Orange Cup Regatta, 3/7/2015 – 3/8/2015

[Serious News]

APBA Race Circular

Regatta:
Orange Cup Regatta

Event Date:
3/7/2015 – 3/8/2015

Conducting Club:
CENTRAL FLORIDA RACING CLUB #208

Test Date:
3/6/2015

Region: 5 Sanction ID: 12445 Approved

Place:
Lakeland, FL Lake Hollingsworth

Directions:
S. Florida Avenue to Beacon Road, left on Beacon Road to Lake Hollingsworth Drive, right to Lakeland Yacht Club OR Highway 98 North to Crystal Lake Drive, left on Lake Hollingsworth Drive to Lakeland Yacht Club.

Accommodations:
Courtyard by Marriott, 3725 Harden Blvd., Lakeland FL 33803 Residence Inn by Marriott, 3701 Harden Blvd., Lakeland, FL 33803 Holiday Inn Express, 4500 Lakeland Park Drive, Lakeland, FL 33809 Hyatt Place, 525 W,. Orange Street, Lakeland, 33815 Hampton Inn Lakeside, 3630 Lakeside Village Blvd., Lakeland 33803 The Terrace Hotel, 329 E. Main Street, Lakeland 33801 The Imperial Swan Hotel, 4141 S. Florida Avenue, Lakeland 33803 La Quinta Inn & Suites West, 1024 Lakeland Park Center Drive, Lakeland 33809 Travelodge, 3425 US Highway 98 N, Lakeland, 33809

Course:
APPROVED FOR RECORDS: Inboards: 5laps on 1 mile course. Course Elevation: 131.40
APPROVED FOR RECORDS: Stock and J Classes: 3 laps on 1 mile course.
NOT APPROVED FOR RECORDS: OPC - approx. 3/4 mile course. Saturday: 2 -6 lap heats (back to back, no refueling) Sunday: 1 - 15 lap heat.

Start Type:
OPC only - Lemans start. ALL OTHERS clock start

Safety / Rescue:
Region 5 Dive & Rescue Team

Classes:

Saturday, March 7, 2015
01030 NATIONAL MODIFIED
01040 2.5 LTR MODIFIED
01110 5 LTR
01130 2.5 LTR STOCK
01140 1 LTR
01220 JERSEY SPEED SKIFF
01600 PRO STOCK
01650 SE
06040 CSR
06240 CSH
07280 SST 120
07290 SST 60
11011 J CLASS H
11012 AXR
11013 AXH

Sunday, March 8, 2015
01030 NATIONAL MODIFIED
01040 2.5 LTR MODIFIED
01110 5 LTR
01130 2.5 LTR STOCK
01140 1 LTR
01220 JERSEY SPEED SKIFF
01600 PRO STOCK
01650 SE
06040 CSR
06240 CSH
07280 SST 120
07290 SST 60
11011 J CLASS H
11012 AXR
11013 AXH





Prizes:
First, second and third place medals

Registration:
Preregistration deadline is 2/28/15. CAPSULE TRAINING: $50 fee. MUST mark on entry if capsule training is needed. TEST DAY: $25 fee MUST BE PAID PER CLASS. (Testing ONLY on FRIDAY. NO testing on Saturday or Sunday) Check-in Friday 3/6/15 in Pits 9:30 a.m. - 5 p.m. and Saturday 3/7/15 in Pits 7 a.m. - 8:30 a.m.

Driver Meeting:
Sat. 3/7/15 in Pits 9 a.m.; Sun. 3/8/15 in Pits 9 a.m.

Entry Fees:
Those who preregister by 2/28/15 will be paid .25 cents per mile, PER tow vehicle ONE WAY from point of origin NOT TO EXCEED $250 and must start one race per day. Racing accident only exemption at discretion of race committee. STOCK & J Classes $30 per class per weekend. OPC $150 per class per weekend. INBOARDS $150 per class per weekend PLUS $20 additional fee for Inboard Administrative Fund.

