Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Wolfboro Regatta










The most fun I've had in a long time was attending this year's Wolfboro Regatta in Wolfboro, New Hampshire. It's a wonderful meeting of antique boat owners and retired race boat drivers at the beautiful Lake Winnipesaukee. And the weather was PERFECT!









Many of these boats were top competitors in their day ... a few were World Record holders. And the current owners still take speed very seriously. The boats are in race-ready condition - some with more horsepower than ever before. And they really FLY around the race course.










It has been many years (40?) since I went to Miami Marine Stadium to watch these old-school hydos run. They are as much fun to watch now as back then. These pictures were taken from a dock in the pit area - right in the apex of a turn. But the water was good and drivers were getting them to skim the water at about 150 mph in the straights.









This Switzer Craft really brought back memories for me ... haven't seen one in a VERY long time. When I was a kid (late 60s), I used to go to our neighborhood bridge over the Intercoastal Waterway and watch these boats run in the Miami Marathon. Running up over 100 mph, they were always first to come through. It was SO EXCITING!!!


















There was some really 'sweet' lake boats there too. These old beauties are a work of design art, and took hundreds of hours to build. There is a club in the Wolfboro area that provides a wonderful resource center for those working to keep these old relics afloat. Some of them are worth $$$$$.

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