Boat Racing in South Florida before The Dolfins

[lilabner]

built by sam?

Nope, Art Ribikee. I did have 2 of Sams boats though. A BU and a DU I ran my 500 on. It tried to kill me at a Key Largo race at Caribbean Club.. I put it on the trailer and never drove it again. I liked the Raveau's I had been running much better.

[lilabner]

Anybody have any old pelican harbor pictures to post would love to see some. Amberjack best always.

Here's one of Treasure in the middle of a nine hour Race in a Barracuda 1959.

[Lake X Kid]

Here is my dad, Roy Ridgell with boat Miss Seattle.

It is south Florida because I can see some Australian Pine trees behind the Palm trees.
However, I do not know the exact location or the race site.

[FUJIMO]

[velox]

This was a borrowed boat and motors. The bubble cat was George Grileys and the motors wer Phil Young’s. They were both frozen the day before the GCM. I worked all night getting one broken loose and replaced the crankshaft in the other. The first time the engines ran was when it was put in the water for the race. They made it the entire race without a hiccup! The boat would go right at 70 and the average speed for both days was about 68mph. It was run wide open throttle from start to finish both days! We actually led the start of the race both days for a couple of miles until the faster boats caught up.[/QUOTE]

[velox]

People would be amazed at how the young guys raced with nothing but a dollar or two in their pockets. Guys like Butch, (lil Abner) Richard Baiz and I would help the older guys with their boats and end up getting to race their boats when they were busy or just need a second driver. Richard, Butch and Treasure had a great patron, Phil Young, owner of Young electric. My patron was usually George Griley and Phil would loan me equipment a few times. Richard raced for Phil and Charlie Dunn. Charlie was a rookie that had tons of money. Richard prepared Charlie’s Twin powered Catamaran and even started the first two hours of the Grand National 6 hour Marathon at the Miami Outboard Club. He put Charlie in first place. Charlie lost ground and Richard got back in the boat and took first place. Of course the record book shows Charlie Dunn as the overall winner of the 6 hour, but Richard rigged and painted the boat, set it up and towed it to the race and drove a majority of the race, but got no credit.

[velox]

Treasure is still an incredibly good looking lady 60 years later!

[2us70]

People would be amazed at how the young guys raced with nothing but a dollar or two in their pockets. Guys like Butch, (lil Abner) Richard Baiz and I would help the older guys with their boats and end up getting to race their boats when they were busy or just need a second driver. Richard, Butch and Treasure had a great patron, Phil Young, owner of Young electric. My patron was usually George Griley and Phil would loan me equipment a few times. Richard raced for Phil and Charlie Dunn. Charlie was a rookie that had tons of money. Richard prepared Charlie’s Twin powered Catamaran and even started the first two hours of the Grand National 6 hour Marathon at the Miami Outboard Club. He put Charlie in first place. Charlie lost ground and Richard got back in the boat and took first place. Of course the record book shows Charlie Dunn as the overall winner of the 6 hour, but Richard rigged and painted the boat, set it up and towed it to the race and drove a majority of the race, but got no credit.

Was that the "Moon Demon" cat? Bob Lurch was running the Moon Demon when I first started racing.

[Amberjack1234]

Was that the "Moon Demon" cat? Bob Lurch was running the Moon Demon when I first started racing.

I was a kid in Miami was the center of things along with Miami outboard club Florida. Everything was happening on Watson Island, pelican Harbor or the Marine Stadium after it was built. A Gold Coast marathon or something we look forward to every summer we would either go up to pelican Harbor yacht club or the Broadway at 125th St. to watch the start of the race a couple years we went up to Hollywood to watch the racers come down through the narrow intercoastal waterway. All of you older guys were lucky to have braced back in the late 50s early 60s And we used to watch you, guys like hGene Lanham Dave Craig from Skyway Marine. The Hydro drivers fuzzy furlong Charlie Dunn . The moon demon catamaran was a crowd favorite at the pelican Harbor races. I did manage to get to race there 16 foot Donzi and some of the three hour races closed course later on. What a time to grow up in Miami. All the best Amber Jack. May the Marine Stadium fallen on all the Miami commissioners and Dade county commissioners. It would be the best use of concrete since they built interstate 95

[2us70]

I ran several marathons at PHYC. I much preferred this course to any other marathon course.

[Amberjack1234]

I ran several marathons at PHYC. I much preferred this course to any other marathon course.

I agree this was to me the best racecourse for marathons. You had to calm the water to the eastern side and the dog leg and then the rougher water coming down the intercoastal on the west side