Send Entries To:
Sally Titus, 333 Holmes Avenue, Lake Placid, FL 33852

Officials:
Race Director (12466) DEAN PINK, PO BOX 512703, PUNTA GORDA, FL
Race Director (50710) GENE ENGLE, 432 EUNICE RD, LAKELAND, FL
Referee (3091) DAVID SHAW, 20414 SPANGLER DR, LINCOLN, DE
Assistant Referee (51320) LINDA ELDREDGE, 336 PRIDGEON, LAKELAND, FL
Inspector (6372) GEORGE KENNEDY JR, 637 CONNELL DR, BEAR, DE
Inspector (50039) JEFF TITUS, 333 HOLMES AVE, LAKE PLACID, FL
Inspector (71908) R C HAWIE, PO BOX 61, LAKE HAMILTON, FL
Scorer (50019) SALLY TITUS, 333 HOLMES AVE, LAKE PLACID, FL
Scorer (52006) ANN MARIE SHAW, 20414 SPANGLER DR, LINCOLN, DE
Scorer (70815) SUZETTE ECKMAN, 976 VIRGINIA AVE, ROCKLEDGE, FL
Risk Manager (52366) W L BUD GANN, 336 PRIDGEON, LAKELAND , FL

Notes:

Surveyor: City of Lakeland
1. NO overnight camping in any Pit location.
2. NO alcoholic beverages in pits.
3. NO vehicles in Pits.
4. APBA Inboard Dress Code and Pitt Pass procedures will be strictly enforced.
5. Large trailers (enclosed) will pit in the city park adjacent to Buckingham Road.
6. Capsule Training will be strictly enforced Friday 3/6/15 between 9 a.m. - 11a.m. NO EXCEPTIONS.
7. For camping facilities call SANLAN RV PARK 863-665-1726.

This Regatta is sanctioned through APBA

 

[Serious News]

This footage is from the 2013 Orange Cup Regatta and aired on Polk Government Television (PGTV) episode of Sports Central

 

[Serious News]

Boats Will Be Making Waves at 79th Annual Orange Cup Regatta

They call it the "Lake of Records."

Facts

Power boaters from around the country travel to Lake Hollingsworth every year, hoping to go down in history.

The 77th Orange Cup Regatta is Saturday and Sunday at Lake Hollingsworth in Lakeland.

Racers broke three world records last year, including average speed in the race for national modified inboard boats at 102.087 mph.

The Orange Cup Regatta is one in a series of power boat races involving more than 70 boats in different classes competing for points going toward crowning an American Power Boat Association champion.

"I know that many of our residents and visitors enjoy the Lake Hollingsworth setting to gather, enjoy each others' company and, of course, watch the excitement of the boats," said Kevin Cook, Lakeland spokesman.

"The city of Lakeland enjoys hosting the racers and their crew who spend time in our hotels and restaurants, adding to the economic impact of the event."

More world records in power boating have been set in Lake Hollingsworth than at any other lake in the world. The Regatta's one-mile oval course is surveyed several times to make sure racing times are accurate, said Gene Engle, race director.

"The city of Lakeland helps us survey that out, and it has to be precise," Engle said. "Then if we break a record, we have to resurvey the course and make sure nobody moved any of the buoys."

Ron Reynolds has not broken any records – his class of boat only runs about 85 mph – but has attended the regatta for 15 years.

"It's just a beautiful area. The lake itself is beautiful," Reynolds said. "There are a lot of our friends from up north, in New York, New Jersey, who are snowed in, and I know this is the first race of the season … so everybody likes coming down to the Orange Cup Regatta."

The event is not just popular among racers. Spectators numbering 8,000 to 10,000 tote blankets, folding chairs and coolers to grassy areas around Lake Hollingsworth.

"The way we've laid the course out, it's all on the south side of the lake, so it's a great viewing area," Engle said. "Everybody has a great view, and the course is designed so everybody can see the race."

Engle said space has become limited in the pit as the race has grown, and moving the Orange Cup Regatta has been considered. But Lake Hollingsworth is too iconic.

