Our Thank-You's To The Roostertail
The DRRA and all of the volunteers would like to thank the Roostertail and the Schoenith family for presenting a fabulous Kick-Off party for Gold Cup 2012!
It was a perfect evening at the river, full sunshine but not too hot, and a nice breeze with lots of sailboats taking advantage.
Indoors, the Roostertail food stations were busy while volunteers learned about ongoing efforts and developments.
Race-Site Cleanup Crew - This Saturday
Our next race-site cleanup day is June 23rd, this Saturday.
We need your help in cleaning up the Dodge pit area and more! Our local Sherwin-Williams dealer has kindly provided us with paint and supplies, so we'd like to get a good group together this Saturday. We'll be painting all the doors on Pit Tower and picnic tables too.
Of course we'll be mowing again so if you have weed wackers, a push mower that you can bring, etc, that will help. One helpful tool would be cutters (loppers) for large shrub branches.
Water, drinks, lunch and snacks will be provided. If interested -please- call the office at 586-774-0980 to let us know, we want to make sure we have enough for everyone.
Need: Paint/lawn/weed/whatever Clean Up Crew
Location: Dodge Pit Tower
Time: From 9am to 1pm with Lunch at 1pm
A Full Fleet For The Gold Cup
At the volunteer Kick-Off Party we learned that we may have as many as 12 or 14 Unlimited Hydroplanes this year!
In Detroit, the crew of Dave Bartush's Spirit of Detroit is working hard to get the boat ready for a complete circuit in 2012. The team hopes to have work completed in time to make the season opener in Madison.
The Detroit Unlimited Team will combine forces with Dr. Ken Muscatel's Superior Racing of Seattle in 2012. Equipment and personnel from both teams will be involved in the operation, with Superior Racing's Jay Leckrone playing a key role and Muscatel's Seattle shop acting as the team's Western home.
For more info and photos see their H1 Shop Tour:
http://www.h1unlimited.com/2012/06/spring-boat-shop-tour-13/
A very interesting project is by the U-18 team. Long time Unlimited Lights and Grand Prix driver Kelly Stocklin is modifying a G class hull by replacing the piston engine with a Lycoming T-53 turbine powerplant.
The T-53 produces about 1400 horsepower, compared to 2800 for the T-55 L7C currently used by the rest of the turbine fleet. Stocklin expects the 28 foot boat to weigh just over 4000 pounds, compared to the 6,575 pound minimum for T-55 powered boats.
For more info and photos see their H1 Shop Tour:
http://www.h1unlimited.com/2012/06/spring-boat-shop-tour-u-18/