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The little Sonic that could..Where racing heroes really come from

I got an e-mail and a phone call from Stu Hayim who, along with his throttleman, Joe Imprescia, hold the existing Around Long Island Record at 3 hours 6 minutes...... but he admits that it took him a couple of years, a lot of sweat and blood and 2 separate boats to finally make that record happen.

He congratulates last weekends winners and sends his best wishes to the people who finally succeed in breaking his record....which is 21 years old.

If you want to call yourself an Offshore Racer....this race is an opportunity to earn that title.
 
quicklt1 said:
I am new to these boards..and hey T2x..I like you already!! Rob(quicklt1) here on Long Island
Click to expand...

Thank you.....

Please also support SBracing as he apparently needs lots of positive reinforcement...........:D

T2x
 
Top Banana said:
My wife and I are having dinner tonight with Dean Gibbs and his wife. Dean is the British team owner with the 52 foot Outerlimits that raced last weekend Around Long Island. We met for a short time today and he said that he already has texts and e-mails from other owners in Europe and the UK, that he feels they will be coming back next year with at least four teams, to get that trophy and bring it back to Europe.

Maybe this is the time that we should actually make the break here and say what has been on our minds for a while. I am speaking about the older racers. I know Rich caught some heat from a racer who thought he criticized the modern racers. Let me be very clear and I share this with the other guys I know……..We welcome all racers as brothers in a very special fraternity. Our complaint is with the major sponsors and organizers. They have taken what we all love with a deep passion and made it into a very poor reflection of what it was.

Let me use as an example major sports…pick either football or hockey, whatever you happen to like best. Now you loved that sport as you grew up and you waited every year for the finals…the Superbowl or the Stanley Cup….. and you watched the battles down to the end. Years pass and now football is played without helmets or pads and to get a goal you are only allowed to pass. Or hockey can only be played without pads and there is no checking allowed. The athletes just coming into the sport don’t know any difference, they are playing according to the new rules and they are playing their hearts out. No one is criticizing the athletes the criticism goes to those who changed the rules of the game.

Beach racing is not Offshore Racing !!!! You know it, we know it, but we all dance around the fact that everyone has latched onto that title because it carries a certain cache’ with it. We don’t disrespect in any way the racers who run hydros or Jersey skiffs or SK’s boats or any other type of racing. But don’t run 7 liter hydros and call them Unlimiteds because they really aren’t.

Real open ocean offshore racing doesn’t need a million dollar boat or team. It just takes heart and determination and lots of preparation. That was just proven this past weekend. Too many potential racers are sitting on the beach not participating because they go to the “Offshore” race and see all the equipment and think they can’t afford that. This excellent equipment with great people on every team, pour their hearts out to be there and then they are asked to race around on a 6 mile loop for ten laps. Ladies and Gentlemen, this is not Miami to Nassau or Long beach to San Francisco or Cowes to Torquay to Cowes. It is boat racing for sure, but it is not offshore racing.

All of us have been duped by the organizers who say we need this to attract sponsors and TV coverage. If you race offshore no one can see you and they will lose interest. Really? The Benihana race in New Jersey had so many spectators in the 1970’s, that the Coast Guard required the race to be run on a Wednesday as to try to limit the crowds. Estimates of crowd sizes were in the 400,000 range.

Allof us have been duped by the boatbuilders who let sales drive their designs. Real improvements on new boats haven’t made them any more seaworthy or the owners any more confident in taking on the ocean. New developments have centered around how many logos could be fit into the cockpit of the latest version of the XYZ Craft plus 6, or whatever…you fill in the blank. The fastest boats that are termed offshore now run on a lake in the middle of the country and run for a measured mile. It is a great party and great event that does good things, but…Offshore???

The World Championships of offshore run on a course that can be seen by standing on the dock…..what happened to the run to Dry Tortugas???

It is time for the people that are interested in getting the sport of offshore back to it’s roots to step up. The Around Long Island Race will be run next year. We encourage anyone with a boat capable of running in this event to come. Find out what the mystery is all about, find out what you really have inside you when the going gets not just tough, but to anyone else, impossible.

We have waited and hesitated and tried to be cordial to everyone, changing our date to help others and then they changed to hurt us. Enough. We are starting a real open ocean offshore circuit. We encourage the industry people to come forward and get involved. Enough of the exotic uber engines that shut down to “save” the engine. Build something that doesn’t need to shut down but will still be seaworthy and last the whole race. Boat builders…build them simple and strong and leave off the Gold Frankincense and Myrrh and drop the retail price, but build them seaworthy because these new customers won’t just be showing them off at the local waterside bars, they will be using them in the real ocean out where the bad things live.

