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Damage
by prop sends Madison race team to sidelines
Madison Courier Staff Reporter
 Entering
the final weekend of the 2003 unlimited hydroplane race season, two
teams are poised for a potential breakout weekend while two others
are already relegated to the docks due to heavy damage sustained on
Friday.
One of the boats now done for the weekend and the season is the
Madison-based U-6 Oh Boy! Oberto/Miss Madison, which sustained heavy
damage to the rear underside of the hull when a propeller lost a
blade in Friday’s first time trial session on Mission Bay.
The U-6, piloted by Steve David, had just turned laps of 144.859 mph
and 147.933 mph shortly after 11 a.m. when one of the propeller’s
three blades broke off and ripped through the bottom of the hull.
The boat took on water and was towed to shore where the damage was
assessed and the team elected to withdraw from competition for the
weekend.
The Madison team’s broken propeller was just one of two similar
mishaps that sidelined unlimiteds on the first day of testing and
time trials for Sunday’s Washington Mutual Thunderboat Regatta.
Bill Wurster’s U-8 Llumar Window Film hydroplane lost a prop
shortly after 2 p.m. after having turned a 155.110 mph lap in the
third round of time trials.
Damage from the broken propeller and the related vibration ripped
through a large section of the boat’s underside, leaving the
U-boat dead on the course and taking of water with substitute driver
Nate Brown.
 Click
here for the rest of the Madison Courier story
Click
here for full coverage of all the events taking place in San Diego
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Photos
from Saturday morning in San Diego...
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Oh
Boy! Oberto (aka Miss Madison) sets up in the pits of San Diego...
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Neat
News! - "Miss Madison driver
feels whole town's pride"
Originally printed in the Evansville Courier & Press, Steve
Herman (writing for the Associated Press), July 5, 2003
Steve David
answers not only to his Miss Madison race team but also to the
boat's 12,000 owners. Everyone in Madison, an Ohio River town
nestled beneath the hills of southeast Indiana, is in essence his
boss.
"It puts a lot of responsibility
on your shoulders, being such a legacy," said David, in his
third season as driver of the only community-owned boat in unlimited
hydroplane racing.
The first regatta at Madison, the
smallest city on the circuit, was in 1911, making it the site of one
of the nation's earliest motorboat races on a closed, oval course.
The July 4 weekend race has been for the Indiana Governor's Cup
since 1950.
The current Miss Madison, a 32-foot
craft powered by a 2,700-horsepower turbine engine, is the fifth
unlimited boat to carry the city's name since industrialist Samuel
DuPont donated the former "Nitrogen" to Madison in 1961.
"This is their 40th-something
year in the sport, so it means an awful lot to the people of that
town, and me too," David said. "There's extra pressure,
obviously. The town wants us to do well, and our guys feel that way
as well because most of them live there."
(Click
here for the rest of the story!)
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Detroit
- Oh Boy! Oberto
takes Fourth place surviving the Gold Cup!
 The
2003 season may have gotten off to a rocky start, but it appears
clear that this year may just end on a high note. In Seattle,
the team staged the comeback of the season going from damaged and
out to third at the checked flag in a highly contested
final.
In Detroit, it wasn't so much about winning the race as it was
surviving the weekend. By the end of the Gold Cup final, the
fleet of eleven would dwindle as fewer than a handful of boats would
escape the weekend without damage (some significant). The U-6
Oh Boy! Oberto would be among those who escaped damage.
Going into the weekend, pilot Steve David speculated "Rarely,
maybe never before, has the Oh Boy! Oberto U-6 been as prepared for
the Gold Cup as we are this year. With the hull changes
undertaken by Eric Bell and his band of merry Hydro magicians, under
the tutelage of Larry and Mike Hanson, coupled with our updated
engines... we're hauling. Our newly revised boat loves the
rough stuff and Detroit pretty much guarantees wind and waves.
The entire fleet is probably the most competitive it's ever been and
with Kim Gregory bringing a second boat to the party, it's going to
be some action packed racing."
Steve continued, "The fruits of our labor should be clear at
Detroit and even more so as we go into the 2004 season. I'm pumped,
stronger than ever and psyched to win this thing for Oberto and our
13,000 owners in Madison!" Though the team would not take
first in this year's race, they would advance through a highly
competitive field to earn their place in the final and finish fourth
in the crown jewel of boat racing, the APBA Gold Cup.
