Teamwork

The UL-72 core crew (driver plus 3 guys who’ve been around a long time) have spent considerable time over the years talking and even occasionally doing something about crew goals, crew nights, crew tasks, crew parties, crew karting, crew bowling – anything and everything that might make us feel like we’re normal people acting in a common cause. It works well enough that we actually feel like we’re having fun – a lot of fun, a lot of the time, around and away from the boat

Some time before the annual awards dinner in January we found ourselves batting around ideas about doing something to recognize and thank the folks who are instrumental in making the fun possible, and who don’t seem to get much more than passing nods of thanks tossed in their direction. We named this person and that person, and eventually became aware of several things – one, a lot of people play that role, two most of them are ULHRA folks of one stripe or another, three, we couldn’t  present a plaque or a trophy, because such a thing could be in one location only, and therefore lose much of its broad-based intent, four, we couldn’t involve our co-owner Joe, because he’s way too involved with the ULHRA, and he doesn’t much like overt recognition anyway, and five, therefore we couldn’t involve co-owner Phil, ‘cause then Joe might look marginalized.

We decided that as a crew member we could do something of community value, and do it in the name of the ULHRA, as our way of thanking the volunteers, board of directors, officers, and staff of the ULHRA for all the time, effort, and headache they’ve expended making an opportunity for us to hang out having fun at race after race along with a bunch of other similarly inclined folks. We looked into the matter and decided that Food Lifeline, an organization supplying food to food banks in western Washington was an organization deserving our support.

We have received and passed to the ULHRA the following letter of thanks from Linda Nageotte, President and CEO, of Food Lifeline, a Member of Second Harvest, the Nations Food Bank Network^TM .

Dear Friends:

We would like to express our sincere thanks to the … Unlimited Light Hydroplane Racing Association (ULHRA) for your donations to Food Lifeline in support of our work – Ending Hunger in Western Washington. Your generosity is remarkable and awe inspiring as you have provided 2,500 meals to those in need.

Your donation allows us to provide meals through our member agencies of over 300 neighborhood food banks, hot meal programs, and shelters. These agencies utilize Food Lifeline as a major supplier of nutritious food they distribute to their clients. Last year we distributed nearly 21 million pounds of food.

Thanks once again for your vote of confidence in our work and for your support. Food Lifeline appreciates the opportunity to be the recipient of your kindness and to work with you to eliminate hunger in Western Washington, one meal at a time.

Sincerely,

Linda

Because the UL-72 team believes that team spirit and community spirit go hand in hand, we are also arranging to volunteer time to help further the goals of Food Lifeline.

For more information on Food Lifeline go to www.foodlifeline.org

CAN YOU MAKE THE CUT….?                                                    

Being an unsung hero on a racing team is often an unrecognized accomplishment. Stout Tool is going to do something about that.

With dice, rolling a six and a one is called “making seven the hard way.” In hydroplane racing, ULHRA style, getting into the final heat can sometimes require extraordinary effort also.  This of course can be above and beyond the traditional trials of the unusual levels of self induced punishment commonly embraced by every team during the rigors of hydroplane competition. Sometimes a team will find that in order to gain entrance into the “final’ it must succeed another roll of the dice called the B Main.

Participants in the B Main racing heat are compelled to race again in order to sort out only the most competitive and consistent. It is a last chance for the weekend, and very often only the first and second place finishers will be entitled to move into the final heat. Regardless of a driver’s skill or an owner's resources, the unsung and often unappreciated hero in this drama is the ULHRA Crew Chief. Like many team sports, the crews behind the scenes are often directly responsible for the success on the race course. John ‘the Voice’ Lynch has often said “In order to finish first, first you have to finish.” Many a Crew Chief has felt that the B Main is a protracted gauntlet with his name written all over it. The great hydroplane designer, Ron Jones, Sr once said that “It requires twenty-four man-hours for a hydroplane to run one minute.” From that surprisingly accurate perspective, the Crew Chief will have reached down and conjured over three hundred man-hours out of his crew over the course of the season to carry them the extra distance.

