News from November, 2003
 

UL-15 becomes the UL-1 
            2003 national champion accepts new designation
As 2003 champion, the UL15 Mikes Hard Lemonade/Happy Go Lucky has the option and has chosen to accept the UL1 designation in 2004.  UL15 will remain the team's permanent registration number, but the new designation has been officially reflected on our teams page.
 

All the details from the 2003 ULHRA Annual Meeting!

The 2003 ULHRA annual meeting (the second such annual meeting) was called to order at the Grand Central Casino in Tukwila, Washington. Following a traditional pledge of allegiance, the well attended meeting got underway. Gathered around a series of round tables with the President and Board of Directors at the head of the room, well over 60 team representatives, officials, board members and friends of the series were present.

ULHRA President Joe Frauenheim opened by asking each individual to introduce themselves and address the high point and the low point for them from the 2003 season. Many responses were humorous, some were touching and some spoke to the amazing growth the series has enjoyed over the last 365 days. It was clear from the comments that the membership of the ULHRA knew it was going to be a good year, but no one knew just how good a year it would prove to be. Growth, sanctioning ability, new team interest and flat out deck to deck racing are quickly taking the ULHRA to the next level as a professional motorsport. Frauenheim himself addressed this level of competition talking briefly about how, in years past, if you were a team running at the end of the weekend you would stand a good chance at making an Unlimited Light final. Now, a slight misstep or miscalculation by a team may put them on the sideline for any of the Unlimited Light’s winner-take-all finals. This level of competition is scoring new fans and new respect each time the Lights come to town.

During the meeting, series officials looked back on the 2003 season. Following the summary, discussions moved to upcoming plans for the ULHRA.org website. Everyone was excited by the newest item on the site, the video content we've unveiled during the 2003 season, and plans are to continue to take the actual racing to the web in 2004! Tom Maggard of the Gold Cup Video team expressed disappointment that the season ended so soon. This hard working team can't wait for the next race!!! 

Probably one of the biggest things to impact the series in 2004 was something as simple as insurance. This year, the ULHRA brought it's own insurance to the events where it raced and gained the ability to sanction it's own events. This was big as it opened the door for continued growth and the freedom to blaze new trails (or waterways) in bringing our racing to new markets. 

What started the year as the Unlimited Lights quickly expanded to welcome the Lighter than LIGHTS series (aka 4 Cylinder and 8 Cylinder teams) and, with the recently announced plans for an American Challenge Cup Series (ACCS), the sky is quickly becoming less and less a limit.

A treasurer's report was presented and the series is operating very much in the black and now finds itself with the capital to grow and build a solid infrastructure for the corporation as a whole. 

Officers of the corporation were elected including Joe Frauenheim (President), Jerry Hopp (Vice-President), Ed Nelson (Secretary), John O'Brien (Treasurer), Pat Malara (General Manager) and Freida Eng (Medical Director).

The blown motor program which has become a solid part of our sport has been heralded as a success. All “blown” teams will start the 2004 season operating at the same level. Officials feel that the early testing work of Glen Davis and George Woods (2002) led to the success seen on the water in 2003 and that the series now has a good handle on the program.

Not just series participants were present for the meeting. Boat builders Ron Jones Sr and Dale Vanwierengen were actively contributing to the discussions along with the previously mentioned engine builder Glen Davis.

As for the Board of Directors, positions held by Pingree Conflitti and Joe Frauenheim were up for election. Joe was reelected unopposed, but Ping's position was contested by the UL-5's Kevin Aylesworth and the UL-17's Rick Bridgeman. By a vote of the membership (qualifications for vote set by the ULHRA rules), Kevin Aylesworth took on the new spot on the board. Kevin took his place immediately and made quick contributions to the discussions that followed. We welcome Kevin's energetic voice to the series!

Monetary support was allotted from the board for the ministry works of Jim Riley, an initiative to expand the size and depth of the ULHRA website, legal representation to address corporation issues and a final amount to build a new series publication for distribution and sale in 2004.

Boat counts, marketing efforts, the evening's banquet and an in-depth discussion of the new ACCS Series dominated the afternoon sessions. The 2003 ULHRA annual meeting was a positive gathering for the series and it's clear we feel the best days of the Lights lie ahead.
 

