Madison Regatta July 4-6 2014

[Serious News]

Madison Regatta Inc.

Madison Regatta is in its 64th year of hosting sanctioned boat races and over a 100 years of boat racing history in the city of Madison. We are on all volunteer organization that comes together to put on a show that is one of kind and can be enjoyed by everybody. Boat races, air shows, live music, fireworks, and vendors with great food and unique products there is something here for the entire family.


2014 TENTATIVE RACE SCHEDULE

SATURDAY, JULY 5TH

8:00am River Closes / Race Course Setup / Finalize Course Setup
8:00am Drivers Physical
8:30am Safety & Rescue Meeting / Divers walk-thru
9:00am – 1:00pm Comfort Inn Pit Tours
9:00am Unlimited Driver’s Meeting
10:30am – 10:45am Opening Ceremonies
10:45am – 11:00am Grote Industries Air Show w/ aerobatic pilot Brett Hunter
11:00am – 12:00pm Unlimited Hydroplane Testing, No Qualifications
12:00pm – 1:00pm River Opens
12:15pm – 12:45pm VFW Post 1969 and the Men's and Women's Auxiliary Unlimited Driver’s Autograph Session #1
1:00pm River Closes
1:30pm “Pole Position” Unlimited Hydroplane Qualifications
2:00pm Tony & Phyllis Steinhardt and Family present the Fastest Unlimited Hydroplane Qualifier Award
2:30pm Dash For Cash (pending)
2:50pm River Opens
3:00pm – 4:00pm Comfort Inn Pit Tours
9:00pm River Closes for Air Show & Fireworks
9:30pm Grote Industries Twilight Air Show w/ aerobatic pilot Brett Hunter
Approx 10:00pm Fireworks Spectacular, Co-Sponsored by American Legion Post #9 & The City of Madison


SUNDAY, JULY 6TH

8:00am River Closes / Race Course Setup / Finalize Setup
8:00am Drivers Physical
8:30am Safety & Rescue Meeting / Divers walk-thru
9:00am – 9:30am Chapel Services
9:30am – 10:00am Opening Ceremonies
10:00am – 10:20am Grote Industries Air Show w/ aerobatic pilot Brett Hunter
10:30am – 11:30am Unlimited Hydroplane Testing
11:30am River Opens
11:45am – 12:15pm VFW Post 1969 and the Men's and Women's Auxiliary Unlimited Driver’s Autograph Session #2
12:30pm River Closes
1:00pm Clifty Engineering & Tool Company Unlimited Heat 1A
1:15pm Morgan Foods Unlimited Heat 1B
1:30pm Unlimited Heat 1C
1:45pm Awards Ceremony at Judge’s Stand for Heat Winners
2:00pm American Legion Post #9 Unlimited Heat 2A
2:15pm Budweiser Unlimited Heat 2B
2:30pm Unlimited Heat 2C
2:45pm Awards Ceremony at Judge’s Stand for Heat Winners
3:00pm Jacque Thacker Memorial Unlimited Heat 3A
3:15pm Active Military & Veterans Unlimited Heat 3B
3:30pm Unlimited Heat 3C
3:35pm Awards Ceremony at Judge’s Stand for Heat Winners
3:40pm – 4:20pm Grote Industries Air Show w/ aerobatic pilot Brett Hunter
4:30pm The Indiana Governor’s Cup Unlimited Hydroplane Race
5:00pm River Opens
5:15pm Indiana Governor’s Cup Awards Presentation at the Judge’s Stand

 

[Ratickle]

 

[Serious News]

Madison swims upstream to remain hub of extreme boat racing

The odds are so stacked against the Madison Regatta — high water, low water, extreme heat, diminished crowds — yet somehow Indiana's most extreme sporting event carries on.

Its troubles are numerous. In 1991, a spectator dove into the race course, disappearing beneath the waves, bringing the entire event to an eery halt while divers searched.

In 2006, a man fell asleep behind the wheel of a Chevrolet Monte Carlo and plowed into fans assembled on the river bank, nearly killing one of them.

In 2008, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers unleashed millions of gallons of water and accompanying debris from the Markland Dam the morning of the regatta's main event, the Indiana Governor's Cup race (rarely attended these days by an actual Indiana governor). The debris fouled the boats' props and took out half the fleet in what surely was one of the great sports anti-climaxes of 2008.

In 2012, the 115-degree heat index kept kept ticket buyers away in droves.

