1st Annual Gas Cat Shoot-Out Winner:


Virgil Guerra


RACE RESULTS


A review of our race from the District 3 Director:

Gulf Coast RC Boat Club District Race and Meeting

I started to write a report on the race and the district meeting when I received an e-mail with a copy of a post on international waters. The post was by Tom Foley following the race and stating a candid and thoughtful analysis of the event. After reading it a second time I felt that it expressed better the overall feelings and attitudes of the majority of the racers that I had a chance to talk to than anything I could write. So directly quoting Tom, here is what he said; 

“You know.., I have to say that there was a real feeling of just having fun racing boats this weekend . The District meeting went well, and I thought that important issues were brought up and talked about . The district is doing well.

In this age of instantaneous communication we have all been so used to answers to issues right away, but I tell you what, no matter how futuristic communication becomes, one-on-one will always produce the best results.

Racing was killer, and seeing all my friends and racers alike made it a great weekend for me. Let's all start thinking about letting it all go and focus on the next race or fun day at the lake . Win lose or draw.., it's all about having fun and learning. I learned a lot this weekend, especially the new super-boat offshore class which is KILLER and will bring more people into the hobby. Big thanks to Mike Whitney, Mike Bosma, Les Smith.  Great time! Let's all have fun !!!!!!” That about sums it up as far as the race.

The following are the race dates for 2011 and hopefully the races will be as well attended as they were this year which was record breaking. I wish to thank all the clubs, their members, and all those who worked so hard to make the races run smoothly and provide us with great weekend fun.

Feb. 19-20 Palm Beach (Banquet)

Mar. 19-20 Brandon

Apr. 23-24 Gulf Coast

May 14-15 Tampa

June 11-12 Space coast

July 9-10 Broward

Aug. 13-14 Tampa

Sept.10-11 Palm Beach

Oct. 15-16 Space coast

Nov. 12-13 Miami

Dec. 10-11 Gulf coast

Hopefully this schedule will allow for the West Coast Racing Assoc. to fit their races in between the 2 day races. Also there is enough time between 2 day races for any specialty races such as scale or tunnel hull that racers can organize.

Anyone who has not visited (http://www.rcracingevents.com) is really missing a great web site that is dedicated to R/C boat racing. I had looked at this site before and used it to enter races; however, Bill Britton gave me the full site tour this weekend. Gulf Coast used all the available features at their race, and I was really impressed. The software made up all the heats and printed all needed paperwork to run a race in only a few minutes. The heats were scored with the use of a laptop, and the scores were available instantly on your computer or smart phone. When using a cheap video cam, the races could be watched real time at home or on your phone. There was also a blog running to discuss the heats in the race. All this is free to any Namba District III Club. Bill is also working on a program which will enter all the district's high points from every race into a high points score sheet. If all the clubs used this site and its software, the racers could know their high points standings before they got home from a race. It's really great that you can see what heat is running on your phone, or if you left the race early you can see what the last heat of the day was and when you need to be at the lake in the morning.  I encourage all of the clubs to sign up for the 2011 race season. Yes there are some things you must do such as set up a club PayPal account so you can receive the entry fees instantly as people enter your race. The racer also can pay by credit card through PayPal or just enter and send in a check. There is a small fee for using PayPal, but Bill says that for a three boat entry it is only slightly more than a dollar. Also, you must have an internet connection at your race site; either Wi-Fi or via a phone card in your laptop. If you have not seen this site in action, check it out, I am sure you will like it. 

As a final note, I and the Board of Directors wish to thank all of our clubs again and those non-club members that worked so hard to make this the best race season I can remember. May everyone have a Happy Holiday season and look forward to an even better racing in the year ahead.

Want To Join ?  Click on the link below, fill out the info sheet and sign, make sure you have received the club by-laws and lake rules, send in your dues...that's it.

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