Rich, Bobby, myself and others have nothing more to gain from this sport. Our reputations have been cast.

Racers, we do respect you and we offer an invitation to come and try this real shot o history. If you choose not to, we fully understand and respect your decision, you are still racing in the area you have chosen. Good luck and good racing to you all.
Click to expand...
Thanks for this post.
 
:cool:
T2x said:
I got an e-mail and a phone call from Stu Hayim who, along with his throttleman, Joe Imprescia, hold the existing Around Long Island Record at 3 hours 6 minutes...... but he admits that it took him a couple of years, a lot of sweat and blood and 2 separate boats to finally make that record happen.

He congratulates last weekends winners and sends his best wishes to the people who finally succeed in breaking his record....which is 21 years old.

If you want to call yourself an Offshore Racer....this race is an opportunity to earn that title.
Click to expand...
Thats like trying to beat Ken Warby tough record 3hrs6 minutes was Hayim boat blue if so I have a picture of it:seeya:
 
Well Said Charlie and Rich - !

That is exactly how I got started back in 1972 - a production hull - nothing fancy - many other faster boats - Running from Point Pleasant to Fire Island Inlet, back to Brooklyn, and south to Point Pleasant - many got lost, many broke - but our boat was navigated by a fisherman who knew the mud hole and more - the result after running by ourselves in rough water was a win - ! I always knew it was not the fastest boat that would win, it was the one that stayed together !

As for T2X - I knew to keep my mouth SHUT - when in the Helicopter - His ability to explain, and be interesting, and funny were the reasons NNRT was simply the best at the time !

All the best to you Charlie and Billy Frenz for this event - !

Phil
 
Congratulations! What a test of man and machine, of commitment, of desire, truly what the origins of Offshore racing were made of. Hats off to you little Sonic, and to Rich and Charlie for converting the realities (brutality) of the event into a wonderful read.
Steve U-1
 
great comments Rich & Charlie i am interested in helping with your atttempt to bring offshore racing back. Lets not forget the Great Lakes

Check this out from back in the 80's they papers werre saying the spectator fleet was around 400,000 as well Back in the true offshore days

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3xr-3gVEEw

On year the race in Grand Haven started here with 50 boats taking the green flag and ending with 15 finishing the course ( 3 boats sunk ) Rough water and test of man and machine is what got me into the sport
 
Hey guys- I'm Joe the owner of the Sonic
I popped over here to thank Rich and Charlie for putting together a great read about and awesome day!
I want to thank everyone for thier congradulations
 
SteveDavid said:
Congratulations! What a test of man and machine, of commitment, of desire, truly what the origins of Offshore racing were made of. Hats off to you little Sonic, and to Rich and Charlie for converting the realities (brutality) of the event into a wonderful read.
Steve U-1
Click to expand...


FYI

This really means something, coming from one of the greatest true boat racers the sport has ever seen.

.... Thanks Buddy

P.S. Steve....Please come to OFF in Jupiter, FL on Oct 8th and 9th.....I know you will have a blast and I'd love to see you. Maybe we can even find a Mexican restaurant......;)
 
Last edited:
Fantastic Thread, Guys!

Rich, Thanks for this incredible thread. Great Job!

Charlie, Thanks for the fantastic narration of your run, as well as your explanation and perspective of "true offshore racing". I could not agree with you more. After reading this thread, I am already excited to see what becomes of next year's race.

Congrats to Joe and the "Little Sonic" team for the win!

I hope to meet you guys some day.

Thanks again,

Tom
 
NNRT said:
Well Said Charlie and Rich - !

That is exactly how I got started back in 1972 - a production hull - nothing fancy - many other faster boats - Running from Point Pleasant to Fire Island Inlet, back to Brooklyn, and south to Point Pleasant - many got lost, many broke - but our boat was navigated by a fisherman who knew the mud hole and more - the result after running by ourselves in rough water was a win - ! I always knew it was not the fastest boat that would win, it was the one that stayed together !

As for T2X - I knew to keep my mouth SHUT - when in the Helicopter - His ability to explain, and be interesting, and funny were the reasons NNRT was simply the best at the time !

All the best to you Charlie and Billy Frenz for this event - !

Phil
Click to expand...

Thank you Phil.....you were one of the guys that made this sport, through your film coverage for all the world to see.
 
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