NEW HYDROPLANE RACING SERIES TO DEBUT IN 2005
Tukwila WA: November 24, 2003

A major new initiative in hydroplane racing was launched at the annual meeting of the Unlimited Light Hydroplane Racing Association, Inc. on Saturday November 22nd. The ULHRA, which oversees the rapidly growing Unlimited Light Hydroplane Racing Series, has created a new series for larger and more powerful hydroplanes, powered by automotive engines.

The American Challenge Cup Series (ACCS) will feature race craft up to 28 feet in length, which is the traditional minimum hull length for Unlimited Hydroplanes. The ACCS hydroplanes will be larger than the Unlimited Lights, which have a maximum length of 26 feet. The ACCS hydroplanes will be powered by 575 cubic inch automotive engines with 8-71 superchargers. This compares with the current Unlimited Lights engine formula of a 468 cubic inch engine and a 6-71 supercharger. In addition, the superchargers in the ACCS series will turn faster and generate significantly more horsepower and torque than in the current Unlimited Light formula. 

ULHRA President Joe Frauenheim emphasized this new series will be an enhancement of the ULHRA product. "Our Unlimited Lights franchise has grown tremendously since ULHRA was incorporated 3 years ago. In 2003 we averaged more boats per race than ever before, and in 2004 we'll have quite a few new teams joining our series. The ACCS is being created in response to requests from teams, race sites, and most importantly race fans to have a physically larger craft with bigger, more powerful engines."

The Unlimited Lights race with several engine packages, both supercharged and non supercharged. That's because the Unlimited Lights series grew out of the old 7 Liter hydroplane class and has evolved to its present day development. Frauenheim said "with the Unlimited Lights we've been able to develop a unique racing series where normally aspirated engines can compete successfully with supercharged engines. In the ACCS we're starting with a clean sheet. There is no established formula that we need to accommodate. We're creating this new concept with the 28 foot maximum length, 3,500 lb minimum weight, and 575 cubic inches of supercharged engine; a package that will be every bit as thrilling as the Unlimited Lights, only bigger and faster". 

ULHRA Executive Vice President and General Manager Pat Malara says the ACCS has been a racing concept in demand and now the ULHRA is prepared to deliver. "We have race sites and race fans around the country that have been requesting another series from us", stated Malara. "This will make the ULHRA a multi-tiered sanctioning body. With some locations the ACCS and the Unlimited Lights will race at the same event, as is seen in some car racing series. At others, either the ACCS or the Unlimited Lights can be scheduled. Plus, with the 2003 creation of the Lighter than LIGHTS limited hydroplane series, ULHRA is poised to present complete racing event packages at race sites around North America". The ULHRA General Manager added "we're announcing the ACCS program now in order to give interested teams time to build and prepare for the inaugural season in 2005. Meanwhile we are all eagerly anticipating our best ever Unlimited Lights racing season which will begin in June 2004". 

It is theoretically possible that a couple of current Unlimited Light hydroplanes may transfer to the ACCS. It is also possible for several teams that currently, or formerly raced in Grand Prix hydroplanes could be attracted to this series. However with the new engine formula and larger hull size, it's expected this series will generate a substantial amount of new construction. 

Currently, ULHRA has racing events in the states of Washington, California, Michigan and in the Canadian Proviince of Quebec. It is in the process of developing new racing events in several other states and provinces, and in Mexico. There has also been interest expressed in the ULHRA racing overseas and that could occur in the not too distant future. 

For more information on the ULHRA and the new ACCS series, log on to www.ulhra.org. 

