Special Event

Albany a huge success!

Fans fall in love with USSBA Jet Sprints

By Jim DeFord

ALBANY, OREGON (August 20-21, 2005) — Albany is a town primed and ready for the USSBA jet sprint boats. At the third annual River Gone Wild boat racing extravaganza, the USSBA put on an exhibition, pylon race in the Willamette river where several different classes run between Albany and Corvallis. These are the same boats that run at Boatnik in Grant's Pass, where the USSBA also stages pylon races on Memorial Day. However, the goal of this presentation was a little different.

A new west side track.

The teams presenting their boats this weekend were:

Adrenaline Rush - Wayne Yeager

All About Me - Kyle Patrick

Climax - Dave Pfeiler

Gallo Loco - Juan Castillo

Madness - Curt Elliot

Shockwave - Frank Toftemark

Squirt - Brad Roberts

Weaver's Beaver - Andy Weaver

And the presentation was awesome!

This was the first buoy race I had seen, so it was quite different than racing on our tracks. The drivers had to deal with the swift river currents, unpredictable wakes and buoys that just didn't want to stay in place.

But, it was not a race event and the fans didn't care if the boats missed a buoy or not.

Those load V-8 engines got things rolling as the boats hopped through the hazardous waters. The fans cheered, hooted and hollered as they watched the drivers navigate through the course.

Juan Castillo premiered his brand-new Cadillac engine this weekend, driving all the way from Idaho, and the crowd went wild when he spun backwards disappeared in the wake, dug in and recovered. Unfortunately the engine made some strange noises so after that run Juan parked the boat for the weekend.

The Hard-Luck award of the weekend goes to Frank Toftemark. As they launched at the ramp about 1/4 mile from the actual course, bad noises and a puff of smoke sent Frank and Julie back onto the trailer. A close inspection later revealed 1 1/4" holes on both sides of the oil pan. Frank's future status is unknown at the time of this writing.

On Saturday the local radio station, 1240 AM Joe Radio (KEJO) raffled off $100 tickets for rides in Kyle Patrick's boat. The winner got the absolute thrill of his life, as any of us that have been in a jet sprint knows.

Previously, on Friday, Joe Radio's, Bill London also had the pleasure of riding with Kyle Patrick. Rumor says he was left speechless, if you can believe that!!

On Sunday, Nate "The Gate" Gorman was given a ride and we were there to capture the moment. When he was told he would be given a ride, he was was not very sure he wanted to take part. After some coaxing, much by your's truly, he reluctantly took the seat, strapped in and waited for his socks to be blown off.

Nate's Gallery

The photos speak for themselves. Though some claim (not yet substantiated) that Nate screamed like a little boy, out on his ride, I never heard it...

Personally, I think the post-ride smile on his face was pure thrill. Scary? Heck yes. Fun? You betchya. Do it again? Some do. Some don't.

I did. And today's ride was the absolute roughest, toughest ride I have ever been on...More later this week on that one!

Speaking of rough...Andy Weaver took an interesting, Sunday Afternoon Drive.

While weaving (pun intended) through the pylons, wakes and currents she took a scary, sideways tumble. All we saw was a huge wake of water and the engine sputter.

We all held our collective breaths as she slowly recovered a very, very swamped boat and limped back to the launching ramp with 18-inches of water in the engine compartment

Word has it that the Albany track is well on its way to fruition for the 2006 season. This was a very successful race weekend. Expect an official announcement sometime soon.

There will be more photos and stories online here in the next couple of days.

Stay tuned to USSBARacing.com!!

Special Event

Albany Exhibition!

Promotion for possible new track!

By Jim DeFord

VANCOUVER, Wash. (August 15, 2005) — The USSBA will be presenting an exhibition event in Albany, Oregon, on Saturday, August 20th and Sunday, August 21st.

The confirmed schedule is:

Saturday, 8/20: 2:30pm-5:00pm

Sunday, 8/21: 10:30-11:30am & 1pm-2pm

The River Gone Wild event is into its third year and is highly promoted by the cities of Albany and Corvallis, Oregon.

We currently have 5-6 boats committed to show and if you have the time, please show up with your boat and race-face!

All boats appearing at this event will receive a free* 12x18 glossy photograph of their choice donated by defordphoto.

Be there!

*shipping/handling not included. Free delivery to Marsing on 9/3/2005 only

Special Event

USSBA impresses Seattle fans

USSBA teams make appearance at Hydro-Lights event

By Jim DeFord

with Frank Toftemark

Photos by Paul White

SEATTLE, Wash. (July 17, 2005) — Ron Fisher, Tom Nelson and Frank Toftemark hauled their boats up to Seattle last month for the annual Tastin’ & Racin’ event that sports hydroplane lights races and much more.

