The generous folks at Federal Mogul have provided us with this metal shop cabinet, which will be given away at the Champion Spark Plug Regatta this weekend. Thanks to Federal Mogul for their support of model hydroplane racing and our re-creation of the Champion Spark Plug Regatta.

Thanks to the ERCU Facebook page, and the promotion of our club that’s happening on it, we recently caught the attention of Champion Spark Plugs and it paid off in a big way.

Ann Skrycki-Mohler of Federal Mogul saw a post on our Facebook page promoting this weekend’s season-opening Champion Spark Plug Regatta and offered to send a few banners to put up at the race site. When the FedEx truck arrived today at the Port of Woodland, it wasn’t exactly banners that were delivered, but instead a metal shop cabinet with the historical Champion Spark Plug logos on the front of it.

It’s pretty cool stuff.

We will figure out a creative and hopefully fun way to give away this great prize and announce it at the drivers meeting.

For more information about the upcoming race, click here.

It’s been a couple of years since ERCU last asked me – the Carnac of model hydroplane racing – to preview the season, so I’ve polished up the crystal ball and jotted down a few thoughts on the way I see things turning out in the first decade anniversary season of your wonderful club.

The mysterious Farl Fredley has graced us again with his preseason prognostications. Will he be right? Only time will tell.

A few things have changed, though most of the faces and places are the same. More impressive than that, however, is the number of boats that have a chance to muscle their way into the top spots this season. Nearly gone are the days when one or two boats would dominate the vintage and modern classes. Today, we’re looking at two divisions that are as deep as they’ve ever been.

With Mike Campbell having joined up with the renewed Jones Racing U-9 team, not to mention his involvement in ESU, he’s saying he’ll cut back on his ERCU schedule in 2012, and Mike Gossler having sold his 1978 Miss Circus Circus, the race for the top of the modern field has opened itself up wide.

Some say logic (and statistics) suggest Nelson Holmberg will rise to the top with his 2010 Formula Boats. Others say the totally brand-new 2010 Oh Boy! Oberto of Craig Bradshaw will be tough to beat. Then there’s Bill Smiley’s 1977 Charlie’s Girl, Gary Hansen’s 1974 Miss Cott’s Beverage and Mark Hansen’s 1972 Notre Dame which will also make noise. And never count out Campbell’s 1982 Executone and 1986 Boat. Even if they don’t show up at every race, they’ll maximize the points they do get, and figure to be in the top 10 again this year. Mick Shutt, ERCU’s most improved modern driver, will also be back with the 1976 Miss Vernors and the 1978 Miss Budweiser. Then there’s Mr. Consistency, Nels Enquist, with his 1972 Lincoln Thrift’s 7 ¼% Special that will also stick its sponsons into every race. Ryan Opfer is expected back as well, and the purple people eater (2009 Buffalo Federal Savings) will eventually be converted to the 2011 Miss Peters & May (U-11). It’s about ready for paint as of this writing, but it sounds like the hull won’t be ready for an unveiling at Centralia. The modern hulls from Ron & Alex Daum’s Great Lakes Boat Shop – 2003 Llumar Window Films and 2009 Grandview on the Lake – are also both worthy of mention, because they run well and have sufficient speed to contend.

Some newcomers in the modern class, though, will also draw attention. Robbie Roberts unveils his new 1984 Executone this season, and his son Robert – a potential rookie of the year candidate before the season even starts – will bring out the 1999 Znetix. Both boats are expected to score a lot of points.

When it all comes down to making predictions, your faithful futurist must take into consideration the number of races expected to be attended by each of the boats. So here they are:

1.    2010 Formula Boats
2.    2010 Oh Boy! Oberto
3.    1986 Boat
4.    1982 Executone
5.    1972 Lincoln Thrift’s 7 ¼% Special
6.    1977 Charlie’s Girl
7.    1976 Miss Vernors
8.    2003 Llumar Window Films
9.    2010 Miss Peters & May
10.    2011 Miss Peters & May

Over in the vintage class, not much has changed because the front-runners return from one of the closest points chases in the history of the club. By the time the 2011 season was over, Ben Keller’s 1957 Hawaii Ka’i III ruled the roost, but by fewer than 2,000 total points over Gerry Bordon’s 1970 Parco’s O-Ring Miss, which proved to be just as fast as the Ka’i.