"It's become such a legend, and it's known all over the world," he said. "We've actually had international boat races here. The last one we had, about 16 countries participated ... So it's got such a legend to it, if you move it, it doesn't seem right; it seems sacrilegious."

The Orange Cup Regatta began 81 years ago by Engle's father, Walter, but was canceled for two years during World War II and for two years while the lake was dredged.

The weekend features two different sets of races on Saturday and Sunday and admission is free.

[ Lance Ferguson can be reached at lance.ferguson@theledger.com or 863-802-7533. Follow @Lance_Ferguson on Twitter. ]

http://www.theledger.com/article/20150304/ENT/150309710

 

[Serious News]

Hydroplane Racing - Orange Cup Regatta: Capsule Training Helps Drivers Be Safer on the Water
By JOHN HAHN
LEDGER CORRESPONDENT

Published: Saturday, March 7, 2015 at 12:24 a.m.

When the 77th version of the Orange Cup Regatta gets started today, about 10 a.m. on Lake Hollingsworth, organizers will be a little more confident in the safety of the drivers.

"Safety is the No. 1 priority," said race director Gene Engle of Lakeland. "That includes safety for all. The drivers, pit crews, officials and especially the spectators."

Engle's father, Walter, started the event 81 years ago and there have been only a few off years, including two during World War II.

Friday at the Lakeland Yacht Club is usually dedicated to arrivals, registrations, driver meetings, test runs — and the capsule training, which trains drivers in escaping from boat capsules in the event of a crash.

Drivers must be certified inside the simulator every two years, even if their class of boat does not have a canopy. It's a requirement by the American Power Boat Association which sanctions this level of competition.

There will be more than 125 boats registered in this year's regatta — nearly 100 entrants from Florida and the remainder coming from 31 other states and two countries (Canada and Bermuda). Local drivers include veterans Bradone Schipf (Lakeland), RC Hawie (Lake Hamilton) and Robert Dinicolantonio (Lakeland).

"The reason so many like this race is because there are double points toward the APBA championships," Engle said. "It also is the first race of the APBA season."

Lake Hollingsworth also is known as "the lake of records." Last year, there were two marks set, but only one was finally accredited on the one-mile course.

Today, 17 classifications will compete, and Sunday, 14 of those will return for another round. Sunday's rounds of racing will begin at noon.

For many of the drivers and owners, boat racing is a family affair. Among the more recognizable couples are Jeff and Carole Reno from Okeechobee.

"Jeff went fishing with some buddies; they went to boat races in Stuart, and he was hooked," Carole said. "That was 28 years ago."

Carole, who had flipped over in a capsule boat some years ago, said last year was the couple's best. Jeff, 60, won the SST 120 national classification last season, and Carole, 58, was second in SST 60 nationally and second in the Orange Cup.

"I'm probably the only one who has abandoned the capsule," Carole said. "I just can't have it after the accident. I was knocked out, and I'd rather not have one."

When a lot of the boats break 100 mph, accidents happen quickly. And that's why Engle has the best rescue squad available.

"The mock capsule is invaluable to training, not only our divers, but the drivers get an idea of how a rescue is handled," said St. Petersburg's Mike Bowers, who is the director of the APBA's Rescue Region 5 team.

Bowers will have four divers in two boats on the water at all times during the day. Rescuers, usually in teams of three, also are EMS paramedics. This is why the certification is so important for complete safety.

After Bowers harnesses the helmeted driver in the "bucket," the driver puts the oxygen mask on and Mike tips the boat (upside down) into the pool. Then, Jeff Milges, Carl Cash and Tod White go to work under water.

No more than 10 seconds pass before the driver pops up from the deepest part of the pool.

"Hey, I still got it ... it went well," said skiff boat owner Jim Butula, a longtime boat builder from Fort Lauderdale, by way of Jersey City, N.J., who will be 70 in July.

http://www.theledger.com/article/20150307/NEWS/150309484?p=1&tc=pg

Facts
IF YOU GO

WHAT: Orange Cup Regatta
WHEN: 10 a.m. to dusk today; noon to dusk Sunday.
WHERE: Lake Hollingsworth, by the Lakeland Yacht and Country Club.
ADMISSION: None, bring your own seating.