Last year, the entire competition was canceled due to high water. This year, the regatta's title sponsor, Lucas Oil Products, did not renew.

But the Madison Regatta's organizers are experts in the art of resilience.

"Things are looking good for us," said Bob Hughes, a Madison businessman who for years has underwritten race expenses and also a large part of the expenses of Madison's community-owned race boat, Miss Madison. (Miss Madison is like the Green Bay Packers of boat racing, though in recent years it has accepted sponsorship money from Seattle-based Oberto Sausage Co., a major player in the beef jerky industry.)

"Long-range weather report is favorable," said Joe Hertz, the regatta's volunteer marketing manager. He oversees a total advertising budget of $10,000; all the race organizers are volunteers, as are the ticket takers and everyone but the police.

If you count paddle-wheelers, Madison has hosted boat races since the 1800s. The first hydroplane regatta was in 1929. A hydroplane is a turbine-engine speedboat that, as it accelerates, lifts almost entirely out of the water, reducing drag and leading to speeds up to 200 mph, as well as instability.

Hydroplanes frequently crash spectacularly, but these days, following safety advances, drivers generally avoid serious injury. In the 1960s and '70s, many were killed (between 1961 and 1982, 12 drivers died while racing, though none in Madison).

Then as now, Madison is one stop, by far the smallest, on the international H1 Unlimited hydroplane circuit that today includes stops in Detroit, San Diego, Seattle and oil-rich Doha, Qatar.

It sounds rather high-toned, but there is not a lot of money in hydroplane racing. The drivers get paid but have day jobs, too. Miss Madison's driver, Jimmy Shane, is an engineer at a Kent, Wash.-based aerospace company founded by Jeff Bezos. When Shane is in Madison, he boards with a local family, which gets reimbursed by a combination of Bob Hughes and the beef jerky company.

Madison, in southeastern Indiana, is an unusual place, even at a glance. Thanks to a combination of historic preservation and geographic isolation, driving into town feels like driving into 1954, or even 1854. Madison is Indiana's second-oldest town, built along Indiana's once main stream, the Ohio River. Two centuries ago, it was a bustling river town. But in the 1960s, the town found itself cut out of the new mainstream, bypassed by the interstate system — the nearest four-laner, I-71, is a 40-minute drive.

But in the mid-1990s, while many Indiana towns saw riverboat casinos as economic salvation and begged for one, Madison voted against even trying for one.

Madison hosts Ribberfest (this year's headliner: Taj Mahal), and the Chataqua Festival of Art (250 craft booths). "But to me it seems like boat racing is more a part of the (town's) ingrained culture," said Fred Farley, a hydroplane racing historian who after retiring from teaching school in Washington immediately moved to Madison for the boat racing.

"It's our claim to fame, it's our trademark thing," said Abby McInteer, a manager at Mumbles BBQ, a riverfront joint that's about to have its biggest weekend of the year. "At regatta, people wait 45 minutes for a table," McInteer said.

"Madison as a city has a lot of other things going for it — the architecture, the great history — but the regatta, they wait all year for that," said filmmaker Bill Bindley, who produced and directed "Madison" (2001, starring Jim Caviezel, Bruce Dern), about a marvelous upset at the 1971 regatta.

The movie (like this story) is about a plucky town that didn't give up (think "Hoosiers" but with hydroplanes).

It's Madison's favorite movie, says Tony Ratcliff, who owns Madison's historic Ohio Theater, and that's saying something because the other movie filmed in town was the very first Rat Pack movie, "Some Came Running." The making of it required Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Shirley MacLaine to live in Madison for several weeks during the summer of 1957. Old people still talk about the multiple star sightings.

"We weren't allowed to approach" the actors, said Hertz, 65, but it was fun diving for silver dollars tossed into the deep end of the country club's swimming pool by a lounging, smiling Frank and Dino. "I spent most of them, but I think I still have three," Hertz said.

But "Some Came Running" is dark, about social climbing and phony people and boozing, whereas "Madison" is about perseverence and overcoming odds. It is shown every year during the regatta outdoors on a big screen. People cheer.

"Regatta" sounds hifalutin, as if blue blazers, Topsiders and conversations about spinnakers were involved. But Madison's is down-to-earth. "A family event" is how organizers describe it. Which means it has come up in the world.

Not that many years ago, the regatta was a booze-soaked, low-rent bacchanalia. Once, a woman streaked the crowd on water skis.

