Presidents Cup turns into Birthday party for Mitch

The Classic Thunder Presidents Cup Regatta was held May 4th on Lake Washington’s western shore, just north of Seward Park.  We expected challenging waters and plenty of excitement.  We were not disappointed.  The weather made for changing conditions on the water and kept drivers on their toes all day long.  In the end, it was the birthday boy, Mitch Dillard who prevailed.  Mitch turned 39 on Sunday and celebrated, in part, by driving both Gale IV and the Griffon Budweiser to victory in Division 1 and Division 2 respectively.  Certainly two of his birthday wishes came true in what proved to be a very demanding race.

Nine boats took to the course for Division 1 competition.

The Harrah’s, driven by Pete Schille won heat 1A. Mike Krone in the Bardahl misjudged the start, hit the line way too early and gave himself an extra lap to run. In spite of that, Mike brought the Bardahl home in second.  Jeff Howard’s Budweiser ran well, but was pushed to a third place finish after striking a buoy.  Dave Sacry’ Breathless and Bill McGraw’s Pride of Pay’n Pak failed to finish.

Heat 1B saw plenty of carnage as two out of the three boats that started failed to finish.  Bob VandenAkker brought the Notre Dame home in 1st place.  Mitch Dillard rolled the Gale IV in the north turn. Chris Cootsona suffered a similar fate in the Miss U.S.  Dale Van Wyk’s Miss Seattle failed to make the start.

Heat 2A was won by Bill McGraw’s Pride of Pay’n Pak followed by the consistent Miss Bardahl.  The Notre Dame, Miss Seattle and Miss U.S. all failed to finish.

Heat 2B was won by Jeff Howard’s Miss Budweiser, followed by Gale IV.  The Harrah’s and Breathless did not finish.

Heat 3A saw some good racing as the Pride of Pay’n Pak and Gale IV hooked up for a good time.  The victory went to the Pay’n Pak after the Gale IV received a 1-lap penalty for bearing out and obstructing the Pak’s progress in the north turn.  Gale IV finished second.  Breathless and Notre Dame could not finish and the Miss Seattle failed to start.

Heat 3B was won by the Harrah’s followed by Miss Bardahl, Miss U.S. and Budweiser.  Compliments to the driving, as this is the only heat of the day that saw every boat come back under its own power.  Good job guys.

Chris Cootsona and the Miss U.S. won the consolation heat over Breathless and Notre Dame.  Miss Seattle did not start.  The U.S. advanced as a trailer in the Final Heat.

The Final Heat began with the Miss Bardahl crossing the start a little early followed by the Harrah’s, Gale IV, Budweiser, Pride of Pay’n Pak and Miss U.S.  For three laps, the Gale IV inched its way closer to the Harrah’s while both boats tried to negotiate a way around the Miss Bardahl.  The Bardahl was a lap down after jumping the start, but was still battling hard.  On lap three, the Harrah’s made her move in the north turn and put the Bardahl between herself and the Gale IV.  The unpredictable water took then took its tole, causing the Harrah’s to role over.  The Gale IV took over the lead and was chased by the Miss Budweiser until the Bud lost control coming out of the north turn and snap rolled violently.  That left the Gale boat to run the last lap to victory with nothing but the unforgiving water to contend with.  Mitch’s Gale IV managed to finish the lap and won the Presidents Cup in Division 1 followed by Bill McGraw’s Pride of Pay’n Pak, Chris Cootsona’s Miss U.S. and Mike Krone’s Miss Bardahl.  

Five boats answered the bell to compete in Division 2.  Four heats and cumulative points decided the outcome.

Heat 1 saw Pete Schille’s Tide jump out to an early lead followed closely by Mitch Dillard’s Griffon Bud, Bob VandenAkker’s Weisfields and Dale Van Wyk’s Executone.  It went on this way until the beginning of lap 5 when the Tide lost power.  The Griffon Bud continued on to win followed by the Weisfields and Tide.  The Executone did not finish.  Jeff Howard’s Znetix failed to start.

The Tide “cleaned up” in Heat 2, leading the Griffon Bud and Weisfields from start to finish.  The Znetix did not finish and Executone failed to start.

Heat 3 was won by the Griffon Bud followed by the Executone.  The Weisfields finished third after striking a buoy and running an extra lap.  The Tide suffered electrical problems and did not finish.  The Znetix had radio failure and also did not finish.

Heat 4 saw the Griffon Bud home first over the Executone.  Weisfields got reacquainted with the buoy and again had to run an extra lap.  The Tide was unable to finish after spinning out in the south turn and filling with water.  Znetix had to withdraw from the heat.  Based on cumulative points, Mitch Dillard and the Griffon Budweiser won the Presidents Cup in Division 2.  Bob VandenAkker’s Weisfields was second and Pete Schille’s Tide finished third.

I would like to thank all of those who showed up for the race.  This was an exciting and fun event.  Once again we had a great time with the boats and the people.  We put up with a little inconsistent weather, but we all pitched in to make it work.  It was good to see you all there.  I hope we will see some of the other boats at the Harmsworth Trophy Race in a couple of weeks.  I was glad to see Chris, Bill and Jeff out for their first race this season.  We were also honored by the presence of Tim Knowles, Doug Tulip and most importantly, my mom.  It was also nice to see friends, family and and other people stopping to chat and check out the racing.   Honestly, Hangin’ out with you Classic Thunder guys and my family was a great way to spend my birthday.  Thanks again for everyone who turned out to make it special.  See you at the Harmsworth, May 18th at Coulon Park in Renton.

Sincerely,

Mitch Dillard

Commissioner, Classic Thunder