 

[Serious News]

Weather Gives Regatta a Bumpy Ride
By JOHN HAHN
Ledger Correspondent

LAKELAND | Under overcast skies and, at times, a blustery wind, the 77th annual Orange Cup Regatta boat races got underway Saturday.

Despite the conditions, drivers in all six American Power Boat Association classifications put their crafts through some choppy water and came out unscathed by mother nature.

Only the larger boats managed qualifying and some received the first-day points as the smaller groups were not able to traverse the water. This will cause for some added racing today when the green flag drops at noon.

Some of the more exciting racing of the day came from the Jersey Skiff vessels, bouncing through their paces. These two-man ships are a flat-bottom inboard that is no less than 16 feet long. What appears to be a roll bar over the craft makes it look like your everyday 16-foot fishing rig.

Jim Buturla, at 69, not only drives Skiffs, he builds them. He and his 45-year-old son finished fourth Saturday, but that didn't matter to the former Jersey City native who now has his company in Fort Lauderdale.

"These became really popular after 1945," said Buturla, who was the 2013 Orange Cup winner. On Saturday, the Buturlas couldn't quite beat the time of 4:54.06 by winners Clyde McFarland of Palm City and D. Keith Fickert of Dayton, Ohio.

Interestingly, the Skiff boats were first used between the Prohibition years (1920-33) to run liquor from large ships off the New Jersey coast, consequently they were called Jersey Skiffs. Also, the passenger used to read the gauges and be an engineer aboard the boat, but asked what they do now, someone retorted, "that's the low IQ seat."

In the 5-liter-350 class, Brandon Kennedy, a 22-year-old out of Bear, Del., finished second (4:24.33) over the 1-mile course at the Lakewood Yacht Club, and Joseph Sovie of Ogdensburg, N.Y., had a 4:08.56. This was the first heat for the 5 liter, which will finish today.

Kennedy's story doesn't end there. In trial runs late Friday, his own boat in the 2.5 Stock inboard caught fire on the third lap.

"I saw smoke coming from up top and knew right away something was wrong," he said of the $25,000 craft he's been driving for the past four years. "I was just out getting that boat ready for my fiancée, Karson King, to drive today.

"The best we can figure is when it backfired, a spark may have blown into the carburetor," he said dejectedly. "Before we could get enough fire extinguishers on it, about 75 percent of the structure was destroyed."

Kennedy, who works with his father in a fabrication shop, said they will take it home and see if any of it can be salvaged. Sadly, he had set records in that 2.5 boat.

Kennedy has been driving since he was 14 and has graduated to the big 5-liter vessels, which cost more than $60,000. He was driving for the John Hugair Team of Norristown, Pa.

Orange Cup Regatta Results

2.5 Stock (Inboard): 1. John Shaw, Lincoln. Del., (Budget Buster Racing) 4:06:95; 2. Dutch Squires, Lakewood, Colo., 4:12:33; 3. Doug Martin, Purcellville, Vir.; 4. Joe Kreitzer, Defiance, Ohio, 4:26.49; 5. Doug Rapp, Windham, Conn., 4:33.34.

SE (Inboard): 1. Joel Jones, York, S.C., 4:07.69; 2. Randy Reynolds, Longwood, Fla., 4:25.56; 3. Joseph Clauss, Mullica Hill, N.J. 4:40.82; 4. Jim Clauss, Mickleton, N.J., 5:05.56.

SST 120 (Outboard): 1. Anston Rinker, Jacksonville, N.C., 3:43.10; 2. John Ludwig, Millersport Ohio, 4:00.88; 3. Jeff Reno, Okeechobee, Fla., 4:02.55; 4. Frederick Durr, Port Charlotte, Fla., 4:13.16; 5. Tom Ludwig, St. Petersburg, Fla., 0:00.

5 liter 350 (Inboard): 1. Thomas English, Cincinnati, Ohio, 4:08.56; 2. Brandon Kennedy, Bear, Del., 4:24.33; 3. Robert Kennedy, Bear, Del., 4:28.76; 4. Derec Smith, Oswego, N.Y., 4:33.13; 5. Charles Miller, Jr., Saverna Park, Md., 4:47.46.

