Orlando Winternats a great success !!!!!!!!

[Tom Foley]

Man ......where do you start to say what a well run and fun race this was !! I had a great time , met a bunch of new people, saw all my old friends , and raced the heck out of a pile of boats !! Thanks again to the entire Orlando Culvert Dodgers Club and their families who pitched in and made this one hell of a good time ! It was great to see some kids racing....... and winning !!

And a great big Thanks to Tim Folts from Texas who pitted for me in 20 heats of racing !! Thanks all .... on to the Tampa Race in Feb .

 

[shoboat]

Hey Tom,

How did your twin run? Can you remember any results: Twin,Scale,20 Hydro?

Thanks,

Mark Sholund

 

[FloridaScaleBoater]

Mike;

All I know, is, the scale final was a disaster

Carnage, and contraversy??

Rick

 

[Tom Foley]

The twin ran well except for some trash in one needle and a sponson change due to a wide open stuff ! Results should be up as soon as everyone recovers !

The Scale final was like a gas mono heat !! There were parts and pieces floating everywhere !

 

[Don Ferrette]

The Scale final was like a gas mono heat !! There were parts and pieces floating everywhere !

****, glad I missed that one. Sounds like it got real ugly. I guess sometimes there are those who forget just how much time & money we can easily get tied up in scale hull ........

 

[htbboats]

Where can we find the results?

Mark Hopper

 

[Andy Greene]

The Scale final was like a gas mono heat !! There were parts and pieces floating everywhere !

Thats not the kinda stuff you want to hear when it comes to those high$$ scales

 

[Ray Sametz]

If it's my 10 year old hydro or a new scale it still sucks being in a wreck. Not just because of time and expense. Keep it nice, keep it on the mantel. We all take the same risk. Ray

 

[mt. gay rum]

Looked like a freakin bomb went off.....ever raced in a final with having two of your scales in the final... one hits a piece of debris and kickes up a rudder and heads straight for the shore ( thank god roger didnt panic and shut her off before she hit the shore....) i was too busy watching my other boat not paying attention to mine and stalled on the third bouy... so i was the last boat running,,,, no scale director around he left early other scale drivers left so we barley had enough scales to make a final ,,,,then we had to figure out the problem after all was settled down,,,said thing is we had three scalers from out of town....Mass confusion......Very said... And i personally apoligize for the lack of leadership.......and attendance!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :angry: :angry: :angry: :angry: :angry:

 

[FloridaScaleBoater]

And i personally apoligize for the lack of leadership.......and attendance!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mike I don't think you have anything to apolagize for, None of Sundays events were any of your doing,

Maybe I should have held my tongue and walked away, and let the chips fall were they may, too late for that now though!?!?!?!

Rick

 

[Tom Foley]

I don't race Scale , but I was watching the race out of the corner of my eye and it was just one of those racing deals where no matter what kind of boat you are racing the possibillity of getting trashed does exist ......... a kind of tragic deal in scale but.....that's the risk you take when it's time to mix it up . I'm still sorry it happened though ... alot of hours in the shop for you guys !!

Rick , I saw you at the race , why didn't you run ?

 

[FloridaScaleBoater]

Tom, I must apolagize, I can't put a face with the name??

We are going to be at the Tampa race, please come up, and set me straight, so I know who Tom Foley is.

Will have a conversation then, OK?

Again, I'm sorry

Rick

 

[mt. gay rum]

My not be my doings but i am very displeased on the way this event was handled....As far as Scale goes,,,worst event i ever went to and no fault of the Orlando Club. They put on one hell of a race.....