"I remember seeing Hell's Angels when I was younger," said Christel McHargue, 49, who has attended the regatta since the 1970s. "To me, I thought it was cool; I don't remember seeing any trouble."

But there was actually quite a bit of trouble, said Dan Thurston, Madison's police chief.

"My first regatta was '93," Thurston said, "and between 6 p.m. Friday and Sunday afternoon, we had approximately 180 arrests. And I've heard stories of back in the '70s when there'd be 300 arrests."

About a decade ago, the decision was made to limit "primitive camping," and that curbed the wildness. "We started making sure law and order was pretty much a top priority," said Tim Torrence, 2014 regatta chairman. Today, most fans stay in hotels or in RVs. At the last regatta, there were 15 arrests.

But if there are fewer yahoos, there are fewer people period. Hydroplane racing used to be a semi-major sport. ABC's "Wide World of Sports" covered it — in the 1970s, the show sent legendary announcer Keith Jackson to Madison. As many as 100,000 spectators lined both river banks to see the Indiana Governor's Cup, one of them the actual Indiana governor, Edgar Whitcomb.

This year between 25,000 and 30,000 fans are expected, and only eight boats, compared to a dozen in the glory days. Indiana's governor, Mike Pence, has other plans, said his spokesperson. And the money at stake is small. Actually, for the competitors, there is no money at stake — each boat is guaranteed $10,000, whether they win or finish last. The only thing the winner gets that the losers don't is acclaim, and a trophy.

Even so, Miss Madison's backers, Bob Hughes and the jerky people, spent $50,000 this year to keep their boat competitive. Why bother?

"So that you can maybe win the race, of course," said Hughes, 80, as if it's the dumbest question he ever heard.

Madison Regatta

When: July 4-6.

Where: Madison riverfront.

Cost: Wristbands covering activities over the three days are $25; VIP: $160.

July 4: 10 a.m. to noon: pits open for public walk-through; 3 p.m. to midnight: live music concert; 7 p.m. Madison Regatta parade, Main Street. Parade is free; other Friday activities $5.

July 5: 9 to 10 a.m.: hydroplane testing session; 10:30 a.m.: opening ceremonies; 10:45 to 11 a.m.: air show; 11 a.m. to noon: hydroplane testing; 1:30 p.m.: qualifications.

July 6: 8:15 to 8:45 a.m.: chapel service; 9 to 10 a.m.: hydroplane testing; 11 to 11:50 a.m.: competitions (three heats); 1:10 to 1:50 p.m.: competitions (three more heats); 4:05 p.m.: Governor's Cup.

http://www.indystar.com/story/life/2014/07/02/madison-regatta-h-hydroplane-racing/11771017/

 

[Serious News]

Spirit of Qatar gears up for season opener in Madison

July 02, 2014 - 8:57:49 am

MADISON, USA: Kip Brown’s exciting new 96 Spirit of Qatar hydroplane boat will not be ready to start its 2014 H1 Unlimited Championship racing programme at this weekend’s Madison Regatta Indiana Governor’s Cup on the Ohio River.

Instead of rushing to prepare Brown’s new racer for the season opener, Ellstrom Racing – in conjunction with His Excellency Sheikh Hassan bin Jabor Al-Thani and the Qatar Marine Sports Federation (QMSF) – has struck a deal with Jones Racing and Jon Zimmerman’s 9 Red Dot boat will be renamed Spirit of Qatar 96 for the Indiana race.

“We are so close to ready it was tempting to try and make Madison with 96,” said team principal Erick Ellstrom.

“But, in the long run we will be better off making sure we are ready to go on the road and put the boat in the water. We are fortunate to be able to team up with Jones Racing. Jeff Campbell has done a great job with that boat and Jon is a much-respected driver. I will know will represent us and Qatar very well.”

Strong currents, wind and excessive rain forced H1 officials to cancel last year’s race on the Ohio River, but H1 officials are relishing this year’s race where new faces abound and Jimmy Shane has taken over the helm of the 6 Oberto boat, following the retirement of Florida-based veteran Steve David. Shane won both the team and driver championships in 2013, got married and had a son and moved across the USA from Maryland to Washington State.

J Michael Kelly takes to the helm of Shane’s former boat 1 Graham Trucking and Ted Porter’s team will run a second 7 boat for Cal Phipps. Tom Thompson is set to race in the cockpit of 11 Miss Peters & May.