Taking a look at the numbers for the weekend, the U-6 team would
enter the final in a decisive way, once again, in Detroit. We
would advance to the final as the fourth highest team in
points. Six out of the eleven teams in Detroit would not make
the final. We not only advanced to the final, but we only had
to finish heat three to make the race for the Cup. We would
finish and take third in that heat. In the final, we would run
with and average speed of 132.591 mph on the 2.5-mile course.
Moving from our story to THE story of the weekend... The U-6 Oh Boy!
Oberto team tips its collective hats to this weekend's champions,
Mitch Evans, Ed Cooper and the entire U-3 team! Wow... the
piston powered U-3 Miss Fox Hills Chrysler Jeep – Sun Coatings did
nothing short of blow away the competition and cruise to their five
boat length lead over the next closest team. What an
outstanding victory for our Evansville, Indiana neighbors. The
Gold Cup goes east this year! We'll see if we here in the U-6
camp can't keep it east next year. Could a Gold Cup for
Madison be in the cards in 2004? We think so!
We can't leave our post race review without discussing Mark Evans
who was injured in a flip prior to the final. Mark, the entire
U-6 Oh Boy! Oberto team wishes you a quick recovery. You and
Elaine are in our thoughts.
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Detroit
- Time Trails Results and an early Heat Victory!
In the Time Trials, the U-6 Oh Boy! Oberto would finished 9th
overall following four rounds of speed runs (three on Friday and one
final round Saturday morning) . We would advance our speed one
final time in round four raising our best time from 148.523
mph to 149.644
on the 2.5 mile course.
Turning our attention to the racing, in Heat 1A we would finish
fourth out of the six boat field. In heat 2A Steve David and
the entire U-6 team would put the hull out front taking our first
heat win of the weekend!
Going into Gold Cup Sunday, we stand third overall in points.
Our quest to the Gold Cup may be bumpy and there is no doubt that
the waters of Detroit can be rough, but that's the way the team
likes it. The 6 tends to run well on the choppy water's
for the Detroit race course. Tomorrow we're holding nothing
back as we race for the crown jewel of motorsports... the APBA Gold
Cup. Click
here for more on the action in Detroit and enjoy our latest
photos below...
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Detroit
- It's setup day in Michigan!
Thursday is the day we get the U-6 Oh Boy! Oberto in place in the
pits, set for action and generally ready for the Gold Cup
weekend. We've been tweaking the hull between races and a bit
of gearbox/engine/shaft work was the focus of the team's Thursday
work. We'll return here with daily reports all weekend.
For all the hour-by-hour details live from the race site, check
the Hydro-Prop series coverage which will be updated throughout the
weekend. Let's kick off our coverage with a few photos...
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Oh
Boy! Oberto Crew Highlight Four Oberto R/C's in Tri-Cities!
Below,
we are pleased to share a photo of the Oh Boy! Oberto crew showing
off four of the five Oberto boats that were in the pits for the R/C
Unlimiteds Oberto Championship Series Columbia Cup during the 2003
Tri-City Water Follies in Kennewick, Washington.
The drivers standing in the back are (left to right): Al Waters of
San Diego; Nelson Holmberg of Vancouver, Wash and Marty
Schallenberger of Lynnwood, Washington. The boats are (left to
right): Waters' 1977 Oberto; Holmberg's 2000 Oberto/Miss Madison;
and Schallenburger's 1990 Oberto & 1975 Oberto. The one boat and
owner that was not included in the picture was Ron Hartley's (Moses
Lake, Wash.) 1982 Oberto, which was racing at the time of the photo.
For
more information on the R/C Unlimiteds association, visit www.rcunlimiteds.org.
As
we acutally received this photo twice, we thank both
Nelson Holmberg and Chester Lepinski for sharing the great shot!
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Comparing
the numbers...
Were you watching the series website's coverage of the 2003 Seattle
race? If not, we invite you to visit the
archived coverage and compare the U-6 Oh Boy! Oberto's average
lap speeds on Sunday (in any heat) to any other boat in the
fleet. Steve David and the U-6 team were certainly hot in
Seattle...