John Lynch
P.R. Director of the ULHRA and "Voice" of the Unlimited Lights
 

2003 Unlimited Light Hydroplane Racing Association Awards
22 November, 2003
Voice of the Lights ... John Lynch presiding

Lighter than LIGHTS - 4 CYLINDER
3rd Place Series S10 “Heatwave” David Miller
2nd Place Series S6 “Miss Breezy” Phyllis Pasquinucci 
Series Champion: S24 “Windrift/TVR” Gerald Jarvis 

Lighter than LIGHTS - 8 CYLINDER
3rd Place E53 “Dream Weaver” John Weaver 
2nd Place E-4 “Shoreline Sign & Awning” Brian Richards 
Series Champion: E136 “Joya Mia” Armand Yapachino

SPONSOR AND OFFICIAL
2003 Race Site Sponsor of the Year: Jack Harmon: Victoria Express
2003 Team Sponsor of the Year: Baker Equipment: Bob Baker
2003 Official of the Year: Dr. Frieda Eng
2003 Race Site of the year: Regates de Valleyfield

SPECIAL RECOGNITION
Recognition of UL 38 (9 years of competition) - Gene and Dave Bender and Family
Recognition of UL 110 (10 years of competition) - Carl, Randy and Family
Hard Charger award - UL 929 Vince Xuadaro
Most Improved - UL 14 Paul Becker
Best New Team - UL 136 Pat Roach

ULHRA PRESIDENT'S AWARD from Joe Frauenheim
Given to Steve, Tom, Becky and the entire Gold Cup Video crew

ULHRA 2003 BURNT PISTON AWARD
UL-40 Thunder Valley Racing 

TEAM AWARDS:
Eight Place Team - UL 58 Union Dooz. 
Seventh Place Team - UL 10 Frazee Paint 
Sixth Place Team - UL 17 Miss Ted’s Red Apple Market 
Fifth Place Team - UL 19 Spirit of Coeur d' Alene. 
Fourth Place Team - UL 5 Freedom Racing 
Third Place Team - UL 51 Security Race Products
Second Place Team - UL 72 Graham Trucking/Victoria Express

2003 ULHRA ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
George Woods 

2003 HIGH POINT DRIVER
Phil Bononcini UL-72 Graham Trucking/Victoria Express

2003 NATIONAL CHAMPION 
UL 15 Team Mikes Hard Lemonade/Happy Go Lucky

Classic UL website takes on new look! Today we invite you to visit the recently redesigned "John Flaherty's Home Page" located on the web at http://mysite.verizon.net/res7hmmx/. John now races with the UL-51 Racing Team (aka UL-51 Security Race Products) and has been with the Unlimited Lights since the series early days.  Having worked with the UL-72 team as their engine specialist, he raced with the UL-51 this year.  John is a marine engineer and systems expert. While visiting the site, be sure to check out the new UL-51 Unlimited Light Hydroplane Page featuring a great shot of the UL-51 on the trailer in Port Angeles Washington in 2003.

Looking back just as diligently as we look forward, the site explodes with new content!

We hope those of you following the ULHRA on the web have enjoyed the regular content flowing onto the front of the site.  Our Latest News area (front and quite literally center on the first page of www.ulhra.org) keeps you hooked into what's happening daily with the Lights.  It's a great resource, but did you know that watching those updates out front is only getting you part of the picture?

Since 10/22/03, we have been busy looking backward just as diligently as we've been looking forward.  What do we mean?  History is an important part of our series and as we approach the 10 year anniversary of the Lights (which began as a series of exhibition events in 1994 and took to the water officially in 1995), we felt it best to begin digging out every scrap of information we could locate on the early days of the series and link our history with our current fleet.  This winter project has lead to start of a dedicated effort to quietly rebuild the site from the inside out.  In fact, if you take a walk around the various sections of www.ulhra.org, you will discover quite a bit of new content has already jumped into place.  Here's just a taste of what's been happening over the last month...

