Underdog88
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The wing is working!
Thanks for sharing these amazing shots of history.
Thanks for sharing these amazing shots of history.
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NNRT Offshore Classics
- Thread starter Pete B
- Start date
Wow, the boat that almost did Bobby in; http://seriousoffshore.com/forums/content.php?r=153-Saccenti-on-the-Warpaint-Crash
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This would be the 39' CUV owned by John Antonelli that started the 1987 season in Marathon with Donald Berezoski at the wheel, and John's son Nick on throttles?, as John was driving his catamaran that race. It was driven by John Antonelli and throttled by Hurley Stepp in the 1987 Miami-Nassau-Miami race. Alos finished 3rd in Port Huron in 1987. Searace
`Bandit` Beats `Apache` On Penalty
February 15, 1987|By CHRIST PROKOS JR., Special to the News/Sun-Sentinel
NORTH MIAMI -- The 1987 Teltec Gold Coast Cup Offshore Powerboat Racing Series is barely underway and already there is controversy. In the Sunday`s on the Bay at Haulover Offshore Powerboat Classic Saturday, the Apache Bandit, driven by Domingo Jimenez, breezed to a two- minute victory, then watched as Bandit, crewed by John and Nic Antonelli of Fort Lauderdale and Tom Bates of Hollywood, took the checkered flag.
Jimenez and his crew missed a mandatory drivers` meeting before the race at Sunday`s and were penalized three minutes by the race committee, which left them in third place. "I was here,`` Jimenez said. ``I was at the dock tying up the boat. I`ll protest the decision, but what good will it do? They won`t take the trophy away from the Bandit. I`m satisfied that we won the race on the water. We started the race at the back of the pack and blew past them.``
Starting with a three-minute advantage in the Sportsman D class, Antonelli sat back and let the Apache Bandit run away with the race. "We stayed with them the first lap,`` Antonelli said. ``Through the middle of the race we slowed down and I watched my watch. On the fourth lap we were two minutes behind. We gunned the engines and kept pace with them until the finish.``
The penalty to Apache Bandit raised Danger Zone from third place to second with an average speed of 86.2 miles per hour.
http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1987-02-15/sports/8701100227_1_checkered-flag-race-c-class
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Top Banana
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Wow, the boat that almost did Bobby in; http://seriousoffshore.com/forums/content.php?r=153-Saccenti-on-the-Warpaint-Crash
A tremendous amount of credit has to go to Doc Magoon for working with Bob on his eye and refusing to give up on that injury. Doc was as tough with that issue as he ever was winning all those rough water races over the years. Thank God for his skills.
Ratickle
Founding Member / Super Moderator
Wow, the boat that almost did Bobby in; http://seriousoffshore.com/forums/content.php?r=153-Saccenti-on-the-Warpaint-Crash
This is a boat I've always had a lot of questions about. This was the first Apache Cat built, right? It was a wood boat, designed and built by Malestrom? It was damaged badly in the stuff I've read and did not race the rest of that season, Kramer leased or rented a different boat in its place?
Did it ever race again? I have never been able to figure out for positive if it did.
Gary Gordon in Fish Peddler, a 30' Sutphen owned by his father Mike Gordon who used to race in the early days of offshore. Read Brownie's story about Mike racing in the 1963 Miami-Nassau-Miami first race on page 40 in Searace. Gary and Craig Maudslay won the P Class 1981 Bacardi race and the 1982 New Orleans race in this boat. Searace
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Sometime in 1976 Rocky Aoki switched from his 35' Cigarette Benihana to this 38' Bertram Benihana. From what we've been able to determine, it was most likely the 1976 Key West race where Rocky first piloted this boat. It's first win was with Rocky and Harold "Smitty" Smith in the 1977, 178 mile, San Diego Mission Bay Race. Finishing second in that race was Billy Martin in Bounty Hunter. Searace
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This has to be Charlie, as he stated earlier in the Kaama photo post, in the Coyote 38' previously known as Top Banana.
The design started out as a 44 foot MSV boat called La Tortuga. JC Simon modified the design and built Joel Halpern's 38 foot race boat called Beep Beep. He then further modified the design and created this boat. He originally had a deck design by Paolo Caliri that was similar to Beep Beep. Banana Boat Co. made design modifications and this was the final result. Charlie McCarthy bought the 24 Cigarette molds from Don Aronow and built up the Banana Boat company for three years with the idea to sell it as Aronow had done with so many of his boat companies. The boat company was sold in 1979, just a few months after this boat ran and won it's first race in California. The molds were then used by JC Simon to make and sell a boat he called Coyote. After a few of these were made, the molds were sold to Sonic and became the basis of their 41 foot deep V.
Accurate?
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I received an email from Gino, it is his father. Nice catch Charlie!!:hurray:
Top Banana
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This has to be Charlie, as he stated earlier in the Kaama photo post, in the Coyote 38' previously known as Top Banana.
The design started out as a 44 foot MSV boat called La Tortuga. JC Simon modified the design and built Joel Halpern's 38 foot race boat called Beep Beep. He then further modified the design and created this boat. He originally had a deck design by Paolo Caliri that was similar to Beep Beep. Banana Boat Co. made design modifications and this was the final result. Charlie McCarthy bought the 24 Cigarette molds from Don Aronow and built up the Banana Boat company for three years with the idea to sell it as Aronow had done with so many of his boat companies. The boat company was sold in 1979, just a few months after this boat ran and won it's first race in California. The molds were then used by JC Simon to make and sell a boat he called Coyote. After a few of these were made, the molds were sold to Sonic and became the basis of their 41 foot deep V.
