dad got the trailer. When we tried to get the motor off the boat we could not do it. The clamps were so tight it took a length of pipe to free them,amazing what adrenaline can do
10-25-2006, 09:02 PM
velox

Quote:

Originally Posted by 2us70

I ran the Around Miami Beach race once in 1965. I had broken the bottom out of my recently purchased Raveau so Nick Chapman let me run a brand new 13 Curtis Craft flat bottom. We pulled the rigging out of the Raveau,tested for a few minutes and off I went. Mine was the smallest boat in the race and I did pretty well for about 3/4s of the race. I was holding down 2nd place in the E class when the boat became hard to handle. I turned around and found the motor had worked loose on the transom and was just about to jump clean off. The boat didn't belong to me but the motor and everything else did so I figured I had better stop and fix the problem. This is when I found out that I had pretty well beaten the bottom out the Curtis Craft. It became a race between me getting the motor clamped down and running again or going down with the ship. I won that race and managed to finish the race in 3rd place. After the race I beached the bow on the Miami Outboard Club ramp and jumped out and held my motor up out of the water until my Dad got the trailer. When we tried to get the motor off the boat we could not do it. The clamps were so tight it took a length of pipe to free them,amazing what adrenaline can do

Sounds like you and I were racing in Miami almost at the same time.
I raced in class D and E prior to hooking up with Georgre Griley and driving his twin engine boats or any thing I could cobble up.
I started in D because that's the engine I could afford on my 13 foot Raveau.
I then bought a used 450 from Tommy Sheldon and started running E.
The 450 was exactly the same engine as the 500, except internal tuned exhaust stack and shocks. Tommy installed the stack on the 450 and thats the way I raced it.
My boat was an older one and not quite as fast as the new ones, but I did pretty good in it.
Barry Evans bought a brand new Raveau and every once in a while we would team up and put my engine on his boat and I would drive. I really think his boat was the best one ever. I never raced the around Miami Beach, I don't know why, just never did. Now I wish I had.
I also never actually raced the Miami to Nassau. wished I had also
.
10-26-2006, 08:08 AM
2us70

I think there was a little overlap there. I recall you running E class when I was still just a spectator but by the time I started racing the Sandy Shoes and Gold Coast you were running twin engine stuff. After I got outof the Army and started running in E class you had moved on to other things,airplanes I guess.
10-26-2006, 10:41 AM
velox

Quote:

Originally Posted by 2us70

I think there was a little overlap there. I recall you running E class when I was still just a spectator but by the time I started racing the Sandy Shoes and Gold Coast you were running twin engine stuff. After I got outof the Army and started running in E class you had moved on to other things,airplanes I guess.

I only got to run the twin engine stuff in the marathons. That's because I was hooked up with Griley and I would share driving with him or if he was busy would take whatever boat we were running to a race. He was an incredible guy and would let some of us use anything he had, including engines, boats, Corvettes, and sometimes even girlfriends! Since I was dating my now wife, I was not able to take advantage of the last. She and my sister watched me like a hawk.
Every once in a while I would go back and race D class or E class at a closed course race.
I would have really enjoyed the twin engine closed course races, but George did that stuff. He was a great driver and one year got hold of a big black wood tub Catamaran that had belonged to Art Deroaches and won almost every closed course race. It was not the fastest thing, but he could really get it around the course . Its the same cat Jimmie Sewares and I took to Greenville Mississippi.

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