Jersey Skiffs (Inboard): 1. Clyde McFarland, Palm City, Fla., 4:53.39; 2. James Attardi, Long Branch, N.J., 4:53.83; 3. Tom Pakradooni, Glen Mills, Penn., 5:09.15; 4. James Buturla, N. Lauderdale, Fla., 5:13.93. 5. Matt Santomenna, Mooresville, N.C., 5:27.84; 6. Jimmie Stewart, Annapolis, Md., 5:46.36.

Pro Stock (Inboard): 1. Jim Clauss, Mickleton, N.J., 3:45.00; 2. Dominic Cournoyer, Quebec, Canada, 3:48.66; 3. Paul Reid, Amhurst, N.Y., 4:34.35; 4. Dale Hernandez, Jr., St. Paul, Minn. 5:00.02.

http://www.theledger.com/article/20150307/NEWS/150309408/0/columnists0603?p=1&tc=pg

 

[Serious News]

Engine He Built Himself Gives Quebec Man Title
By JOHN HAHN
Ledger Correspondent

LAKELAND | Dominic Cournoyer of Quebec captured Sunday’s 77th Orange Cup Regatta on Lake Hollingsworth.

The 48-year-old Cournoyer, driving in the pro stock classification, powered his open cockpit craft past three other competitors over two days, ending on Sunday with a 5-mile course run of 3:48.06.

“The boat just ran super and the race course — I think it’s one of the best I’ve run — was excellent,” Cournoyer said through his translator, Paul Reid of Amherst, N.Y., a fellow driver who finished second. “This is nice water.”

Cournoyer built his own 500-cubic-inch engine and has built five others for competitors like Reid. “This was just a great weekend,” said Cournoyer, who finished second in Saturday’s heat in 3:48.66.

With the sun shining, the water mild and a few feathered friends watching from the water, Dutch Squires, vice president of the American Power Boat Association, got a first look at this annual event.

“I just marvel at this beautiful lake in the middle of town and it is just ideal for racing,” said Squires, a longtime boat racer (39 years) from Longwood, Colo. Squires finished second to John Shaw of Lincoln, Del., in the 2.5-liter stock inboard category.

In the smaller boat categories, Emily Hutchinson of Winter Haven placed third in the J-AXR and J-Hydro (2) classifications.

The Katie Billiter Future Stars Award went this year to 11-year-old Fisher Dyle of Jupiter. He won in two J-Class outboard hydro (AX runabout) with a 15-horsepower engine.

Sunday Results

American Power Boat Association J-Classes (All Outboards) Smaller Boats
J-AXR – 1. Carson Fabbro, Pensacola, Fla., 5:10.15 (400 points); 2. Charlie Blackwood, Ocala, Fla., 6:05.93 (300); 3. Emily Hutchinson, Winter Haven, Fla., 8:20.13 (225).

J-Hydro – 1. Fisher Dyle, Jupiter, Fla., 5:00.81 (400 p oints); 2. Sam Tennell, Buford, Ga., 5:20.16 (300).

J-Hydro (2) – 1. Carson Fabbro, Penscola, Fla., 4:36.68 (400); 2. Charlie Blackwood, Ocala, Fla., 5:27.63 (300); 3. Emily Hutshinson, Winter Haven, Fla. (NT) 225).

J-Hydro (3) – 1. Fisher Dyle, Jupiter, Fla., 4:52.00 (400); 2. Sam Tennell, Buford, Ga., 5:58.04, (300). 3. Nathan Kowalski, Presque Isle, Mich., 5:37.36 (225).

CSH Stock – 1. Michael Sweeney, Delaware, Ohio, 3:09.39 (400); 2. Herb Lanphear, Jr., Suwanee, Ga., 3:20.60, (300); 3. Tom Fernandez, Seffner, Fla., 3:39.93 (225).

