By JOE PAS
Propeller Assistant Editor
A young girl craned her neck skyward to catch a glimpse of an inboard hydroplane high above the ground of the Walled Lake Thunder pits on June 9. As one of two industrial cranes hooked the boat and swung it around, her father, Harold, bent his knees to meet his daughter’s eye level. He pointed and said, “That’s how they put the boats in and out of the water.” She stared in amazement.
Similar to Harold’s family, many locals walked by the race, briefly stopping to admire the roostertail sprays getting larger directly proportional to engines getting louder.
On the beach, dozens of people gathered, some on park-bench grandstands and others on the sand. Kids played feverishly, digging and building, all the while a much-needed play-by-play played over a speaker. At Walled Lake, the inboard competition is an annual event for many who stayed to watch. But for two 2.5 liter drivers, it was a weekend of firsts.
For Keith Fickert and Scott Anderson, who entered the race in the same class, it was their first time racing on the water. They quickly found each other following the mandatory drivers meeting and rookies-only confab.
“We (the rookies) were refreshed on rules, what the flags meant, knowing that we couldn’t go in the infield, etcetera. But, moreover, they said go out and have fun. Be safe,” Anderson said. “I talked a lot to the other rookie in my class (Fickert). I told him, since this is my first heat, you know, since he had laps on me, I’d stay outside of him. We wanted to support each other.”
While it was Fickert and Anderson’s first time in a race, it was at least their second time behind the wheel. Fickert, who lives in Dayton, Ohio, was able to test his Joe Kreitzer-family-owned s-67 boat, in the same city earlier in the year. But Anderson, who drives Myron Buxton and the Celina Governor’s Cup Regatta committee’s s-38 boat, was unable to test due to technical issues.
Anderson, who works on the Celina committee as well, still had problems heading into race day. As a result, he could not get on the water Saturday. But he said every driver was “unbelievably” helpful to him and his team, offering hints, help and sometimes lending parts. His fellow class rookie, Fickert, for instance, loaned him an electrical distributor.
“On Sunday, everyone came up and asked if we’re going to get out on the water. We said we still have a lot of work to do, but we’re hopeful,” he said.
Luckily, Mark Weber, race director and inboard committee chair, “completely changed the race scheduled so we could get out,” Anderson said.
“We have two rules: must be ready and on time,” Weber said. “If they give me a two-heat notice, I will keep moving the schedule to get them on the water. If someone complains, I tell them, ‘Sportsmanship, next question.’”
Though Anderson’s boat, now fitted with a couple competitors’ parts, was slower than it could be, he was able to finish Sunday’s heats. By the end of the race, people who knew Anderson from Ohio began clapping as he got out of the boat. “I’m pretty tickled to be on the other side of racing,” he said. “I’m just fortunate I’m the one who gets to drive the boat.”
Fickert said he was also fortunate when Kreitzer offered him a spot in his boat’s open seat. With Kreitzer’s son, the usual driver, in college, Fickert, a family friend and pit team member, made the jump to pilot.
“I’ve been around racing and been around boats, not necessarily racing boats. I’ve built pleasure go-fast boats and owned boats,” Frickert said. “But it was Joe Kreitzer who got me into racing.”
Although it was his first race, the rookie driving the “Impossible Dream” wasn’t dreaming when he finished in 3rd place and on the podium in his class.
“(Referee Mike Weber) told us to go out and have fun, to learn and watch, but I guess the racer in me took over,” Fickert said.
The general rule of thumb is to have four races under your belt before racers can begin ‘unleashing’ the speed, Fickert said. Being a rookie,” you sit back, watch, get a feel, read the water and the competitors, get advice and just go out and have fun.”
And that’s what rookies are supposed to do. Labeled with large black “X”s on their craft, a rookie is supposed to stay back and to the outside lane, allowing more seasoned drivers to easily pass. In Fickert’s case, he handled himself and the boat well enough to push it more on Sunday.
Not only was Fickert “unexpectedly surprised” at his finish, he was pleasantly surprised by the camaraderie displayed in the pits. Fully expecting to be teased, especially after his win, he said “numerous people from numerous teams shook my hand to congratulate me.”
“The more I get into it, it’s really a family oriented sport, it’s not everybody for themselves,” he said.
Fickert and Anderson, continuing their rookie seasons, are set to try again next month at the Waterford, Mich. World Championships.