HISTORY 2003

Classic Thunder’s Apple Cup Regatta was held at Waughop Lake in Lakewood on July 20th.  We were greeted with warm weather, good water and a breeze that came and went throughout the day.  All of these things made for great atmosphere, a good day of racing and a lot of action.  However, the day started out with a snag when we realized the buoys got left behind.  Did this keep us from racing?  Are you kidding? A quick call from Pete on the cell phone, a stop by Walgreen’s and Lowe’s down the street and we were back in business.  We improvised with some Styrofoam cups, string and heavy steel nuts and they worked just fine.  Way to work together to come up with a quick solution!  Before the day was over, we would have a new points leader in Division 1 and some more great Classic Thunder racing to talk about.

Nine boats entered the race in Division 1.

Heat 1A started it off with a victory for Jeff Howard’s Miss Budweiser.  Mitch Dillard couldn’t keep the Gale IV off the buoy in turn one and was forced to run an extra lap.  Second went to Bob VandenAkker’s Notre Dame, who came from the trailer position.  Third went to the Gale IV and fourth to Mike Krone’s Cabover Bardahl.  Jessica Van Wyk was unable to finish in the Berryessa Belle.

Heat 1B was an interesting heat which saw a good battle between Dale Van Wyk’s Miss Seattle and Pete Schille’s Harrah’s Club.  The Harrah’s held a slight lead over the Miss Seattle during the heat when she rolled in turn one.  The Seattle was just behind and to the inside the Harrah’s and appeared to possibly miss her as he went by.  However, the Seattle’s rudder was kicked up and she was unable to continue.  No damage to the Harrah’s was evident and the judges could not definitively say that the two boats made contact with each other, so no call was made.  Neither the Harrah’s nor the Seattle was able to finish the heat.  Dave Sacry skillfully drove the Miss U.S. to the win followed by Gary Simpson’s Chrysler Crew.  

The Harrah’s continued her day with a victory in Heat 2A over the Notre Dame, Cabover Bardahl and Miss U.S.  The Berryessa Belle did not finish.

Heat 2B was won by the Miss Seattle followed by the Budweiser and Chrysler Crew.  Gale IV spun in turn two and took on water over the bow.  She was unable to finish the heat.

The Harrah’s took Heat 3A over Miss U.S., Notre Dame and Chrysler Crew.  Berryessa Belle was unable to finish.  The Harrah’s went dead unexpectedly just after crossing the finish line.  It was later discovered that one of the electrical connectors came unsoldered.  Up to that point in the day, it seemed like the Harrah’s had been blessed with some very timely good luck, if not devine intervention.

The Miss Seattle continued to show promise by winning Heat 3B followed by the Gale IV, Budweiser and Cabover Bardahl.  The Budweiser thrilled us all with not one, but two blowovers and one spinout in this heat.   

The Gale IV came home first in the Consolation heat ahead of Chrysler Crew, Cabover Bardahl and Berryessa Belle.  Gale IV transferred to the final heat as the trailer.

The Final Heat was a good one.  The Harrah’s Club and Miss Seattle hooked up right away and actually bumped each other coming out of the first turn.  The Harrah’s pulled out to a small lead after that, but the Seattle was still chasing.  By the end of lap three, the Seattle was within striking distance of the Harrah’s.  While all this was going on, the Budweiser had pulled to within striking distance of the Miss Seattle and the battle between them was on.  The Bud caught the Seattle in the final corner on lap four.  The two boats bumped and the Bud went dead in the water.  Meanwhile, the Harrah’s continued to run out front.  The Gale IV came around to pass the ailing Budweiser as did the Miss U.S. and Notre Dame.  The Bud was able to continue later on and finished the race.  The final heat saw a whole lot of rubbin’ going on, but everyone made it back more or less in one piece.  To the victor go the spoils.  Congratulations to Pete Schille’s Harrah’s Club, winner of the 2003 Apple Cup in Division 1!  The Harrah’s Club has also taken over the season points lead.  She has won 3 out of 4 of the last races and looks like a force to be reckoned with.  Way to go Pete!  Second place went to Dale Van Wyk’s Miss Seattle who ran strong all day long.  Third went to Mitch Dillard’s Gale IV, who came from the trailer position.  Dave Sacry finished fourth in the Miss U.S., Bob VandenAkker was fifth in Notre Dame and Jeff Howard brought the Miss Budweiser home in sixth.

Two in a row for Executone.  Dale captures

Division 2 victory at Apple Cup.