Average lap speed U-6 in Heat 3B ... 136.154 mph ... Faster than any
boat except Miss Budweiser in either heat.
Average lap speed U-6 in Heat 2B ... 132.583 mph ... Fastest speed
of any boat in either heat.
Average lap speed U-6 in Heat 1B ... 129.828 mph ... Only the
Trendwest and Miss Budweiser put in faster speeds.
You could have placed the U-6 in any heat on Sunday and the team would
have been a dominate force. Comparing the numbers tells a great
story regarding the team's outstanding performance. Next
stop... the Gold Cup in Detroit, Michigan!
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Seattle
- So much more than a comeback... The
U-6 Oh Boy! Oberto team places third in Seattle
 To call it a comeback would be too simple. To call it a
victory for the team just wouldn't be enough. To call it
vindication for a solid, hard working team that has had it's share
of heartache in 2003 might just be the correct description.
After enjoying two heat victories, it was obvious that the Oh Boy!
Oberto sponsored team returned to Seattle's Stan Sayres pits on
Sunday wearing their game faces and ready to contest for front row
honors in the final. They did just that and so much
more...
Having
suffered significant hull damage on Friday during the first round of
Time Trials, the U-6 team pulled the boat from the pits and took it
to the Budweiser team shop in the hope of repairing the damage and
reentering competition on Sunday. One blade of a three blade
prop almost cost the team the entire bottom of the boat. When
the prop lost that single blade, vibrations in the shaft literally
shook sections of the boat apart. On Friday, team managed
Charlie Grooms stood at the back of the boat and pulled the bottom
down with his hands showing the damage to those interested in
reviewing
the effects of the incident. Early on after the damage, driver
Steve David was giving an interview where he mentioned that, despite
the number of shops in the area, the damage was just too much and
the weekend was most  likely over. As he spoke those words, a
passing Oh Boy! Oberto team member grabbed him and informed him that
they were taking the hull to the Budweiser shop and would see
him on the water on Sunday. Steve laughed, turned to the
reporter and explained that they had a new story.
The team would work around the clock getting very little
sleep. Considering that, for many, this work is a volunteer
effort, the hours put in by the team represented a very personal
victory laced with pride in the long history of the Miss Madison
team.
Upon his return to the pits, team manager Charlie Grooms explained,
"We just did make it. It was quite a struggle for us, but the
U-6 guys are really proud. We've done a terrific job with what
we had to work with. The Budweiser team allowed us to use
their shop, they gave us the keys to the front door, said guys do
whatever you need... take whatever you need and we did that.
We are looking forward to today. It should be a great day for
us in Seattle. We've been working around the clock. I've
only had about three hours of sleep since I've been in Seattle, but
that's okay... it's a good day, we love the weather, we love this
place, we are looking forward to racing and we are looking forward
to today."
When asked about the damage, Grooms went on to explain, "It did
a lot of damage to the boat. We thought there might be some
engine issues and maybe even some gear box issues, but we kind of
lucked out in that regard. That didn't happen so I guess if
you can be fortunate, we've been somewhat fortunate with what's
happened to us."
As race day took shape, driver Steve David and the team would appear
to do little wrong. In Heat 1B, the team would take home a
third place finish. Though two boats would finish ahead of us,
the 6 team would still manage to put in the fastest lap of the heat
attempting to take the front spot (during lap 4) with a single lap
competition speed of 138.634 mph. In heats 2B and 3B,
no one would finish ahead of us. We would win both
heats! In heat 2B, we finished with an average four-lap speed
of 132.583 mph. In heat 3B, we would finish with an average of
136.154 mph. How good are those speeds? Contrasting them
with the current high points leader, Miss Budweiser, we were only 4
mph off their pace when they won heat 3A and we were actually a
little over 8.9 mph faster than their fourth place finish in heat
2A. Thanks to that team's facilities and help, we've come a
long way in a very short period of time.
The words "provisional heat" didn't even enter the Oh
Boy! Oberto pits this weekend. Following the heat win, Steve
David would explain "We're going to wash the boat, sit back,
relax and wait for the final." A stark contrast to other
race experiences this team has faced this year. You see, a
team makes the final based on points earned during
competition. The U-6 team not only had the points to make the
final, they had more points toward that final than any other team
sitting in the pits this weekend. If you're going to make the
final, it might as well be a definitive statement.
