Tricks that old racers get up to after retirement

[jackiewilson]

Getting there. Unfortunately, the older you get, the thinner the skin gets, the longer it takes to heal. Into the fifth week , but the end is in sight. Had the last professional dressing. Been discharged from hospital care but theres still a half tidy dressing covering it. I reckon ill be back to normal by the end of the week.
As my sainted mother used to say,” Time and tide waits for no one, not even you son”.

[jackiewilson]

Well, i tried growing old and i can tell you categorically no, it doesnt have much, if anything going for it, I’m not going there again .
I cant recommend one damn single benefit. Its all negative , so stay young and beautiful for ever, free from slow walking, slow talking, slow mending and paper thin skin.
Alcohol seems to slide down my throat easier, and i cant remember if i already had a drink or not. Not that im much of a drinker. Only been drunk twice in 88 years.
First time was on the Southwater football clubs annual outing, stinking hot day and someone gave me a quart bottle of Merrydown Cider. On the return trip i beat the crap out of my friend Tommy Phillips. I was just 21. Cant tell you about the second time,

Seeing as how you asked, theres the poorly arm as at 8 am today.

[jackiewilson]

Spent all weekend and then some , sorting out and Fernagling a pair of all weather outside occasional tables for my youngest kid Sam. She has three treble seater settees and a couple of single loungers.
Problem is, theres no where to put your drink. SOOOOOO. i Acquired these two beautifully made oil catching trays from the scrapyard . Filthy as a snotty nosed kid from the Bowery. But i had ambition.
Made the first trying to spot weld stainless legs on each of the corners and failed miserably. Bugger. then i chopped out four teak legs, put em through the thicknesser and Voila, i got me a table.
Whole process was time consuming and the finished article still didn’t look all that clever either.
Number two was a breeze. simply cut four 2” angle alloy legs . a couple of bolts through each one and Bobs Youre uncle. they'll see me out, thats for sure.
Done all that i intended to do last week except clean the shop. will attack-it this afternoon.
Might do a couple of embellishments on Rotory Johns Friend, Jim Nerstrom’s little concept.

[FUJIMO]

...coming along nicely i would say. you heal pretty good considering how bad that was. just don't do it again......

[FUJIMO]

[jackiewilson]

During this ridiculous time in my life, i have had time to reflect on just how fortunate i have been during my lifetime. Five great kids, three wonderful ladies and a lifestyle most would envy.
A lot of the pleasure has come from the fact i bought a Mercury powered raceboat, got to know all about racing and made lifelong friends along the way.
Both my son and youngest daughter raced mercury outboards from ten years old.
My grandson went on to race offshore boats, again with Mercury outboards . He later went on to get involved with GEICO. Again they did tend to use Mercruiser equipment.
So, as you can gather , a lot of the happenings in my life and my family has involved Mercury.
Some of the most influential people in powerboat racing history were involved with Mercury. Seebold, Fountain, Bentz, Garbrecht, Welch, Kabasta, Ridgell, Stoney, Shunky,. Not forgetting ECK, Alex, Strang,Mert, Fred and JimmyH,. Sirois.
So, you see i have been very fortunate indeed to have been able to call all these people “Friend”.
Then of course with the passing of time, i got to become an “Old Fart”- one of the fortunate few that went on to become a part of the legendary OFFS . A great bunch of semi retired people with one thing in common RACEBOATS !
Reason im telling you this is, if you ever had anything to do with powerboat racing, in any shape or form, (even wishful thinking qualifies) then get in touch with OFF and meet lots of old racers from all over the world, i promise, you will not be wasting your time.

[jackiewilson]

Boom announced an updated version of the Concord. 88 Passengers, 5;000 mph plus. Bet there’s no off peak economy class on that one. London — New York in 3 hrs.? I’m still not rushing to get a ticket.

[FUJIMO]

Boom announced an updated version of the Concord. 88 Passengers, 5;000 mph plus. Bet there’s no off peak economy class on that one. London — New York in 3 hrs.? I’m still not rushing to get a ticket.

...i don't know jackie...at those speeds for a mere mortal...its a damn time machine...and if thats the case, well...you should go get a flight. think of the boat races you could correct the broken part on, and win? think of the personal doctor & hospital visits you could avoid?...... its amazing whats being developed nowadays.

[jackiewilson]

...i don't know jackie...at those speeds for a mere mortal...its a damn time machine...and if thats the case, well...you should go get a flight. think of the boat races you could correct the broken part on, and win? think of the personal doctor & hospital visits you could avoid?...... its amazing whats being developed nowadays.

Very few things i would change in my life Fuji. Not much correction needed even if it was possible. Most of the problems were of my own making . Winning never was everything to me. Of course i enjoyed success, but you have to taste failure to appreciate success .
Even the heart failure was of my own making , and it would have been impossible to avoid the doctors and hospital visits considering my lifestyle . Ive reached 88. In spite of DEVELOPMENT.

[jackiewilson]

Think Twice, its another day for you and me in paradise. No better place to be than here in England in autumn. Unless of course you happen to be in florida . Paradise is where you find it, or make it. I woke up again this morning, which is an added bonus.
Think i might take a sabbatical from the old Tricks site / Its nearly run its course.
I dislike repeating myself , so im not going down that road . Lets see what tomorrow brings.

[ron54]

Goodwood is coming soon Jackie, on live stream this time for obvious reasons. I notice a DFV is up at the Bonhams Auction ...regretfully it’s a display one though.....

[powerabout]

Very few things i would change in my life Fuji. Not much correction needed even if it was possible. Most of the problems were of my own making . Winning never was everything to me. Of course i enjoyed success, but you have to taste failure to appreciate success .
Even the heart failure was of my own making , and it would have been impossible to avoid the doctors and hospital visits considering my lifestyle . Ive reached 88. In spite of DEVELOPMENT.

Jackie
Tell us what Merc should have done over the years that they failed to do?

( I have a big list for OMC product)

[jackiewilson]

Jackie
Tell us what Merc should have done over the years that they failed to do?

( I have a big list for OMC product)

AFRAID IM NOT QUALIFIED TO SAY THAT SORT OF THING PILGRIM.
Should have taken a much tougher line in the early talks with Yamaha maybe? They should have milked the Yamaha cow instead of the other way round!

[powerabout]

AFRAID IM NOT QUALIFIED TO SAY THAT SORT OF THING PILGRIM.
Should have taken a much tougher line in the early talks with Yamaha maybe? They should have milked the Yamaha cow instead of the other way round!

Yes they created Yamaha outboards and neither OMC or Merc bothered to shift small engine production to Japan, now they buying jap engines and rebadging them....

[jackiewilson]