Accurate?
Yes, thanks Pete! In 1980 I was not going to race as I had started a new company and was going to focus on building that up...International Oil Brokerage. But best laid plans etc, I received a phone call after the first race had been run and I was asked if I would consider coming back and racing in 1980. Since I had no plans to do so, I thought if I just keep asking for certain terms at some point they will say NO!
I had no idea who I was talking to, so I just kept upping my demands. Finally got to first class tickets to every race, new uniforms, helmets, new paint job for the truck, trailer and boat, 2 helicopters at each race, hotel suites....plus $25,000 per race for the ten remaining races and they paid the refresh costs for the boat after every race. Well, I thought that would be the end of that and I could get back to work.
No....a week later I get a call to come down to NYC and meet at a certain address on a certain floor, very mysterious. So I go and when the elevator doors open on that floor, lo and behold......Economic Development Office for the Government of Puerto Rico. They explain that when a bottle of rum is purchased in America, made in PR, the cost includes a federal excise tax. However, because PR is a Commonwealth, not a state, so all of those federal excise taxes have to be given back to PR.
The sponsorship is trying to educate the American drinking public that they can have many rum drinks, not just rum and Coke. They will, in addition to meeting all my demands, have a big party at each race with an open bar and all drinks will be made with rum. Rum martini, rum with anything they want. They hoped the people would remember and keep purchasing rum after they went home. I asked how much they had returned the year before. They answered $350 million. I laughed and said .....well can you just double whatever I asked for? They laughed. The name on the boat had to represent all the rum manufacturers, not any single one, like Bacardi......Rums of Puerto Rico .....did that.
The first race I drove for them was the Bahamas 200. The course was actually 205 miles through the islands in the Bahamas. The last 5 miles, I am locked into a rubrail to rubrail battle with Ajac Hawk. We keep trimming up and start to pull them a bit and finally get a boat length lead and then another........Murphy's Law....one of my engines starts to tighten up and then a bit more and just enough to lose the lead as we cross the finsh line 30 seconds after Ajac Hawk. That was the first ever victory for a Cigarette Top Gun.
Top Banana
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Ahhh, Bill Elswick in the 28' Magnum which won the Production Class at the 1977 98 mile Benihana Grand Prix in Point Pleasant. There were 45 boats in the Production Class at that race. Searace
I was one of those 45 and had a much more spectacular finish than Billy. Sure he won the class, but I came across the finsh with one engine on fire and flames shooting up through the vents on the hatch.......right over to a safety boat we go and they squirt the engine room down and we get towed in, still floating and a bit sooty looking but already planning for the next race.
Top Banana
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Gary Gordon in Fish Peddler, a 30' Sutphen owned by his father Mike Gordon who used to race in the early days of offshore. Read Brownie's story about Mike racing in the 1963 Miami-Nassau-Miami first race on page 40 in Searace. Gary and Craig Maudslay won the P Class 1981 Bacardi race and the 1982 New Orleans race in this boat. Searace
You were. not considered a real boat racer in Miami ....unless you had a picture of your boat racing and autographed to Mike hanging on the wall of his restaurant. Mike also ran a 18 foot Rayson Craft with a big side oiler 428 Ford engine. He raced in the Orange Bowl regatta and the Gold Coast marathon and the 9 hour races. I was fortunate to be part of the pit crew on that purple Rayson Craft. Jack Stuteville became Mike's driver in that Rayson Craft later on as well as throttleman for Sammy James and Joey Ipolitto.
Top Banana
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Sometime in 1976 Rocky Aoki switched from his 35' Cigarette Benihana to this 38' Bertram Benihana. From what we've been able to determine, it was most likely the 1976 Key West race where Rocky first piloted this boat. It's first win was with Rocky and Harold "Smitty" Smith in the 1977, 178 mile, San Diego Mission Bay Race. Finishing second in that race was Billy Martin in Bounty Hunter. Searace
The first Bertram Rocky ran was a red one. He had a deal with Bertram where they would give Rocky a boat for $1.00 and he would pay the rigging costs and operating costs. This was the first one they built him special with those colors.
Information has conflicts. I'll try. Lil Rhino was raced by Sandy Black, wife of Ken Black who raced Rhino, a Magnum. However, some information has the Magnum and the Mirage both being named Lil Rhino. This Lil Rhino was a 31' Mirage with twin 351 Ford Clevelands. In 1977 it won the Production Class overall at the Swift Hurricane Classic in St. Petersburg. Sandy and Ken were out of Warren, MI. H20 needs to give some input here to straighten me out.
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Ratickle
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Top Banana
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What place did you finish in on fire?????
I think sixth in the Modified class and maybe 10 th overall behind some Sports class boats".
Ratickle
Founding Member / Super Moderator
Ahhh, Bill Elswick in the 28' Magnum which won the Production Class at the 1977 98 mile Benihana Grand Prix in Point Pleasant. There were 45 boats in the Production Class at that race. Searace
Didn't you and Bill have some other classic battles when you both moved up a class or two?
