During the APBA (American Power Boat Association) portion of the event, 7 records were set in new classes and 6 current records were raised, furthering Crescent City 's claim of “Fast Capital”!
Mike Whitaker came from Lake Placid with not one, but three boats and engines. Whitaker's Lake and Bay boat dealership was prominent on one of the boats. Whitaker was interested in the new classes for flats boats and the environmentally friendly engines referred to as “low emission” for the horsepower designations of 200, 225, and 250. His speeds established the benchmarks for kilos to come.
Last year's pontoon boat record setter, Ken Gouty of Antioch, Illinois, returned with a new, modified engine in his stern drive pontoon boat. The modifications bumped him up to the Unlimited class, which he aced. Following in his footsteps was Jim Dorris of Richfield, Missouri , in his Playcraft pontoon boat to challenge Gouty's 2005 record in Performance Pontoon, Stock Production class. That record fell to Dorris by almost 10 mph!
Duff Daily of Stuart made a difference in Inboard's Pro Stock class for owner John Binton of Westfield NJ and K Racing Runabout class for owner Terry Bilbrey of Champaign , Illinois . One of the few classes that requires two people in the boat is the Inboard category's Jersey Speed Skiff. This class is regulated by old rules specifying the design of the boat so higher speeds are difficult to obtain. Owner and driver of the AMF-sponsored Skiff was Billy Darby of Port St Lucie. He and his riding mechanic, Billy Loihle of Palm City raised the skiff record by 2 mph.
Only two accidents marred the event – Kelly Shane of Havre DeGrace MD – a young lady driver of an Inboard category 1.5 liter boat blew over, suffering a cut on the knee. Andre Schutte of Palm Beach Gardens went out of his Super Light Tunnel boat, suffering bruises to his lower back. The rescue teams of Ken Smith's from Maryland and David Platter of Georgia working with the Crescent City Volunteer Fire Department and the Flagler County Sheriff's Marine Patrol were on the ball at each site and took care of rescue operations.
The trials were shortened by high winds on both Tuesday and Saturday. However, event organizers, Jan and Ron Baker of Crescent City 's Fast Boats Inc. of Central Florida , were extremely happy with the turn out of boats and the resulting record performances. They noted that the spectator area set up behind the Lakewood Nursing Home was frequently populated and hope that everyone enjoyed watching the runs.
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