Mal Harden pics

[Bill Huson]

VERY HOT!

Even for a swamp rat like me - musta been over 100 deg that day. Yep Davy took a speed skiff ride and declared the skiff drivers crazy. Coming from a lad who runs lay-down 100+ MPH alky boats, that wasn't an endorsement that encouraged me to try a skiff ride.

I also remember the muck. That patch of water was shallow and we had to cart the boats almost 100' from shore to get enough water to start them. At least semi-clear water, ignoring the foot or more of much our feetsies were embedded in.

[Abbott Racing]

prior to leaving inboards and coming back to outboards, my racing partner (Gerald Pemberton) and I bought a skiff and raced it for a few seasons. It is the most awesome ride you can everget in a raceboat. I now race CSH and Gerald runs CSR, but you haven't lived unless you've flown in a skiff! I must say that roll turning a CSR is nothing compared to roll turning a skiff!!!!!

[Composite Specialties]

Portsmouth

Yep, I was there as well. Raced A-Stock against Lynn Midget and Lynn was racing with a severe hangover. Watched Davey Augustine ride in the Jersey Skiff.

[Dave_E71]

It's pretty funny, I'm cleaning out my office at home so I can paint and came across a bunch of racing pictures including a couple of my skiff ride . The rest of the story is that we were all standing around at the drivers meeting and some guy needs a rider for his skiff, somebody tells him to ask the Augustines they're crazy.....he asks Gary who points to me , I think the sun had affected me by that point, and I said sure (anybody else notice that bad things happening to me usually involve Gary?).
I show up for the first heat (no testing) and ask what I needed to do,
he says "see that handle?" pointing between the seats,
"uh huh" I answer,
then he points to the deck next to my seat "and that one?",
"yeah....." I say,
he looks at me, smiles real big and says "hold on"

By the end of the first lap my helmet had rattled around so that the top of the eyehole was resting on my nose but I sure wasn't about to let go to fix it and I'm not sure that not being able to see was a bad thing!

It's one of those life experience things, I'm glad I did it but I'm not sure I want to do it again.

Dave

BTW make sure you use the correct power supply when you hook up your scanner, they sure do stink when you fry them...

[roperz111]

Portsmouth

Portsmouth, Va......

Wow.... I started thinking about that place. I can remember more stories about that place it seems than any other.

Can we say: JELLYFISH ... JELLYFISH ... JELLYFISH !!!!!

The tide, as Bill Huson said, that made the distance from the pit area to where you actually started the boat from at least a football field. AND.... it was all black muck all the way.

I took my first ride in an alky there, Marc's 250ccH (circa 1988?).

And then there was the time when the Baptist Church nearby treated us to their Sunday morning (literal) baptism right at the end of the pit area, forming two lines into the water about 100 feet, yelling and praising and dunking..... all of us just watching, most likely hungover....

Hottest race I've ever been to. Well, at least since Elizabeth City's race in 1969 (104 degF)......

Charlie Wood's famous post-race-day B Stock Hydro party ride, well sort of ride, he made a lap and a half before...... well, any one who was there knows what happened....

We celebrated the 200 year Independence Day celebrations there in 1976.

Just some reminiscing.... still snow here, and now, tonight we're getting ICE, ICE, ICE .....

CJ
111-Z