Rest in Peace - Bob O'Connor

[TPLACE31]

It is with a heavy heart that we report the passing of Bobby O'Connor. Truly one of Racing's unique characters, Bob will be missed by the many lives that he touched here in Region One and throughout the racing community. Our condolences go out to Pearl and the family.

Steve Noury

[Fast Jack]

We will miss Him

Bob was a great guy and we will feel the loss for a long time. He let Jack help when we got the J hydro built ,and always put up with my changes to hull designs.I will miss the sessions at his dinner table when we would talk about drop decks, wheelbase and cocpit locations. Pearl would keep the cookies and tea flowing, and we would finally pull out the box of patterns and figure out how to build what I wanted. I was lucky to get the last boat he compleated this spring. In typical fashion the boat was done early and the price lower than the estimate. I will miss my friend . Race in peace.. Shawn and Jack

[L. Allen]

Very, very sad news.
Deepest sympathies to Pearl and the family from the Allen's.

[ratracer]

To the O'Connor family our sincer condolences go out to you in your time of lose. from the the Rudik , Langlois familys from Millville

[joep72n]

Man that is sad news, bob was truly one of the nicest people i have ever met in my life, my sincere condolences go out to pearl and bobs family.

[5-A]

My condolences, certainly a genuinely nice guy, with tons of skill and energy, a lot of great knowledge and very well thought out opinions, and of course (probably thousands) of great stories.

[Graham]

Condolences

I'm very sorry to hear of Bob's loss. I can vividly remember our competitive BSH races in the 1960's time frame.

My sincere condolences to Pearl & family.

Sincerely I Remain,
Don Graham III

[hpick86n]

sad sad sad we just lost one of the most talented boat builders and racer we had, Being a boat builder my self Bob and I were always discusing boat designs when we met at the races rest in peace Bob sincerely Howard Pickerell

[Wild Bill 96D]

Very bad news for the hole boat racing family.

[BROCCOLI]

Most people will remember Bob O'Connor the boat builder, furniture maker, innovator and genuine generous man. I will think of him first as a driver.

Like most boat builders, Bob had his share of less than satisfied customers. "The boat doesn't handle. It doesn't turn." O'Connor's typical response was to don a life jacket, hop in the customer's boat and demonstrate. Frequently, (this happened more than once, ) the venue was rough and or narrow. Bobby would fire off, latch the throttle and not back off for three or so laps. I watched him do this on the old two bouy Soutbury, Ct. course in a kneel down 250 hydro. Thirty five years later, O'Connor hammered the waves and corners in Wells, NY in a CSH.

Like many, I will miss him, but cherish the memories. To Pearl and family, I wish you the best.

Craig

[Jakeroub]

I am saddened to hear about Bob's passing. He sure was a nice man and was happy to talk about just about anything to anyone who'd listen. I enjoyed hearing about his escapades growing up in Arlington, his apple orchard, and of course boats. One of his favorite boat stories was about him getting tossed out of his boat something like 7 times in one day. He will be sorely missed.

[ottawamercguy]

The passing of a legend

Bob's memory will go long after we have all hung up our
kevlars. I had heard of O'Connor boats and got to meet
the man a few years ago at Standish. I was initially intimidated
to introduce myself but he put me at ease and talked about boats
until I had to end the conversation to go racing. His boats are everywhere
and we will think of Bob whenever they cross the finish line. My
condolances to the family. Regards Michael Rorke

[Dparker]

So sorry to hear of Bob's passing. We all have different memories of Bob, although a great boat builder, the Bob or should I say "Okie" I knew was a hard driving BSH driver of the 60's. My Dad and Bob were great competitors against each other and are probably having a great time discussing the old days once again like they did the last time they were together at the 2009 Standish Race. My sincere condolences to Pearl and all of the O'connor Family.

[stu_racing]

The Utmans offer our condolences to Bob's family. I remember the first time I met Bob was at Standish and he was checking out my boat after I got my first win in CSH. He needed to figure out why my Arltralite was out front. He was a friendly guy always offering advice and stories. He will be missed

[LarryR]

I only had the privilege of knowing Bob for the last few years. He was a truly nice man and credit to our sport and the state of Maine. May he find the apples always in bloom and flat water in every turn in the next life.