The only new boats on the scene that figure to make much of a splash in the vintage top 10 this season are Kirk Pagel’s 1971 Atlas Van Lines and Steve Dumanis’ 1969 Pride of Pay ‘n Pak Outrigger, which is a newly-constructed boat from the Dumanis shop – not the Outrigger developed and offered for sale this past fall by Jeff Campbell.

One vintage boat returning to the fold will most certainly be fast, and that’s the 1969 Notre Dame, which was purchased over the winter by the Spartacus Racing Team of Craig Mullen. It’s not going to be ready in time for the Champion Spark Plug Regatta, but the season opener still promises to be one heck of a race, and could be a great vision for what to expect from the entire season in the vintage class.

1.    1957 Hawaii Ka’i III
2.    1970 Parco’s O-Ring Miss
3.    1960 Miss Burien
4.    1958 Coral Reef
5.    1975 Miss Vernor’s
6.    1957 Miss Wahoo
7.    1969 Pay ‘n Pak Outrigger
8.    1971 Atlas Van Lines
9.    1959 Maverick
10.    1971 Hallmark Homes

There’s a handful of other vintage boats that could make their way into the Top-10 – like Kerry Kjos’ 1960 Miss Thriftway, John Earnest’s 1962 Gale V, Shutt’s 1975 Oh Boy! Oberto, Gary Hansen’s 1956 Muvalong, and more – dependent upon how many races they attend this season.

So…as you can see, there’s a lot yet to be determined, and with my track record, a lot that’s probably not even close. But it’s fun for me, and I’m hoping it’s fun for you to read. A year from now, let’s see if I’m asked back to give it another shot. Go get ‘em guys!

Fort Borst Lake is home for the 2012 season-opening Champion Spark Plug Regatta.

ERCU’s 10th season is set to begin in just less than 10 days, as the Champion Spark Plug Regatta is set for Saturday, April 14 at Fort Borst Park in Centralia.

Set up will commence at 7:30 a.m., with registration and open water to follow set up. A drivers meeting – mandatory for all participating drivers and owners – will be held at 10:45, with modern heat 1A to start approximately five minutes after the completion of the drivers meeting.

Those who still need to have boats inspected are encouraged to arrive early and be ready to have inspections completed right away, out of fairness to our inspectors, who will also desire testing time in the morning.

Contest Director Nelson Holmberg says vintage boats will be allowed to run open props and if the water stays high in Fort Borst Lake, a medium-to-large sized course will be set.

The race format will be three flights of five-lap heats for modern and vintage boats. Depending on the turnout, first and second connies will be held for both classes. The winner of the second connies will advance to the first connies as a trailer boat, and the winner of the first connies will advance to the finals as a trailer boat.

Final heat winners will be the race champions.

At the completion of the race, a special event will be held, as an exhibition of all “modern boats” in attendance at this event (those defined as “modern” in the new rules) will be held in a dash for cash.

Bill Smiley (1977 Charlie’s Girl) and Gerry Bordon (1970 Parco’s O-Ring Miss) are the defending champions of this race.

DOWNLOAD FLIER HERE

Atlas Van Lines $500 REWARD!!! Esquire Products

Thieves in OUR Bothell Community (212th ST SW, area)!

Remote Control (R/C) Hydroplanes (43” Long x 23” Wide)  Not easy to hide!  Someone locally knows about the theft of these boats!!! $500 REWARD for return**!!  Call, or TEXT to claim the reward!!! (Theft date: late Friday March 23rd, early Saturday AM, the 24th)

Call: (425) 830-8137; TEXT: (425) 830-8137 (anonymous tips accepted, and eligible for reward!!! This is not a Police contact #)

The owner of these Hydroplanes, Kirk, has been racing R/C Scale Hydroplanes for more than 15 years and would help anyone that asked him.  He is currently a board member of one, and participant in both of the large, Northwest 1/8th scale R/C clubs. Additionally, he is connected to the Hydroplane and Raceboat Museum in Kent.