	Photos - We started by fixing some broken photo links in the 2003 Seattle, Detroit, Valleyfield and Issaquah coverage.  Next we welcomed the return of our long lost 2000 race galleries.  These archived photos were lost from the site following a server move roughly one year ago.  They've recently been rebuilt and relaunched for your enjoyment.  Finally, in what was one of the bigger moves of web content, we took all the recent photographer galleries and our own 2003 race coverage photos and reorganized them into eight new single page race galleries.  We invite you to revisit Spring Training, Issaquah, WA, Valleyfield, Canada, Detroit, MI, Seattle, WA, Olympia, WA, San Diego, CA and Port Angeles, WA!  Each of these galleries are also linked into our newly reorganized photo gallery page.
	Links - We've walked through each of the ULHRA links updating broken one and adding a few new sites.
	Schedule - We may not yet have the 2004 schedule to share, but we can offer a look back at ALL of the previous Unlimited Light event schedules.  Incorporating more of the history of Unlimited Light competition, we've expanded the schedule page to include the 1995 through 1998 seasons.  Later we returned to add race dates to the 1996, 1997 and 1998 race schedules.  You can now walk back through our schedules to the start of the series in 1995.
	Site map - We've expanded and reorganized the site map running through all links relating to our web content making it easier to jump around www.ulhra.org and locate exactly when you need.
	Video - On-line video has been a big part of the ULHRA experience in 2004.  During this first wave of site updates we expanded the details relating to our outstanding video team and posted an updated photo giving them the credit they deserve for their efforts this season.  While we are at it, we linked in a couple historic videos for you to enjoy.
	Teams - We took an outdated team list and ran through it scrutinizing teams and presenting the best look at who you might see on the water in 2004.  We've also begun linking in websites, recent news stories or photos tied to each team in an effort to give you a better look at the fleet of boats that makes up the ULHRA.
	History - On our history page, we were able to track down Fred Farley's 1995 Year in Review!  A real find and a great read.  We also posted a minor update to the final paragraph of the Evolution of the Unlimited Lights and freshened up the Who are the Unlimited Lights? story.
	Statistics - Just below Fred's stories on the history page, you will find the home of the ULHRA records and statistics.  This area has been updated to reflect the 2003 season in ULHRA Driver Career Victories table.  We also added a reference to Jerry Hopp's UIM Kilo Record run and linked in photos from his 1992 ULHRA Kilo Record run and the recent UIM run.
	Standings - Though we are not quite there yet, we are working our way back through the ULHRA high point standings journeying toward 1995.  Most recently we added the top five drivers points from 1996 along with new/reorganized content within the 1997 standings page.
	Results - Saving what may be the very best for last, our results page has exploded with new information.  Before these updates, the results page started with the birth of the Unlimited Light website on 9/23/99 and looked forward.  Over the last thirty days, we've truly scoured the web and our own records looking for any scap of information we could find on the races leading up to Hawaii 1999.  We started by tackling the 1999 season adding Lake Havasu, AZ, Barrie, Ont, Evansville, IN, Madison, IN, Detroit, MI, Norfolk, VA, Tri-Cities, WA, Seattle, WA, Kelowna, BC and San Diego, CA. Next we returned with a mix of content adding a couple races from 1996 (Detroit, MI), 1997 (Detroit, MI, Norfolk, VA, Kelowna, BC, San Diego, CA and Honolulu, HI) and 1998 (Evansville, IN, Detroit, MI, Kelowna, BC and San Diego, CA).  In our third surge of content we welcomed Tri-Cities 1997, Tri-Cities 1998 and the 1999 State of the Sport report.  Most recently (aka last weekend) we added new content to the 1996 Phoenix, Detroit, Kansas City, Evansville, Seattle and Kelowna results pages, the 1997 Seattle and Valleyfield pages and the 1998 Seattle, Valleyfield and Norfolk pages.  With this last big push, we now have something on every Unlimited Light race that has ever taken place with an Unlimited Light on the water.  Many pages only contain the first bits of real coverage and some need some cleanup but our quest continues and we will recapture our full history in the weeks and months ahead.

How can you stay on top of each an every change that happens on www.ulhra.org?  Simply click on the word "updated" just below the ULHRA graphic in the upper left corner of our front page.  That resource tracks every change that takes place throughout the site. 

We end this update with a request... If you have a copy of an old news story or a results page that isn't currently in site coverage?  Please contact Chuck Moore, the ULHRA webmaster and he'll work with you to expand what everyone can enjoy on the site. 

With that said, we invite you to join the series for an event in 2004.  Now more than ever, it's a great time to be an Unlimited Light!
 

Correction time!  Dawn Barnes helps clear up an item in the Port Angeles results...
"Just wanted to correct something on the ULHRA website. The UL-58 SharePoint Portal Server 2003 did not loose a prop or shaft in Port Angeles. The UL-58 hit some floating debris which put a hole in the boat and caused it to sink. The shaft and prop held up, as was engineered by John and Ping. The coupler disconnected from the motor when Ping tried to refire and take off again as he didn't know there was a hole or that the boat was filling with water.  The weight of the water when the boat tried to jerk forward apparently caused the coupler to disconnect."

