Friday, July 7, 2017

HYDROS: 2017 H1 Unlimited Hydroplane season Off to Different Start



This year's 67th running of the Madison, Indiana's Governor Cup held last weekend took on a vastly different look, as the Madison Regatta, like many sporting entity's, found itself in financial difficulties - due to Mother Nature wreaking havoc upon the past few year's events.


Funny how I've never put 2+2 together, and realized that this very same Madison City's where the iconic, past Miss Madison/Oh Boy Oberto! was from.

Whilst No Fenders Shutterbug CARPETS' just informed me 'bout the movie titled Madison, that was released in 2005, about the town's then fairly uncompetitive U-6 Miss Madison pulling an upset by winning the 1971 APBA Gold Cup at its home event!


And in the never ending sea 'O synchronicity that sprays me constantly, the Indianapolis Star's Sports Columnist Greg Doyel just so happened to produce a very fine piece about the Madison Regatta a day after I began digging into this No Fenders post's material.

And what caught my ear, since I listened to the story via my NFB Newsline for The Blind telephone service, was Doyel's mentioning of the late Phil Cole's feign to force the two Detroit boat racers into participating in a points race in 1954, when current race promoter Dan Cole's father enlisted the services of "wild Bill" Cantrell, to provide two more Unlimited Hulls in order to make the event a four boat affair.

As I've scribbled labouriously here in Nofendersville previously about Bill Cantrell, who is just one of the eight Unlimited Hydroplane Drivers to have raced in the Indianapolis 500 - in my two part tome that begins with another legendous' Driver who made Seattle famous in the boat racing world named Lou Fageol, who was Cantrell's team owner at the Brickyard circa 1948.


As my only Questione regarding this four boat Heat race is, surely it doesn't count towards this season's National High Points championship, right? As the field was somewhat stacked with three top Hulls: The U-1 Miss HomeStreet Bank/Miss Madison, obviously the Hometown favourite. The U-9 Auxier Marketing presents Delta/Realtrac from Enumclaw, WA. The U-27 Wiggins Racing entry from Alabama, and the "Sleeper Hull," the U-11 J&B Hydraulics and Repair from Edmonds, WA.

As both the U-11 & U-27 were making their respective comebacks from major Off-season repairs, with the U-27 seeing the talented Cal Phibs sustained heavy damage  in a Blow-over accident ironically at Madison last year, causing the boat to miss the remainder of the season...