First things first - Detroit was a well planned and well run
APBA vintage event, and many thanks go the the event organizers - Tom and
Jacq Bertolini.
This was a very large gathering of beautiful vintage race boats -
including 3-point hydroplanes, Jersey Speed Skiffs, Gold Cup fast steppers, and fire
breathing grand prix hydros. The Vintage boats were
on display
all weekend, and also ran demonstration heats on the
historic Detroit Gold Cup race course.
This year we were again located in the "Piston Park" area, close to the
start/finish line, and the logistics were just superb - nice job organizers. We
had lots of space, with 3 cranes for just our vintage boats, and over 100
feet of good docking on the water. All the boats were crane launched, and the
docks were so long that we could actually pre-stage our vintage heats at the
dock. The boats were then released all at once - great fun and very dramatic -
especially on heats with over 8 vintage boats ???!!!
And again this year our vintage boats had TONS of water time - with lots of vintage
heats on Friday,
Saturday and Sunday. Yup - we had a ball, got all the running time most of us
could handle, and left Detroit with empty tanks and very tired bodies !!!
The constant crane launching also gave spectators a chance to view and
photograph the unique bottom designs, that illustrate the evolution of Gold Cup
hulls.
And again the year, we hauled some of our vintage boats for displays at
fundraisers at the historic Detroit Yacht Club and the grand Grouse Point Yacht Club.
These two clubs are THE major sponsors for our vintage race boats at the
historic Gold Cup regatta again this year - and we very much appreciate their
support ???!!!
Yup - this was another grand celebration of our
beloved Detroit APBA Gold Cup - and the sights and sounds of our vintage race boats were
just magnificent
.
Enjoy the photos.
Click here for pictures of last summer's vintage event.
Vintage
Race Boat Shop