 

[captwalter]

Regarding the Winner Take All Final at the Winternats I would like to comment. After the race ended I thought that the CD did a good job of determining the finishing places from 1st to 6th with the exception of the NAMBA Rule regarding removable parts falling off a boat and that they can be awarded no higher than sixth place points. Fortunately Rick Bellinger was near the officials stand and quoted the rule almost verbadium. I was there with Rick and the conversation regarding the finishing places was between the CD, Rick and myself. No argueing, no yelling, very straight forward. I only wish that the mike had been turned off during our discussion. I can assure all scale racers and fellow racers who have read International Waters that 6 boats did not finish and boats were damaged, but in my opinion the determinitation of the winner and other places was not only done right but very gentlemanly. I wonder how many other racers know their rules well enough to have known that in scale you can be a non-finisher in a Winner Take All race, take a second place overall and be awarded 6th place points?

Scale drivers are gentlemen but things do happen. I have seen yelling, foul language, shouting, and close to fisticuffs at races in other classes but nothing anywhere close to that happened at this event in scale. Further, having raced big boats for more years than I would like to remember I know of many times a large number of boats started a heat and none finished. Ask Roger Newton how many unlimited races he has witnessed where no boats finished. Bear in mind that in the old days of big boat racing we used to run 16 boats in a heat.

One other thing. We started the weekend with 10 scales. Six made the final which is a full heat. We could have run the final with, I think, as few as 3. I just mention this to correct the impression that we barely had enough boats to make a final.

In conclusion I would like to say that I was one of the racers causing an accident which I regret and wish never happened. I feel terrible about it. I appologized for what that is worth to the owner and have made an arrangement with him to provide him with new part(s) for those damaged. Thank God we race boats where when you have an accident you don't get hurt. I have seen too many wonderful competitors get killed in racing accidents.

Thanks to those who take the time to read my post. Perry

 

[mt. gay rum]

Hum,, correction Perry we had to take boats out the the connie (that was suppose to run,,we all aggreed on,before everyone left) so joe and I put everyone in the final so it would be a decent final,, who wants to watch a low turnout for the final.... thats why my comment was (barley enough for a final).

And yes you are correct,, thank you rick for your help on sorting out this mess,,, CD didnt know the Scale rules... And again,,,my point... check the final standings. If you three settled the mess how were you awarded 6th pace points??? you hit a dead boat and thats a DQ for that race,,, In some districts thats a dq for the weekend and a fine imposed upon the boat who hit the dead boat....check rule book under PENALITIES Sec 2 part 4.....

 

[rocketcity]

Hum,, correction Perry we had to take boats out the the connie (that was suppose to run,,we all aggreed on,before everyone left) so joe and I put everyone in the final so it would be a decent final,, who wants to watch a low turnout for the final.... thats why my comment was (barley enough for a final).
And yes you are correct,, thank you rick for your help on sorting out this mess,,, CD didnt know the Scale rules... And again,,,my point... check the final standings. If you three settled the mess how were you awarded 6th pace points??? you hit a dead boat and thats a DQ for that race,,, In some districts thats a dq for the weekend and a fine imposed upon the boat who hit the dead boat....check rule book under PENALITIES Sec 2 part 4.....

 

[allenrichards1]

Let me quote someone else here before I say anything......

"Unfortunately or Fortunately, depending on where you stand, I do not have as much time that I used to entertain myself with the daily commentary provided by this online community of so many that enjoy this hobby that I love so much. To my dismay, all to often, I read the disheartening stories of how our hobby is dieing or how one instance or another is pushing someone to the "Getting out of the hobby" ebay sale. Low attendance at races, too many classes, too many races, too expensive, races too far... It's all too hard for me to understand. I wonder why areas like district 9 can maintain an average boat count of approximately 120 for 8 to 10 races straight for as long as I can remember.

I wonder why areas like district 19 can have 32 events in a single season. 32! Wow!... 16 races in district 2. None of these places sound like the hobby dieing. In district 9 we just added another class, due to the growing popularity of gas powered boats. Here is a question that I don't think has been asked. Why are some districts doing so well and others doing so poorly.

What is the difference between the two and how can we take what works from the successful ones and apply them to the areas that are not so successful?"

