Don Aronow (should be no debate)
Pete Hleden (leader in cats above all for many years)
Stu Jones (reason Poker runs are what they are today)
Don Johnson (reason many got into this in the first place)
Terry Sobo ( you ever see one boat company grow and adapt like them )
It gets much tougher after Don A.
If Don Johnson is in, I think that Michael Mann should be in. Seriously. I bought my first boat under the influence of that dam show.
Don ... King of V
Peter Hledin ... King of Cats
Carl K ... Made it all possible
Fabio ... great ingenuity in hulls, drives and Diesels
Gar ... Was going fast before all the others.
Don ... King of V
Peter Hledin ... King of Cats
Carl K ... Made it all possible
Fabio ... great ingenuity in hulls, drives and Diesels
Gar ... Was going fast before all the others.
Jim , good choice and mark did you choose Don Johnson because you once owned a 38 Scarab which i might add was a very nice boat , and paul , we need a pic of Peter H on here .
So, for number 2 through 5, 4 spots, we currently have nominees of;
Reggie Fountain
Carl K
Dick Bertram
Bob Nordskog
Ray Hunt
Gar Wood
Fabio Buzzi
Don Johnson
Peter Hledin
Stu Jones
Terry Sobo
Michael Mann
Rich Luhrs
Bobby Saccenti
John Crouse
In 1958 in Newport Rhode Island, the America's Cup sailboat race with 12 meter boats was being held. I was zipping around the bay in my little 14 foot molded plywood outboard, that I raced out of Newport earlier in the summer in a 87 mile endurance race. There right before my eyes was this great little support boat that was used to "gofer" things needed on the 12 meters.
I saw it and made no connection at all. Dick Bertram saw it as he was serving as foredeck crew on one of the 12 meters. He noticed how the little boat just went back and forth in any kind of water from Newport harbor to the ocean. He found out who owned the boat... and who built it ....and asked C. Raymond Hunt if he could build a bigger version of the same boat....like a 30 footer.
He could and he did and the Deep Vee hull design was born. The new 30 footer won the Miami to Nassau race with Sam Griffith driving and Dick Bertram and Carleton Mitchell as crew. It took hours off the previous record. The boat was made a bit bigger...31 feet and made in glass and Bertram Yacht Co was founded. Those 31 footers went all over the world and many of them are still in service. One of the best ocean running designs of all time.
My top 5 would be:
1.) Aronow
2.) Bertram
3.) Kiekhaefer
4.) Jim Wynne
5.) Odell Lewis
With additions, for number 2 through 5, (4 total positions), we now have nominees of;
Reggie Fountain
Carl K
Dick Bertram
Bob Nordskog
Ray Hunt
Gar Wood
Fabio Buzzi
Don Johnson
Peter Hledin
Stu Jones
Terry Sobo
Michael Mann
Rich Luhrs
Bobby Saccenti
John Crouse
Odell Lewis
Jim Wynne
A total of 17 names for 4 positions.....
Anyone else come to mind? Let us know in the next couple days or we'll close 2 through 5 and start the review of their credentials before the judges and members start the voting....
Since you are looking for a total of 100. Maybe breaking them into time periods might be easier. The 60's / 70's / 80's / 90's / 00's
That gives a cleaner look at what each person actually contributed. Odell Lewis and Jim Wynne were the only people that actually drove the turbine boat back in the day......does that make them better than Doc Magoon who was great in outboards and sterdrives, but never raced a turbine?
Just a thought....anything you do to remember and honor these guys is very much appreciated.
That is certainly something worth discussing. But, I'm thinking the Top 10 may be the only ones we rank as a most influential placement. Then maybe the key players from every decade.
What do we do when we get to someone like Billy Martin, (or yourself) who is in every decade????
That is certainly something worth discussing. But, I'm thinking the Top 10 may be the only ones we rank as a most influential placement. Then maybe the key players from every decade.
What do we do when we get to someone like Billy Martin, (or yourself) who is in every decade????
Guys and girls, I'd like to put this one on hold for a bit and start a nomination thread specifically for Vincenzo Balestrieri, who we just lost. His accomplisments in Offshore are incredible, may he rest, and race, in peace.
He would have easily been in my top 25 places of the Top 100 most influential of all time.
and are getting close to time for the Key West Worlds, it's time to start thinking about finishing out our Top 100 Of All Time by first finishing out our Top 5 of that Top 100. It was almost a no contest that Don Aronow was Number 1, so review the thread, review your choices, and let's get back on the discussion of who should be in those 4 remaining spots.
Reggie Fountain
Carl K
Dick Bertram
Bob Nordskog
Ray Hunt
Gar Wood
Fabio Buzzi
Don Johnson
Peter Hledin
Stu Jones
Terry Sobo
Michael Mann
Rich Luhrs
Bobby Saccenti
John Crouse
Odell Lewis
Jim Wynne