Our NAMBA affiliation guarantees that this flier will be distributed NATIONWIDE and THROUGHOUT CANADA.  There are tens of thousands of people that this flier will be distributed to electronically.  And from there, it will be shared with friends of those friends. These boats will never see the water in the United States or Canada, never be pawned, never be sold, without someone being arrested and charged!!! The best option right now is for the thieves to return these boats anonymously, and collect this reward. Soon, this reward will be retracted, and full charges will be pursued. The thieves do not have the motors, the radio gear, or any other components to make these boats functional.

RETURN THESE BOATS TODAY, by setting them beside the house you took them from, and then make contact as shown above. By any method, leave contact information, and the reward will be paid with no questions asked, but only for a few days after this flier is distributed.

Additionally, know, many of Kirk’s friends will be going door to door soon, to inform the local community with this information, and searching for these Hydroplanes!

The March ERCU Member meeting and trailer cleanup that was originally scheduled for March 10, then postponed, has been rescheduled for Saturday, March 24, beginning at 8:30 a.m. at Red Dot Corporation headquarters in Kent.

ERCU Contest Board Chairman Ron Daum said a brief members meeting for input and clarification regarding any of this year’s rule changes, and for boat inspections, would be held at 8:30, followed by the trailer and equipment cleanup and inventory session immediately after the meeting.

Mike Campbell will be in attendance to open the Red Dot lunchroom for us, and will stick around for the meeting and to help out with the trailer cleanup, but out of respect for his time – and everyone else’s – we’ll try to keep the meeting and cleanup to as close to two hours as possible.

The new 2012 rule book, with changes voted on by membership at December, January and February meetings, has been posted on the website. Click here to download a PDF of the book for your information. The changes are highlighted in red.

MARYSVILLE, Wash. — For a day that started out with snow falling from Mill Creek all the way to Smokey Point, it turned out to be a pretty great day at the NAMBA Triple Crown spring race at Gissberg Twin Lakes Park.

Clean racing and mostly dry (but cloudy) skies were the highlight of the day, as a total of 14 boats celebrated the first official race of the 2012 model hydroplane racing season.

NAMBA Spring Regional winners Nelson Holmberg (left) and Mitch Dillard are Washington State University alumni. Go Cougs! (Photo by Kirk Pagel)

Nelson Holmberg enjoyed his day quite a bit, taking three firsts and a third (after jumping the gun in the final heat with two other boats), winning the event with 1,425 points with his 2010 Formula Boats, which continues to get stronger and stronger. Mitch Dillard impressed everyone with his brand new Tide, which ran great right out of the box, and ended up second in the modern standings with 1,069 points. Third place went to Ron Forister driving the 1999 Miss Madison with 921 points. Dale Van Wyk drove his Spirit of Detroit to a fourth place finish with 525 points, while Mike Schultz was fifth with 521 and Nels Enquist was sixth with 488 points.

With just five modern boats registered for the event at the drivers meeting, it was decided to run all of the modern hulls together and follow a points race format for modern, while keeping the winner-take-all final heat format for the vintage class.

Dillard had a perfect day in the vintage class, running his Gale V to four wins, including the final where he came from behind to overtake Robbie Roberts’ Miss Burien on lap four. Roberts took second in the final, and in the points standings, with 1,300 points. Forister was third in the vintage class, too, with his 1971 Miss Madison, scoring 1,019 points. Fourth place went to Steve Dumanis with his brand new 1969 Pride of Pay ‘n Pak Outrigger (1,000 points), fifth was Schultz with his Miss Thriftway (994), Enquist was sixth with his Marverick (869), Ryan Opfer was seventh with his

ERCU'ers Craig Bradshaw (left), Nelson Holmberg (center) and Robbie Roberts pose after the NAMBA Spring Regional at Twin Lakes in Marysville.

