Foto: Sid Bensalah

A fun and positive start of the year..Thanks for remember me..Ron..!!

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Ted March and I started Boatracingfacts.com (BRF) in November of 2005. We really wanted to create a boat racing encyclopedia and a place for friends to meet and talk. We aren’t Facebook, but with over 7,000 members I feel we have reached our goals. Because of computer glitches, our Google AdSense cash hasn’t flowed in as expected, but never fear—BRF IS DOING OK MONEY-WISE.

2013 opens new challenges for us all. In the United States, we face unknowns about health insurance, and about the overall economy. However, if we sit on our hands and say, “Damn, everything is going to be bad,” we may just get old and die without ever reaching our goals. We have 10% unemployed; that means we still have 90% employed. Despite the economic uncertainty, there is a ton of boat racing going on in this world, and BRF is worldwide.

The OSY-400 UM World Championship is coming, there are races in Brunei, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Finland, Bermuda, France, Italy…everywhere there is racing.

More boats are lined up for the 2013 Los Angeles Boat Show than in any time in California’s history. The Southern California Outboard Association with Mike Quindazzi, Marlee Hill and Carla Mulford have the LA Boat Show well organized. If you would like to volunterr your time, boat or money to this cause join us on this thread: http://www.boatracingfacts.com/forums/showthread.php?14870-2013-Los-Angeles-Boat-Show

2013 is going to be a big year in SoCal Boat Racing. Southern California has a full schedule of races in 2013.

Region 11 in NorCal has “Quarter Mile” Kilos as I call them lined up for March 16-17, 2013. (1/4 mile time trials would be a more correct name except everyone seems to know what a “KILO” is—and I’m not talking about marijuana). This event is UIM approved for World Records.

RJ West has been working with the Qatar Team in Formula One, but he is also testing his Composite Specialties 45 Boats with the Mercury 60 HP in Formula 2 or 3. RJ is also building three 45SS Boats to be shipped to Singapore for a new “45 IROC” Series.

The USTS Series is going to race under NBRA sanction in 2013. Boat racing is competition; there’s no reason to think sanctioning bodies should not have to compete as well. Good luck to the USTS. I personally think this move is GREAT.

California, as usual, leads the way…COR Boat Racing has brought new life to the MOD VP type boats that are all over SoCal and Arizona. John Haddon, of Sea Witch Marine, who raced MOD VP with me and Chuck Yunger 31 years ago, has bought a Sleek Craft. Now with the support of his Sea Witch Marine, a Yamaha dealer in Vista, California has bought a Sleek Craft and will be ready for the 2013 BlueWater Resort and Casino 300 Enduro in October. Rod Zapf bought my STV for COR Racing and you can learn more about COR here: http://www.corboatracing.com

I have bought Dan Schwartz’s Seebold for Trophy Tunnel Racing. John Soares has bought Rick Adams’s and Stand Armstrong’s Seebold for this class, also. Greg Foster has agreed to be the “Test Driver”. Trophy Tunnel will be a 1,200 pound class with Stock 2.0 powerheads and V-6 production (shiftable) gear cases.

I spend a ton of time talking about SoCal but we have “Smack Boat” racers that race all the time…Racers in Ecuador, Pulau, Brunei, Brazil, Mexico, Canada, Sweden, Australia and Qatar who visit and post everyday. I know I missed Russia and Czechoslovakia…I feel such a close bond with all these racers and river racers, I can’t begin to tell you. I

sell many, many propellers, and these people are happy they can buy racing propellers for their boats. Boat Racing is an international language that I learned back in the 1960s.
I want to remind every one of you that BRF is YOU.

Don’t forget our advertisers on BRF—it doesn’t cost you a cent to look at our ads.
I can’t stress it enough but all our “HOW TO” threads are read over and over. Aeroliner (Alan), Mark 40-H thread, Wayne Baldwin’s threads…all get great coverage, but HEY, WHY NOT WRITE YOUR STORES ABOUT YOU AND YOUR BOATS?

In the last newsletter, I said I would pay $25 for covering an event. Several people said they would do so. Let me say this: I was, and am, the world’s worst speller. I used to spell “egg” “aeg”. My parents gave up on me as a student. However, Mrs. Dawe, Ernie Dawe’s mother, never gave up on me. She edited my writings and made me feel I knew how to write. I often think about Helen Dawe, wondering if she ever realized how much she did for me as a person.

I, Ron Hill, want you members of BRF to think back about your lives, go to races, and write stuff for us. BRF has millions of views and many out there are just wanting to read your story. Send it in. (Just spell-check it, please.)

Continue to visit and post often. That includes Lars, Leigh Furnal, Lee Sutter, SeaWay Marine Jake…Love your posts! Thanks to Roy Ridgell for his great NW posts. Thanks to Tana Moore for editing. My wife Laurie just bought me a scanner and I’m posting stuff I never thought I could post. It’s all good.

Happy New Year!
—Ron Hill