In the final, we would place third overall and this would mark
the close to a great weekend and a team that deserves the personal
victory for their hard work invested. Personal vindication
never felt so good.
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Seattle
- A race day return to the pits!
 The U-6 Oh Boy! Oberto, on it's first lap under Time
Trials Friday, threw a single blade of their three blade propeller. The remaining blades vibrated the underside of the boat
literally shaking it to pieces. Within the next hour, Charlie Grooms, Eric Bell, Bob Hughes and the entire team
were busy taking the hull apart in preparation to pull it out of the pits. In a show of series solidarity and friendship, the U-1 Miss Budweiser team
stepped up to the plate offering full use of the Budweiser team shop to make repairs and return
the 6 to Seattle better than ever.
What followed was two days of round the clock work from the team
which culminated in the teams return to the pits at 7:30 AM Sunday morning.
The repair was a solid fix start to finish as the crew worked (almost without break)
putting forth a tremendous effort...
Where
have the web updates been since we left the pit? Cindy and I (aka
the web team of Cindy and Chuck Moore) had the privilege
 of setting aside the camera and
the web connection Friday and Saturday night. We jumped in to help with
the rebuild cutting parts, sanding metal, smoothing out the bottom of the
hull, working the drill press and generally adding a lot of glue. It was a
first for us and a complete pleasure to be able to help.
Everything was "checked, checked and rechecked". A lot of reinforcements
were added with the fix. Thanks to the resources of the Bud shop, the team
was able to do a true rebuild of the damaged area rather than a simple
patch. Also, thanks to the Oberto representatives the team was well fed as they
kept the food flowing into the shop. From the top to the bottom, this is
one amazing team and every team member deserves the pride they must
feel this morning.
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Seattle
- 7/31/03
PM
update... In position in the pits and ready to roll
Thankfully, set-up was quick and painless as we took our
position in the pits. The team is positioned on the east side
of the pits in a perfect spot between Miss Budweiser and Jones
Racing's Skyway Park Bowl & Casino. Fans will have a clear
view of the Oh Boy! Oberto red and green this year!
Shortly after arrival, the team dove into some needed, final engine
work. Tom Alfano joined us this afternoon and we worked
into the early evening leaving the pits at about 8:30 PM for
dinner. The boat should be set for the morning test
session. Pictures below depict (left) Bull hard at work,
(center) an engine change and (right) Dave Shirley with Eric Bell
during some final engine tweaks.
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7/31/03
AM update... Looking ahead to set-up day in Seattle
Midday yesterday the team returned from Enumclaw. For
most, it was time for the basics of life (laundry, food, etc.) while
a few members of the team worked on the engines and cleaned the boat
in the parking lot of the Best Western Southcenter (Tukwila,
Washington), the hotel that we've called home between the two
races. The plan is to leave for the pits at about 10:00
AM. There's still several things we want to work on before the
first round of testing so we are hoping for a quick pit
set-up. We will see...
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7/30/03
update... A long day in Enumclaw
Yesterday, we left our comfortable hotel in Tukwila at around
7:30 AM and returned around 10:30 PM. Including travel time to
the Jones Racing shop, we put in a fifteen hour day repairing the
hull... and we're not done yet. Work focused on gear box combinations
and hull damage from Tri-Cities. At about 8:00 AM this
morning, we headed back to Enumclaw for at least another half day of
work on the 6. We look forward to seeing everyone in
the pits tomorrow...
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7/29/03
update... Work begins as we prepare for Seafair
Yesterday the team made the trip from Tri-Cities to Seattle
where hull repairs will take place. Two members of the team
(Eric Bell and Randy Doughty) brought the boat directly to Seattle
while the rest of the team toured Mt. Rainier. Waterfalls,
mountain tops and beautiful Washington scenery were the focus of
Monday. Today, Tuesday, the team has taken the boat to the
Jones Racing shop in Enumclaw, Washington where they will repair the
hull. Our thanks our offered to each of the teams that offered
workspace to make repairs. The Unlimited community is a great
racing family. |
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Copyright © 2003 Chuck Moore
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