2009 Skipp Walther Memorial

A quick recap of the first race of the 2009 season...

The Skipp Walther Memorial Cup

We gathered at Coulon Park for the season opener after a LONG off season.  Coulon gave the racers better water than we are used to but added something new to the equation...debris.  Many racers were hit with rudder damage during the day, the worst was probably Jeff Howard's AHERN RENTALS.  The U-10 was leading a heat when it struck a piece of driftwood in the backstretch, the boat was pitched over hard on it's nose destroying the canard wing.  The boat also broke it's prop, strut, and rudder...but somehow managed to stay out front and finish the heat.  Mitch found the offending piece of wood with half of Jeff's prop still embedded in the side...but Jeff declined to take the souvenir home with him at the end of the day.

The most heartbreaking debris strike of the day came in the Division One final when Pete Schille's DIONYSUS and Mark Beatty's ATLAS (being driven by substitute Dale Schroeder) both seemed to hit the same piece of debris at the same time while battling for the lead.  The boats limped around with disabled rudders to finish, but the mishap handed the lead to Mark Beatty and his impressive GALE'S ROOSTERTAIL which never looked back and took the D1 win.  Second place went to Steve Dumanis and the WAHOO and third went to a steady Clint Crain in the TIMEX.  Also of note in the Division One final was our rookie John Flood who made the final heat in his very first race driving Gene Melang's MISS US.  Unfortunately his race ended upside down with a flip going into the first turn but still it was a very impressive start for John in his first outing.

Division Two was dominated by Mitch Dillard in his beautiful Freei boat.  Mitch had a perfect day even though there are rumors that he was the beneficiary of soft heat draws (LOL).  Brent Hall also had an impressive day in the turbine PAK finishing third in the final, and second place went to a rock solid performance by Mike Krone in his DESIGN 360.

The race was sponsored by Pete Schille Motorsport Art, and after the final the top three finishers in each division received prints of a drawing of Skipp Walther and his REDMAN hydroplane from the 1974 season.  A bonus prize was awarded to the boat with the most points in either division, an original painting of the 74 REDMAN.  When the points were totaled, it turned out that two boats had ended the day with a perfect 1600 points.  George Washington decided the winner...we flipped a quarter.  Mark won the painting

The season is off to a good start with thirty six boats taking part in the opening race.  Now we are facing two new race sites in a row with the Diamond Cup at Lake Tye, and the Harmsworth Race on Silver Lake.

Thanks to everyone that helped with the first race...Mike with the rowboat, Dan with the radios, Jeff with all his tech work and everyone who helped call corners and take photographs and keep things running smoothly (with the exception of the kayakers).

See you all in Monroe!

Pete Schille

Naked Winged Guy Racing Team