Sometimes, his team is barely provided enough time to refuel, rotate air and check systems. No sooner do they finish one heat then they have to relaunch into the B Main heat.  This particular situation is not that uncommon and stresses every checklist and system of organization. Then there are the legitimate surprises that launch clipboards with their checklists sailing into the pristine waters of the Flathead River or salty murk of the Strait of Juan de Fuca. A cracked propeller, a missing can of fuel or oil appearing somewhere that it shouldn’t be will stress the leadership skills and the administrative acumen of the most experienced Crew Chief. 

The good people at Stout Tool are keenly aware of the demands of competition for several reasons. Perhaps the most important reason is the fact that that their light weight power saw has ‘made the cut ‘in the American marketplace and attained a well earned market share.

One reason would be that they have learned a competitive edge must be kept sharp and aggressive, and another reason entirely would be the fact that one of their chief proponents raced hydroplanes in his tender years.  No stranger to the intense drama described above, Scott McIntosh earned his place as a competitor literally in the pits at race sites such as Evansville, Indiana and Tri-Cities, Washington. Carrying on the tradition of his accomplished Crew Chief father, Doug McIntosh, he experienced first hand that being an unsung hero on a racing team is an often unrecognized accomplishment in an elite fraternity.

Scott McIntosh said, “Hydroplane racing demands a tremendous amount of versatility from the teams. It’s a good marketing fit for our product because a lot of versatility is required in the workplace and our saw has successfully embraced that.”

At every ULHRA race of the 2009 circuit, a Stout saw will be awarded to the Crew Chief that first leads his team through the B Main into the final. Similar to the award proffered last year by Mechanix Gloves to the team that demonstrated the most ‘Grace under Pressure’, Stout has designed an award deliberately intended to recognize and reward an individual that is perhaps the most unrecognized competitor in the sport”.

In a phrase that has come to be credited to his famous father,” Let’s go boat racing.”          

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For more information, Contact Muncey Marketing 360-805-0805

Or visit www.Stouttool.com

A Decision of Quality

Side by side by side, the three hydroplanes slide through the first corner on Mission Bay, San Diego, California after crossing the starting line. Bounding from sponson to sponson, each boat thrusts its skid fin deeper into the water in an effort to hold their respective lanes while at the same time leaping ahead to gain a tactical advantage over the hydroplane next to them. Three concentric arcs of spray tear into the sky off of each fin as all three hypnotically appear to be bolted together in a frantic dance at over 140 MPH.

As the exit buoy approaches and the engines bend down to their lowest revolutions, one boat tends to inch ahead and shatter the uniform illusion by barely a heartbeat but definitely a difference. In the blink of an eye, the superior performance becomes distinct. One boat is definitely accelerating off of the corner better than the others. Some might say that it is the propeller, while others might say it's the camshaft or allude to something else. A propeller can be easily changed. Something else can be conjured but the camshaft is a decision of quality that has to be made at inception. It is a basic fundamental configuration determined way back at the boat shop or in the engine bay. It is a decision that the team has to live with all season so it better be the right one.

Just because something is better doesn't necessarily mean it will be purchased. The battle for brand awareness is a long and tireless one. No one knows this better than John Partridge at Bullet Camshafts of Olive Branch, Mississippi. As one of the first Contingency Awards Program (CAP) sponsors, John said, “You have to make a consistent investment in order to maintain brand awareness."

As that was being done, Bullet Camshafts also made a steady effort to get acquainted with the engine builders and individual teams. Although the Joyce Julius report for the Pacific Northwest's Seafair race alone reported a return on investment that more than compensated the financial investment, the people at Bullet realize that relationships with customers are built one deal at a time. Engine builders can be a stubborn breed resistant to change. After all, it took years to develop the faith they have with the products they recommend. Accepting something new takes a determined effort and a lot of examples.

Bullet Camshafts are returning to the world of hydroplane racing as a CAP sponsor with the ULHRA in 2009. The Bullet Certificate has matured in value and appreciation with the teams over the years. Last season, John went step further and offered cash compensation instead of a certificate if the recipient showed a receipt for Bullet product to the ULHRA. He and his son, Wade, have earned a one on one relationship with many of the teams and shops. “We are encouraged with the growth of the sport”, said John,” and we have found the teams to be appreciative to work with.” 

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For more information, contact: Muncey Marketing @ 360-805-0805

Or: Visit www.bulletcams.com

Click here for updates from January 2009