This quote came from Roger Hooks Jr.......the answers to your questions Mr Hooks are in this topic. Fighting, Foul Language, Arguing ETC......

You have an event that has spectators, they see a bunch of guys arguing at the end of a race. WHY would anyone want to join a hobby, that is suppose to be fun, when they see people arguing about it

 

[captwalter]

I will have to repeat what I already said. There was no arguing after the Scale Final. There was a discussion regarding who went out first as the CD stand needed clarification. It is unfortunate that the mike was left on during this discussion. There was no yelling, threats or anything else besides a sincere attempt by the actual racers to sort out who was to get what places after all boats failed to finish. Joe Weibelhouse (sp?) asked about the 6th place points and a second place trophy which in my opinion was very normal. I don't know of any one of the scale racers who was out of line. This is something that should be expected at all races. I'm proud to be a scale racer competing with true gentlemen who can jointly make decision to the best of their ability without foul language, punches thrown, and misbehavier.

I hope this sheds more light on the situation as it took place this past Sunday. Perry

 

[Gary Owens]

After reading every post in this thread about the incident at the nats in the scale class, I have to wonder, when did this become something other than a hobby? I'm new to boating but not new to RC, I have been in some form of RC since the early 70's, the last 4 years I've spent flying helicopters. I have yet to race an event but will be in February and hopefully many more after that. One thing I've picked up on real quick in the boats is that whether you are just at the pond for a day of practice or tuning, or a race, the one thing that is always there is the risk that every person takes when they launch their boat on the course. The one race that I did attend as a spectator, just the short time I was there I saw 2 separate occasions where someone would come off the stand mad at somebody else. I understand that it's racing and the competitive juices flow, I think that is a big part of why we are involved in this to begin with, but while friendly competition is great, getting heated about something that happens during a model boat race is miles away from what model boat racing is supposed to be. No matter what class it is, everyone has an investment that they don't want to see damaged, but that's a part of the hobby just like finishing first. I guess it would be different if it was for a living but for the majority that's not the case. In the end, it's still just a hobby that costs everybody hard earned money. On one of the helicopter forums I visit one of the guys signture reads: "Either have fun or go home".

This was not intended to hijack this thread in any way, just some thoughts that came ot mind after reading the posts.

 

[Roger J. Newton]

I will have to repeat what I already said. There was no arguing after the Scale Final. There was a discussion regarding who went out first as the CD stand needed clarification. It is unfortunate that the mike was left on during this discussion. There was no yelling, threats or anything else besides a sincere attempt by the actual racers to sort out who was to get what places after all boats failed to finish. Joe Weibelhouse (sp?) asked about the 6th place points and a second place trophy which in my opinion was very normal. I don't know of any one of the scale racers who was out of line. This is something that should be expected at all races. I'm proud to be a scale racer competing with true gentlemen who can jointly make decision to the best of their ability without foul language, punches thrown, and misbehavier. I hope this sheds more light on the situation as it took place this past Sunday. Perry

First off I would like to say that I had the best time I have ever had at a model boat race. And I have been going to them for over 40 years. Got to meet some great racers and renew some old friendships. The gas boats were very impressive. Even had a chance to run a couple of the thanks to Mike Allen and Steve Adams. Even if I looked like a rookie out there !!! That was the first time I had ever had a chance to see the twin nitros run. WOW is all I can say.

Congrats to the Orlando Club for putting on a great race. It ran like a well oiled machine. Thanks Brian and all of the rest of your club members. I was most impressed.

For the scale class I was most embarassed with the results. I had hoped to put on a great show in the final with some

deck to deck racing for five laps. But as it turned out we all shot ourselves in the foot. Too bad we cant back up and do it again. But that is racing. The sixth place point controversy shouldnt have been a problem because it doesnt affect the final outcome of the race. It only affects season high points.

I am already making plans for returning next year and this time I am bringing my son who is the real racer in the family. Thanks again for a most enjoyable week.

Roger J. Newton