The 21 GoFastTurnLeft Racing team returns to action with Brian Perkins sharing the cockpit this season with last year’s rookie of the year Jamie Nilsen. Nilsen will represent Greg and Brian O’Farrell’s team in Madison this weekend. Greg Hopp is entered in the renumbered 12 Miss DiJulio and 22 Webster Racing will also be present with Mike Webster at the helm to complete the eight-boat field.

Testing, qualifying and the racing heats will all be compressed into the weekend, with Heat 1A scheduled for 11.00hrs (18.00hrs Qatar time) on Saturday and the Indiana Governor’s Cup final scheduled for 16.05hrs (23.05hrs Qatar time Sunday).

http://thepeninsulaqatar.com/sports...f-qatar-gears-up-for-season-opener-in-madison

 

[Serious News]

REGATTA
Parade Perfection
Large crowd kicks off weekend of Regatta fun

Steve Dickerson
Courier Staff Writer

A roostertail of cheers followed driver Jimmy Shane and his team down Main Street as they rode atop the Oberto/Miss Madison during the Madison Regatta Festival Parade on Friday night.

Shane was grand marshal of the parade. Earlier this year, Shane was selected to replace the retiring Steve David as the pilot of the Miss Madison. Shane is the fourth Miss Madison pilot to be honored as grand marshal, joining Ron Snyder in 1987, Mike Hanson in 1991 and David in 2008.

Large crowds gathered all along the main stretch of downtown Madison to watch the 80 parade entries.

One of the largest gatherings was toward the west end of the parade route at Dave and Mary Rose Carlow's house. For 30 years they've held a porch party at their home, inviting friends and family - and anyone happening to be nearby. They average between 75 and 100 guests each year, they said.

It takes several days to prepare the house and all the food.

"It takes two days of cooking," Mary Rose said.

In the last few years, a tradition has developed with the Madison Consolidated High School marching band stopping at the house to perform the MCHS fight song.

As soon as the song is completed, the crowd erupts with applause, and the band returns to their march down Main Street.

A beautiful evening contributed to the large crowd.

Jack Hatton lives in Jennings County, but likes to attend the parade. Scorching heat two years ago and rain last year meant he wasn't able to take in as much of the Regatta as he wanted, but this year is different. He brought his three daughters and his brother with him to soak up some sun and watch the parade.

"This is a perfect day," he said. "I like to be here every year to see the parade and all the entries. It's a great parade."

The River Valley Financial Bank float won the Judges Special Award. The float was designed and built by the Madison Consolidated High School Theater Department.

The Madison Regatta Queen float won the President's Award.

WORX/WXGO was awarded the Sweepstakes Award and the Celtic Society were awarded the Mayor's Award.

http://madisoncourier.com/Main.asp?SectionID=178&SubSectionID=963&ArticleID=84426

 

[Serious News]

Jimmy Shane fastest qualifier for Madison Regatta Saturday...

Photos
http://www.courier-journal.com/pict...madison-regatta-qualifying-saturday/12256133/

Qualifying Results

Number - Sponsor Driver Speed Points
6 Oberto Jimmy Shane 148.692 100
9 Red Dot/Spirit of Qatar Jon Zimmerman 146.52 80
11 Peters & May Tommy Thompson 143.067 70
21 Go Fast, Turn Left Racing Jamie Nilsen 139.941 60
7 Graham Trucking Cal Phipps 138.805 50
1 Graham Trucking J. Michael Kelly 130 0
12 Miss DiJulio Greg Hopp 0 0
22 Webster Racing Mike Webster 0 0

 

[Serious News]

Results for Heat Madison Final

Finish Boat Driver Avg. Speed Points
1 U-1 Graham Trucking J. Michael Kelly 129.071 400
2 U-9 Red Dot/Spirit of Qatar Jon Zimmerman 124.215 300
3 U-7 Graham Trucking II Cal Phipps 112.29 225
4 U-6 Oberto Jimmy Shane 130.168 169
DNS U-21 Go Fast, Turn Left Racing Jamie Nilsen 0 0

 

[Serious News]

Accumulated Points with Qualifying

Number - Boat Driver Points
U-6 Oberto Jimmy Shane 1869
U-1 Graham Trucking J. Michael Kelly 1280
U-9 Red Dot/Spirit of Qatar Jon Zimmerman 1205
U-7 Graham Trucking II Cal Phipps 1015
U-21 Go Fast, Turn Left Racing Jamie Nilsen 975
U-11 Peters & May Tom Thompson 660
U-12 Miss DiJulio Greg Hopp 225
U-22 Webster Racing Mike Webster 0