The sport misses marathons

[Powercat]

Thanks to all .... much appreciated !!

Hell, you don't need me.......

[T2x]

Hi Rich, John Stenback and I got together the other day,,, HELL OF A GOOD TIME !!

I saw him at OFF...... Lotsa fun there as well.

[seeroy]

As most of you know, I only raced for a few years. However, now that I think of it, Marathons were the only kind of race that I was ever involved in. Gold Coast, Marine Stadium 9 hours, Miami-Nassau, Around Long Island, Sam Griffith, and a few others, but THE GREAT ADVENTURE for a "bullet proof and invisible" dumb ass kid was 1967, 1968, and 1969 Bahama 500. Talk about wide eyed naivete the first year. At least I gained enough insight during that time to truly appreciate what all of you "regulars" and my brother did for so many years. Sometimes I look in the mirror and ask myself, "Did I really do that?" It never ceases to amaze me when I answer, "Yup!" - Steve Sirois

[seeroy]

Hi Rich, John Stenback and I got together the other day,,, HELL OF A GOOD TIME !!

John - Wherever you got together with John, I hope he didn't try to quiet everybody down....There is a story there ....And to think he once named ME Tazmanian Devil!....It's a good thing we were already planning a change of venue for one of our events next year at OFF. - Steve

[lilabner]

The race that was so rough was the year before this one. I know Chuck won that one. He was running a 16' Powercat with twin 700's. We had a hurricane going accross the state while the race was going on. I remember J Paxton Hill was referee and he was concerned his home may have been damaged as the storm went through Avon Park, where he lived. It was a 4 hour race.

Hi Jim, I just found the results of that race

and check out who won Class 1..OPC Factory Driver..

[T2x]

Hi Jim, I just found the results of that race

and check out who won Class 1..OPC Factory Driver..

The most amazing thing about that race is that only 10 years later these guys were running over 100 mph with full race factory engines on imported custom tunnel hulls.......... arguably the most dynamic decade in boat racing history. This accelerated change was duplicated in Offshore racing in the 10 years between 1978 and 1988.

[seeroy]

Hi Jim, I just found the results of that race

and check out who won Class 1..OPC Factory Driver..

Hi Butch - Thank You for this article. Was there a date on it? Somewhere recently I spoke about Bill running a "Penyan" boat. This article reminded me that it was a "Peninsular". That was the company that Odell Lewis handed over to Al Holub. Point being that this may not actually have been a "Kiekhaefer Corp Factory" ride for Bill, but instead may have been a "Sarasota Marine/Al Holub" sponsored ride. Since Bill's home was listed as Sarasota instead of St Cloud, that further leads me to think this was before he went to work for Kiekhaefer. If there was a date on the article, that may help. Best Regards - Steve Sirois

[Powercat]

I notice this is saying the race was APBA sanctioned, was this before the
Lake X 6 hour race of 1961? Could this then be considered the first
APBA OPC race?

Hi Jim, I just found the results of that race

and check out who won Class 1..OPC Factory Driver..

[T2x]

I notice this is saying the race was APBA sanctioned, was this before the
Lake X 6 hour race of 1961? Could this then be considered the first
APBA OPC race?

Notice the number "39" on Chuck's cat and not "JJ-39". I would guess the race was sanctioned under the ubiquitous APBA "Special Event" category.

[Ronster43]

Great pics from a July, 1959 magazine. I recall Olgator talking about this marathon, but I couldn't find the thread. There is a tanker truck at the turnaround. Did they refuel there?

[Ronster43]

It says this was the first APBA sanctioned marathon exclusively for family runabouts. Was this maybe the first OPC race??

[lilabner]

Here are a couple more events from the same publication in 1959.

[lilabner]

Here's something for Danny..Race for your life..Bay of Pigs invasion

[mark benson]

In 1948, 16 year old school boy, Leon Wilton, from the state of Indiana, defeated all other competitors with his 7.5 HP Outboard, to win the Albany to New York (134 mile course) Outboard Pleasure Craft Race. There were 200 entrants, 141 finished!

It says this was the first APBA sanctioned marathon exclusively for family runabouts. Was this maybe the first OPC race??

[J. Sherlock]

In 1948, 16 year old school boy, Leon Wilton, from the state of Indiana, defeated all other competitors with his 7.5 HP Outboard, to win the Albany to New York (134 mile course) Outboard Pleasure Craft Race. There were 200 entrants, 141 finished!

eeeeeekk, Mark I will have to look up the dates of OPC. I think I was older than 2, lol, when OPC got its start. Rich could give us the dates.

It may have been but I don't remember the Albany to NYC being called an OPC race.. OPC was started maybe late
50's or early 60's. That was a long time ago. I ran Albany to NYC in 1964...........