Where We Have Been

CRA's Jersey Speed Skiffs Debut at Daytona International Speedway - January 2007

CRA ran its first historic event at Daytona International Speedway's Lake Lloyd! Jersey Speed Skiffs were at the world's center of speed, along with the Rolex 24 hour sports car race. Lake Lloyd was a challenging course with tight turns. The 10 boats that participated logged over 600 miles on the lake.

Saturday

The weather could not have been better. With 2 ½ hours of water time, our club achieved the goal to provide lots of action for the fans who were many and ecstatic. The tightness of the course made it exciting to watch and the boardwalk seawall made for choppy water.

Late in the day, we had an incident where driver and riding mechanic were thrown into the water. After investigating the incident, it was noted the 283 cubic inch Chevy engine seized with the prop vertical causing the skiff to spin out. All safety equipment onboard worked perfectly as did our Rescue team and the Speedway's on-sight medical staff.

The Jersey Speed Skiff crew climbed aboard our Rescue boat. Driver and Rider were checked out by the Speedway Care Center and were cleared to run on Sunday. The JS-100, Summer Storm, was not.

Sunday

The weather was raining and windy, except for our time slots. The clouds parted and the sun shined on the Classic Race Boat participants once again. Everything ran smoothly for another hour and half providing a great exhibition fly-bys for the sports car and boating enthusiasts fans.

To sum the event up, the President of the Daytona International Speedway said it best in an email dated 1/31/2007:

“It was a great show!!!!
You and your Association should be very proud of the entire weekend. I know we were proud to have you!

We certainly would like to have you return. While our Speedweeks Lake Lloyd activities are set – we hope to circle back with you all later in the year and talk about next steps.

Keep in touch and good luck in your season ahead!

Please pass along our appreciation to all the participants.”

Robin Braig, President
Daytona International Speedway

The 1st Annual Bernie and Jane Little Memorial Regatta

Our inaugural Bernie & Jane Little Memorial Classic Raceboat Regatta is one for the books!
What a Weekend! What a Crowd!! What a Town!!!

Tavares, FL is a Great Place to have a Regatta!

We had over 50 on land and water displays. Opening ceremonies featured a moving version of our National Anthem by Michelle Bruno and were capped off by a perfectly time flyover with touch and go's by land amphibious planes. A memorial to Bernie Little provided by August Busch III brought back our memories of Bernie Little. I'll bet we brought goosebumps to his tatoo with Planes, Raceboats & Loud engines - three of his favorite things. And with an incident free and action-packed regatta we were all winners - definitely Bernie's most favorite thing.

There was nonstop on water action from 9am to 4:30pm. People and Boats came from all over - as far away as Seattle, Washington. We're all about burning gas and having fun. So we kept the titles of the awards a little secret until the ceremony. Here's a list of the awards for this regatta.
^1st Annual Bernie and Jane Little Memorial Classic Race Boat Regatta
Presented by Featherlite Coaches Awards
Our highest honor – the Daniel J. Murphy, Jr. Perpetual Trophy, courtesy of Many Ann Murphy, was presented to Hal & Helena LeDuc
Bernie Little High Flying Golden Eagle, courtesy of Lamar & Mary Gay: Bill Feikert
Best Looking Engine, courtesy of Dave Hartman, Hart Racing: Dr. Mark Alkire with Lil Miss Laurie
The rest of these awards were courtesy of Alan Carter, Alan’s Marine Service.
Guy Lombardo - Sweetest Running Boat This Side of Heaven:
Jon Bartel with Miss Washington DC
Furthest Traveled: Dave Bartush with the Spirit of Detroit from Seattle, Washington
Hard Luck: Greg Isaacs with Blitzkrieg
Most Popular Driver: Billy Shumacher
Best Looking Crew: Curt and Marge Brayer
Fan Favorite Raceboat: John Gast with Jersey Skiff Papa’s Bundle
Largest Roostertail Spray: Greg Isaacs
Most Helpful Participant at the Regatta: John Freeman
Highest Jumping Jersey Speed Skiff: Roger Harris with Breakin’ Water
Biggest Moaner: Bill Steinfeld
Loudest Raceboat: Curt Brayers’ Dancing Bear
Slowest Raceboat: Danny Walls’ S-55

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