Gales Roostertail (394 points), and eighth was Craig Bradshaw with his Miss Budweiser (296).

This was the first of three NAMBA Regional races for 2012. The next event is to be hosted by ERCU on Sunday, Aug. 26 at Cottage Lake in Woodinville.

The series is scored separately from the respective clubs’ season points championships, and a Triple Crown champion will be crowned from the points standings for the series once it’s complete in October.

Any racer who runs 1/10-scale unlimited hydroplanes that are in accordance with the NAMBA rules for that class is eligible to participate in the Triple Crown, provided they have a valid membership in NAMBA. Single-day NAMBA memberships are available at the race site for those who prefer that.

For more information about the NAMBA Regional Triple Crown, click here. For Mitch Dillard’s photos of the NAMBA Spring Regional, click here.

The first race of the NAMBA Northwest Triple Crown Series is this Sunday, March 18 at Gissberg Twin Lakes Park in Marysville.

Classic Thunder, the first 1/10-scale unlimited hydroplane club in the world, is hosting the event, and racers from any club are welcome, but NAMBA memberships are required. A one-day ($10) event membership will be available for those who don’t already have their NAMBA memberships.

The only class that will race at these events is 1/10-scale hydros, which will run under NAMBA rules.

Registration begins at 9 a.m., with the drivers meeting set for approximately 10:30 a.m. and racing starting at around 11 a.m.

The Northwest Triple Crown Series is a set of three regional points races that will be run using the current hull specifications for electric 1/10-scale unlimited hydroplane as stated in the NAMBA Official Rule Book.

Race formats and rules will be set in the spirit of club racing with clarifications to be given at the mandatory drivers meeting at 10:30 a.m. on the day of each event. A registration fee of $5 per boat will be charged. Registration and testing will begin at approximately 9 a.m. The regional races are open to everyone.

Drivers who are not known to be qualified to drive 1/10-scale electric hydroplanes in an organized club may be asked to demonstrate acceptable driving control before being allowed to drive in a heat. Racing will begin at 11 a.m.

Cumulative series points will be kept during each regional race. The vintage and modern boat with the highest point total at the end of the three regional races will win the Series Championship Award in their respective classes.

The goal of the Triple Crown Series is to further promote 1/10-scale electric hydroplane racing by creating an opportunity beyond club affiliated events. In doing so, we strive to foster the sportsmanship and camaraderie that our common interest brings. With the help of sponsors and other hobbyists, we hope to continue this series for years to come.

We invite you to join in the fun!

The ERCU Member Meeting and trailer cleanup originally scheduled for Saturday, March 10, has been postponed to a date still to be determined.

Stay tuned to your email inbox and the ERCU website, Twitter feed and Facebook page for a new date when it is determined.

Bob Senior, a long-time supporter of unlimited hydroplane racing who devotes his time to helping the Hydroplane & Raceboat Museum, promoting the current sport and attending hydroplane racing activities and events as often as possible, was named winner of the Vic Nelawake Spirit Award last night at the H1 Unlimiteds Awards Banquet in Seattle.

Bob and his wife Karen are so involved that they even enjoy attending ERCU and ESU races, and they are honorary members of ERCU.

The Vic Nelawake Spirit Award recognizes an individual whose voluntary contributions to the sport of Unlimited Hydroplane Racing stand out among all volunteers, having demonstrated the same selfless dedication and inspiring spirit that Vic was known for.

ERCU sends out its heartfelt congratulations to Bob Senior, who received a standing ovation when announced as the winner of this award.

If you’ve been keeping an eye on what’s going on with ERCU, and have been interested in joining, you could make it your New Year’s Resolution to join the club, and accomplish it now!

We’ve just added a page to our website with all of the information about how to join the club, including easy links to the forms you’ll need and to the rules test.

You can find the page by clicking here. We hope to have the opportunity to meet you and welcome you to the club very soon!