Five boats made up the field in Division 2 competition for the Apple Cup.  Once again we were delighted with a show that just seems to get better and better.  

Heat 1 was a prelude of things to come as Dale Van Wyk flexed the muscles of his Executone and cruised to victory over Mitch Dillard’s Griffon Budweiser.  The Bud gave chase but came up short in this one.  Pete Schille’s Tide came from the trailer position and was fast enough to finish third.  The Tide would have two more trailer starts today due to the penalty she received in the Diamond Cup.   Jeff Howard continued to have inconsistencies with his Znetix, but managed to coax a finish out of her for fourth place.  Bob VandenAkker spun a coupler in the Weisfields and was unable to start.  The Weisfields also faced three trailer starts carrying over from the Diamond Cup.

The Executone continued its dominance in Heat 2 with another win.  The Griffon Bud tattooed a buoy in turn one during the heat and got a one-lap penalty.  The Tide finished it’s second trailer start in second place and looked strong.  Weisfields bounced back with a third place finish and the Griffon Bud finished fourth.  The most valiant effort put forth for the day was that of the Znetix.  Jeff continued on with racing knowing that the boat would run for a while before its speed controller would shut off.  It would then stop and start over and over before being able to finish the required number of laps.  We all gave a big cheer when it crossed the line for the fifth place finish.  I’m sure that it must have been very frustrating for him, but he didn’t quit.  Just want to let Jeff know that we appreciate his patience and sportsmanship.  It’s just a matter of time before Jeff gets hooked up with an impressive combination for division 2, then watch out!

Heat 3 was outstanding and had to be the most exciting heat of the day.  It started out as a deck-to-deck dual between the Executone and the Griffon Bud.  For four laps this went on and all the while the Tide was gaining on them both.  At the end of lap 4, the Executone had a slight lead and by the time the three boats got to the end of the backstretch, the Tide had caught the both.  I’m still not sure how this happened, but the Tide got the inside lane in the turn, the Exexutone slid out a bit wider in the turn and the Griffon Bud took the place between them.  Somehow, the Bud was able to accelerate off the corner and nip the Tide and Executone at the line by what couldn’t have been more than a half of a boat length.  The same gap separated the Executone and Tide for second and third respectively.  There was cheering from the spectators at the end of the heat.  I’ll be smiling about that one for a long time.  This was the Tide’s final trailer start and she was looking mighty impressive.  The Weisfields came home fourth and unfortunately the Znetix was unable to finish.

If there was any question as to the strength of the Tide, those questions were answered in Heat 4.  The Heat began with the Griffon Bud out in front at the start.  A good battle was shaping up and the Tide had a slight lead by the end of lap 1.  As the boats entered turn one, the Bud hit some bumps, bounced into the turn, popped her cowling loose and had to discontinue racing.  The Tide went on to an uncontested victory followed by the Executone in a solid second place.  Weisfields finished third and the Znetix was fourth.  The Griffon Bud earned a DNF due to the lost cowling.  The Tide shined bright in this heat, but the Executone would win the day as it only needed a third place finish to secure the victory in this cumulative points race.  The Executone ran well all day long and had earned its second win in a row.  Congratulations to Dale Van Wyk’s Executone, winner of the 2003 Classic Thunder Apple Cup Regatta in Division 2!  Based on points, second place want to Pete Schille’s Tide.  Third place went to Mitch Dillard’s Griffon Bud.  Fourth place was Bob VandenAkker’s Weisfields and fifth place was Jeff Howard’s Znetix.  Way to go guys!

I would like to thank those who came down for the race at Waughop.  This was the first time we raced there and it sounds like everyone loved the location.  I thought it was great.  Thanks to Pete, Bob and Mike for helping with the course setup and the quick makeshift buoys.  That showed great teamwork and quick thinking.  I also wanted to thank those who came to show their support as spectators.  I don’t know all of your names, but there were Gary’s supporters, Jeff’s family and friends and many other people who stopped along the trail to watch and take pictures. Thanks to Jeff’s mom for the ham & cheese sandwich too.  I really enjoyed sponsoring the race and can hardly wait to return there for the Gold Cup.  Next year we’ll have to make sure someone brings their digital camera.  This year’s Apple Cup will go down in history as “the forgotten race” as far as pictures for the web site go.  Sorry.  We thought we had that covered.  We have a couple of weeks off and then we’ll gear it up for the Seafair race at Coulon Park in Renton on August 10th.  See you there.

Sincerely,

Mitch Dillard

Classic Thunder Commissioner