Ron Fisher and Derrick Grove carried the American Flag for the national anthem in the Mad Fish boat. After the anthem, Ron gave the crowd a taste of what a print boat can do with some wild turns and a couple of “cowboys”.

Everyone (of course) loved Tom’s beautifully painted Piranha boat, but he kept it dry for that weekend. Don’t blame you there Tom! There was a gathering around the boats and the three TV’s that were setup with videos running all weekend long.

Ron, Derrick, Tom and Frank met with several influential unlimited hydroplane owners who were full of questions about our sport. A few were curious how to get involved in the USSBA.

The weather turned sour on Saturday with high winds and the events were cut short. But, on Sunday, the weather was cooperative with many more fans filling the area.

Sunday started out with Ron giving John O’Brien (owner of a lights and unlimited hydro) a ride for his 50th birthday. He was impressed. This was followed by a ride for one of the local DJ’s and try as he might, Ron couldn’t make this guy sick. ;-)

Tom Nelson then gave a radio interview and Ron then gave a ride to a 95 year-old gentleman who last year spent his 94th birthday skydiving!

The guys had a great time, met and talked with a bunch of different people about the USSBA and maybe we’ll see more teams and yes, another track or two for the 2006 season.

The weekend was a blast and it comes highly recommended for a fun, weekend full of racing, car shows, hydro museums and more. We would like to extend a big thanks to the organizers for welcoming us into their backyard and a very special thanks to Ron Fisher for making it all possible. There’s a possibility that we may be asked to perform a sample buoy race for the 2006 Tastin’ and Racin’ event. Hopefully by that time we’ll also have a Seattle track!
 

Special Event

SOLD!!!

USSBA auction a huge success! Insurance premium paid

By Jim DeFord

KENNEWICK, Wash. (April 02, 2005) — With all the nervous planning complete it was time for the show to take the stage. Sean Mathews was visibly nervous. The future of the USSBA literally rested with what happened this night at The Pub in Kennewick, Washington. There was a $4500 insurance premium that needed to be paid before any races could be run.

The USSBA packed The Pub and it was definitely a party! People signed up to become bidders and the burgers, nachos and beer were flowing steadily. Everyone was in great spirits and Sean loosened up after a few items had been bid very successfully. Oh yeah, the Coors Light didn't hurt either.

There were so many items and the bidding went on for three hours. In the end, the initial tally showed the $4500 insurance premium had been met and a little profit to boot. And that wasn't counting the USSBA's pull on the bar till.

Everyone pitched in to help in one way or another. From bringing custom made, one-of-a-kind artwork, birdhouses, collectible mirrors and much, much more, to successful bids to tracking the purchases, bidders and the showing of all the items up for bid. It was pure fun with the people that make this sport happen and it doesn't get much better than that. I'd try an name everyone involved, but I know I'd miss someone, so THANKS to everyone who helped. You know who you are. You worked very, very hard and it definitely paid off.

Our professional auctioneer was Jesse Fletcher and it was amazing to watch him work. A pricey item would come up to bid and he'd call out $200, with his auctioneering chatter that I won't even try to duplicate here. The bidders got a little shy when the big items came out and the price would drop all the way down to $25 and eventually Jesse would pick it up to and beyond the original $200 that started the bid.

Many thanks go out to Jesse from the entire USSBA organization. It could not have happened without you Jesse.

As an aside there was also a meeting between the USSBA Marketing staff and Tri-City Watersports Association regarding advertising, sponsors and the future of the sport at the Richland facility. While we do have some challenges ahead of us we will be making some announcements regarding some smaller, but very significant advertisers and some exciting news about how the races will be promoted this year. There are some very exciting things happening this year.

Look for the announcements here soon!

Special Event

USSBA makes appearance at Sports Expo

LONGVIEW, Wash. (Jan. 23, 2005) — The USSBA was represented by Curt Elliot and Bill Thompson at the first annual Northwest Sports Expo celebrating motorsports events of all kinds. The booth occupied by Madness was always packed with folks watching the videos and drooling over Curt and Bill's glow-in-the-dark super modified masterpiece.

Though I did not attend, I did hear from a fellow co-worker that Madness and Squirt attended the Portland Roadster show. Again, there were throngs of people watching the videos and checking out the boats.

These are the kinds of events we need to make a presence at to promote the sport of Jetsprinting. I have yet to introduce someone to this sport that went away disappointed or bored.