CSH Stock (2) – 1. Herb Lanphear, Jr., Suwanee, Ga., 3:18.13, (400); 2. Michael Sweeney, Delaware, Ohio, 3:22.14; 3. Tom Fernandez,Seffner, Fla., 3:50.48, (225).

J-AXH – 1. Carson Fabbro, Pensacola, Fla., 4:05.77, (400); 2. MacKenzie Hellsten, Orlando, Fla., (300).

CSR Stock – 1. Jesse Swain, Cromwell, Ind., 3:26.11 (400); 2. Tom Fernandez, Seffner, Fla., 4:08.99 (300).

AMERICAN POWER BOAT ASSOCIATION (Larger Classifications)
2.5 Liter Stock (Inboard) – 1. John Shaw, Lincoln, Del., (owner Budget Buster Racing, Cinnaminson, N.J.), 3:54.08; 2. Dutch Squires, Lakewood, Colo., 3:58.28; 3. Doug Rapp, Windham, Conn., 4:02.11; 4. Howard Schnabok, Johns Island, S.C. (John DeFalco, Fair Haven, N.J.), 4:31.90; 5. Doug Martin, Purcellville, Vir.,5:12.50.

5 Liter 350 (Inboard) – 1. Derec Smith, Oswego, N.Y.,(owner John McDonald, Grant, Fla.) 3:29.96; 2. Matt O’Connor, Port St. Lucie, Fla. (Brian O’Connor, Palm City,Fla.) 3:37.48; 3. Joseph Sovie, Ogdensurg, N.Y.(owner Thomas English, Cincinnati, Ohio) 3:43.76; 4. John Shaw,Lincoln. Del., (owner Edmund Thompason, Baltimore, Md.) 3:45.00; 5. Charles A. Miller, Jr., (owner Wheeler, Baker, hester, Md.) 3:50.12.

Jersey Skiff (Inboard) Final – 1. Jimmie Stewart, Annapolis, Md., (driver) Peg Ewancio, Berlin, Md., (rider), 4:41.20; 2. Tom Pakradooni, Glenn Mills, Pa. and Mike Pakradooni, Philadelphia, Pa., 5:00.99; 3. James Attardi, Long Branch, N.J. and Patrick Dender, Oceanport, N.J., 5:02.68; 4. Jimmie Stewart, and Courtney Stewart, Annapolis, Md., 5:22.84; 5. Keith Gunther and Keven Gunther, West River Md., 5:38.28.

SE (Inboard) – 1. Joel Jones, York, N.C., 3:55.12; 2. Jeffrey Clauss, Sicklerville, N.J.3:57.88; 3. Joseph Clauss, Mullica Hill N.J., 4:24.10; 4. Randy Reynolds, Longwood, Fla., 4:56.73.

SST 120 (Outboard) – 1. John Ludwig, Millersport, Ohio, 6:10.93 (Total time for 10 laps) (400); .2. Michael Floyd, Rincoin, Ga., 6:14.19 (300); 3. Aston Rinker, Jacksonville, N.C., 6:17.51 (225); 4. Jeff Reno, Okeechobee, Fla., 6:26.51 (169). 5. Frederick Durr, Port Charlotte, Fla., 6:45.71 (127); 6. Tom Ludwig, St. Petersburg, Fla., no time, (90); 7. Jeff Krischand, Elk River, Minn., no time, (71).

77 th Orange Cup Regatta Champion
Pro Stock (Inboard) – 1. Dominic Cournoyer, Quebec, Canada, 3:48.06; 2. Paul Reid, Amherst, N.Y., 4:27.56; 3. Dale Hernandez, Jr., St. Paul, Minn., (boat owner, Jim Clauss, Mickleton, N.J.) 5:04.05.

http://www.theledger.com/article/20150309/NEWS/150309352/1002/SPORTS?p=1&tc=pg

 

[Serious News]

Lots of Photos

http://ordering.delmecum.com/p426220002

 

[Serious News]

Link to Peirce Williams photos.

http://fpwp.photoshelter.com/gallery/2015-Orange-Cup-Regatta/G0000EHQrFqQu0do/2/1