- Dawn Barnes, UL-58 SharePoint Portal Server 2003
 

We welcome ICOM, the Official Radio Sponsor of the ULHRA!
Icom, Inc. was founded in 1954 by Tokuzo Inoue in Osaka, Japan. Icom Incorporated is a publicly held Japanese corporation; its stock is traded on the Tokyo and Osaka Stock Exchange. Icom, Inc. began as an engineering and manufacturing company in the business of designing, engineering, and manufacturing highly advanced, compact solid-state radio equipment for use in the Amateur industry. The company's product line has since expanded to include communications equipment and products based in the Marine, Avionics and Land Mobile industries.

Icom Inc. has sales offices and branch offices all over the world including Australia, Germany, France, United Kingdom, Spain, Canada and of course the U.S. Icom America is Icom Inc.'s largest subsidiary company and is the U.S. distributor. Icom America was incorporated in October of 1979 and has continued to gain market share in each of its five major divisions: Amateur, Aviation, Land Mobile, Marine and Receivers.

Marine:
Icom has successfully introduced a series of communications equipment for use in the marine industry. Icom's equipment includes long range, ship-to-shore, side band transceivers for worldwide communications from shipboard operations as well as short range VHF communications equipment. In addition, Icom has produced a series of highly advanced, very compact, handheld transceivers for use in communication on marine vessels as well as between marine vessels and shore-to marine applications. While Icom enjoys significant market share in the industry (top three position) Icom has also won numerous awards for its marine VHF handheld radios as decided and voted by the marine dealers Independent Dealer Association - NMEA. This is a highly prestigious award and reflects the industry's confidence in Icom handheld technology and quality.

Amateur:
Icom is one of three companies who dominate the worldwide amateur radio market. Currently, Icom enjoys a significant market share position in the amateur business, both worldwide and in the U.S. Currently Icom makes amateur radio products for use in long and short-range communications. Icom also makes advanced technology products allowing worldwide communication relayed through space satellites owned by amateur organizations and manufactures a series of short-wave receivers used for hobby, industrial and government applications.

Aviation:
Icom has introduced aircraft handheld, mobile and base radios for use onboard and in field aviation use. These radios are used as primary ground communication as well as ground to air and backup aircraft communication equipment. Icom introduced the first navigation handheld, which also provides navigation information and direction location information. Icom has a current market share in the 50% range.

Land Mobile:
Icom joined the land mobile industry approximately nine years ago. This equipment is used in such areas as fire, public safety activities, as well as security, construction and farming communication. Icom currently supplies the radio system used by the U.S. Army for inter-squad communication known as the Soldier Intercom System.

Receivers:
Icom's communication receivers range from a small, pocketsize handheld to top-of-the-line super wide range receivers like the IC-R9000L. Icom also developed the unique receiver in a box (PCR1000) which turns your PC into a receiver. Icom continues to develop and manufacture receivers using new and innovative technology.

To learn more, visit them on the web at www.icomamerica.com.
ICOM is the Official Radio Sponsor of the ULHRA!
 

Farewell to a friend who loved boat racing... Goodbye to Ron Vincent

"Sad news. Ron Vincent died on Sunday, October 26th, of a heart attack. Ron and his wife Lark were long time fans of boat racing. Ran and Lark ran the crane at the Eastern Washington races for many years, including the Chelan Light's race. Ron and Lark were part of our crew, helping where they could. Ron was thrilled to take our boat back to Valleyfield and Detroit in 2002 with Lark. I'm glad he had the chance to be part of the boat racing that he loved so much.  We will miss you Ron." 

- Jerry Hopp, UL-15 Mike's Hard Lemonade/Happy Go Lucky

"I had a great friendship with Ron & Lark and their son & daughter. They had lived in the Chelan area for many years before moving to Entiat and finally East Wenatchee. Ron originally talked his employer, Brad Kronschnabel into using the company crane for the Chelan race, which lead to the Pateros and Entiat races as well.  He was a very likable guy. He and Lark loved boat racing and in their life we, as a racing community, became a very important part of their lives." 

