RACIN ON THE RIVER

Patty, Diana, & Bob soaking up the sunshine in front of the Bluewater Resort/Casino, on the Colorado River, near Parker, AZ.

Watching any kind of competitive motor sports, is always near the top of my entertainment to do list, and when that action happens to be on the water, so much the better. The American Power Boat Ass'n (APBA) sanctions a couple of big races on the river every year, and we took in some of the spills and thrills yesterday.

There were only 4 boats in the Grand National Class, and this picture shows them getting lined up for a "LeMans" start. Two of the four boats didn't fire right away, and they were left in the dust, oops, water.

This boat is from Lake Havasu, and has been at every race we've attended. The boat is fast, but not quite fast enough, coming in 2nd.

For the first time, I noticed that some of the boats now have a capsule for the driver. Drag boats went to capsules for the faster classes many years ago, and have been responsible for lessening the number of injuries and deaths in that sport. These capsules are part of the boat, and don't separate from the hull like they do on the drag boats.

There's nothing quite like the sound of a big blown motor when it's first fired up.

During the comp. jet class, this boat flipped over in the first turn, and sank within seconds. The driver was immediately thrown out, and was OK. When the divers hooked cables onto the boat, it was pulled back to the beach, and these pictures show it being put on the trailer.

We watched the racing action for several hours, which included everything from the blown flatbottoms, to the jets, to the little hydros with 15 horse motors. When the Grand National boats were finished, we were all hungry, so we went into Parker, and had lunch at the crossroads cafe. From there, we headed back home along the CA side of the river, and saw a bunch of critters which I'll probably show some pictures of tomorrow.


It's starting to get much warmer here in the desert, as summer is fast approaching. However, yesterday, the temps were in the mid 70's, and it was a perfect weather day for an outside activity.