- Steve Hook, UL-19 Windows SharePoint Services

Ron's memorial will be on Nov. 8th at 1:00 P.M. at the Caravell in Chelan.

I lieu of flowers, contributions are being accepted for the Ron Vincent Memorial Fund.
Please contact Jerry Hopp at finspray@msn.com for details on contributing in Ron's memory.

For those of you who wish to send cards, please mail them to
605 Sunset Ave., Wenatchee, Wa. 98801

All the details on the upcoming ULHRA National Meeting and Awards!

ULHRA Fall Business Mtg and Awards Dinner
November 22, 2003

Come join the fun Saturday, Nov 22 from 9:00 AM to ?????
Grand Central Casino - Tukwila, Wa

Schedule
more detailed agenda to follow
closer to the meeting date

9:00-12:00 Business meetings
12:00-1:00 No host lunch
1:00-3:00 Business meetings
5:00-6:00 Social Hour
6:00-7:00 Dinner
7:00-8:30 Awards
9:30-???? Live music, gaming and fun, fun, fun

Hotel Reservations
Courtyard By Marriott - (206) 575 2500
$59.00 per night (awesome deal for the Seattle area!!!!!!)

All rooms have either two double beds or one king, a separate seating area, hair dryer, iron, ironing board, etc. For those flying in there is a complimentary shuttle to/from the airport and they will also provide a complimentary shuttle to the Casino. When making reservations indicate you are with the Unlimited Light Hydroplane Racing Association. Room rate is guaranteed until Nov 10, 2003.

There will be no charge for attending the general business meetings. We want these meetings to be open to all, all classes, sponsors, and serious interested parties.

12:00-1:00 No host lunch. This is a BIG football weekend for Washintonians with the Apple Cup being played (University of Washington vs Washington State). The Casino will be having a function all afternoon for the game. Wear your team colors (UW Purple and Gold or WS Maroon and Grey) and get two dollars off the buffet being served. $10.00 w/o colors, $8.00 with.

5:00-6:00 will be a no host bar

6:00-7:00 dinner is a buffet with herb crusted chicken and London Broil with a mushroom demi sauce and all the accompaniments. The dinner cost is $25.00. We have purposely made this as low as possible to encourage more people to attend. If you do not want dinner, you may still attend the meetings and awards presentations. Please RSVP to Jeanne Miller with how many will be attending and also names of everyone, if possible. This goes for meetings also. Evening dress attire? Sports jacket/evening wear is appropriate.

7:00 to 8:30 presentations with our announcer, John Lynch.

8:30-9:30 free time while the room is being changed out for the evenings entertainment. A little surprise for all is forthcoming!

9:30-???? Live entertainment, gaming and lots of fun. There will be no cover charge to our group once the entertainment has started.

The Courtyard By Marriott address is 400 Andover Prk W, Tukwila, Wa 98168.
The Grand Central Casino address is 14040 Interurban Ave S, Tukwila, Wa 98168. 
 

Harold Mills on television and in person
UL-40 Microsoft Front Page 2003 pilot Harold Mills will be a guest on the TV show "Success Without a College Degree," November 19, KBTC (Comcast Channel 12), 6 p.m. and Saturday, November 22, at 6 a.m., PAX TV (Comcast Channel 3) in Seattle, Washington. The December 31 show will feature Fred Olson, owner of the Fast Freddy hydroplane that Harold also drives. Air time, Wednesday, December 31; 6.p.m., KBTC (Comcast Channel 12, 6 p.m. and Saturday, January 3, 6 a.m., PAX TV (Comcast Channel 3). 

Mills, who took over driving duties when regular UL-40 Microsoft Front Page 2003 pilot Kelly Stocklin was injured in a non-race incident, will also participate in the Seattle Medium/KYIZ/KRIZ/KZIZ Food Drive, Saturday, November 22 and at the Seattle Medium/KYIZ/KRIZ/KZIZ Toy Drive, Saturday, December 13.  The address is 2600 South Jackson Street (26th & Jackson) in Seattle, both days, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Come on out, see Harold and support these worthy causes.
 

Click here for updates from October, 2003