2007 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS, Are you ready?

[Xerophobic]

Im about to head up north for the worlds but figured I would give you guys a heads up.
The race begins next friday and last 8 days, 590+ miles over 17 legs. Should be grueling to say the least.
Im still a bit hungover from the party at Baldy's place(Jungle boy) which saw the Mexicans and New Zealand teams out in Force. (Kiwi Mark Cromie's twin turbo 1600 HP monster was at the party and is quite the exotic setup!)
Expecting 55-65 teams from 4+ countries this race should be a complete blast.
Will my boss Dale become two time champion? Will a Mexican take it for the first time in a sanctioned event? Only time will tell!
I will try to post updates but for those curious you should check out our forum at www.outlaweagle.com/forum
Wishing all the racers a safe run and two weeks tomorrow we will have the next world champion!
Cheers
http://www.outlaweagle.com/forum/files/07worlds_152.jpg
A little free giveaway promo poster I put together for the race. If anyone wants one PM me and I will get some in the mail once Im back
http://www.outlaweagle.com/forum/files/posterfinalprinttestsm_143.jpg
(note the Spencer King "Dynasty", 6 time world champ, 5 years in a row!!!!! :O Naturally running a FORD! :D )

[pw_Tony]

Keep updated on what kind of vids you guys make, I've seen some of your vids on you-tube and they're all bad-azz:D

[Xerophobic]

Oh and despite navigating for the race I have agreed to assist Frank from Idaho in writting the article for an upcoming story in Hot boat, stay tuned this will be one of the best world events in a while I think!
Im running with one of only 2 american teams up for the race, where are all you guys!!!!!
:P
My boat was not ready so Im in #08 Baby Bud, the smallest boat in the feild driven by 65+ year old Gary Weaver of Albany Oregon, heck of a nice guy and his first time in Canada, he is loving the country already.
THIS BUDS FOR YOU JUNGLE BOY!!
http://www.outlaweagle.com/forum/files/gary-weaver-flyin_173.jpg
http://www.outlaweagle.com/forum/files/gary-weaver-hoopa__136.jpg
Cheers

[RitcheyRch]

Would love to see one of these races.

[Xerophobic]

hey guys
been a very hectic week but we're on the lay day now so I have a bit of time.
Race is going good, I now know why they call these MARATHONS!
talk about a grueling schedule and we're not even in a class that involves alot of boat mainteneance. Seems if ur not working on the boat ur trying to prerun a leg, travelling between towns you're actually racing!
Lots of excitement so far in the race including one sunk boat, many blown engines and numerous spinouts and dented hulls from the rougher water.
I can't even begin to cover all whats happened but there are pics and more info over on our site
Im trying very hard to post the offical times today but can't make any promises. People are staying in hotels all over and finding data and a place to post can be tough.
You guys really need to come see one of these races and the hardware involved, its insane the money in these boats.
we had about 57 entries from 5 countries
check it all out at:
http://www.outlaweagle.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=4&sid=352131b4d0645e3441ff1a168479109bit
Cheers

[Xerophobic]

http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u211/chadwik74/worlds012.jpg
http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u211/chadwik74/worlds084.jpg
http://www.outlaweagle.com/forum/files/phpobk50bpm-2_127.jpg
http://www.outlaweagle.com/forum/files/phpqfbaogpm_334.jpg

[gr16241]

Boy this post brings back memories. I raced this marathon back in 1991 in Idaho when Joe Scott was the guy to beat in every race as he won the worlds that year. I navigated for #123 Tim Johnson who is paralyzed from the waist down and crazy as hell. Don't know if anyone here goes that far back? Frank from up in Lucille was shooting photos back then also. Good luck to all - be safe!!

[Xerophobic]

Nice to see your post! Would love to hear some more stories and beleive it or not Frank is up here taking some pictures and video.
He already has some great shots of one of the bigger rapids and a Mexican boat going into them at over 100mph and sinking :eek:
We'll keep you posted as things happen.
Race leader currently Patty Straton in A class running an <ahem> Kiwi hull <cough cough> lol Mark Cromie from NZ is second with his twin turbo unlimited class beast and my boss 3rd also in U. I saw my boss hookin up the nitrous bottle today getting ready for the drag race to the first corner when we return to Whitecourt on Thurs. and run circuits
more to follow.....
Cheers

[Warp Speed]

Awsome event!!!!
I have a buddy that is up there hanging out with some of his Kiwi friends from NZ. I just talked to him yesterday, and he said these boats are flat impressive. I would love to be there.
I can remember back in the late 70's (I think) a guy from my home town of Duvall Wa. was the first to start using aluminum boats for the Snake river race. Wow, have things progressed since then!!!
Thanks for the pictures and the updates. These baots are incredible, even though I am a fiberglass drag boat guy at heart!!!

[gr16241]

They don't even race on the Snake anymore. The Salmon River race has been reduced from Lucille to White Bird which bypasses all the big rapids (Fiddle Creek, Lightning Creek, Time Zone etc.) we used to race through. Funny, but the Salmon was my first race at the ripe old age of 20. Young. dumb and living on the edge. The mexicans brought up a turbine powered glass boat for the world championships that they really never could get to run but they sure could drink the tequila and Corona (their sponsor), singing all night long. I don't think they slept in a week. White Water racing was much bigger and more popular back then.

[bottom feeder]

gr16241,
Good old days. Doug , Wendel and Joe Scott and so many more. The old days are some of of my fondest memories. We lived for the Payette River race. I recall a Boat out of California (I think) named River rat Blown big block in a shallow V-drive. Could not belive he finished let alone won overall. The next year it became the Payette River Jet boat race. How about Warren Sheppard swaring he could win the overall with outboard jets. I think one of his old boats is sitting at a house here on Amity and Ten mile area. Cant even recall who all was welding up hulls back then. Seamed to be a bit tougher race back then. The crowd turn out was unreal.

[quiet riot]

The payette races were the coolest. Especially for me as a kid living in Banks. Front row seats on the backside of the river on private land. The good old days before the greenies took over the river from all the locals that lived there.
jd

[Xlration Marine]

I want to see a Vid, eh. And not some little one ether, eh. I'm talking like 20 minutes,eh. So grab some Molson eh, and a good cam and hook us up with a good one, eh. And beat up on those hozers eh. Make sure you fill your rad, wouldn't want to over heat on the way,eh.

[Pops@Aggressor]

Nice to see your post! Would love to hear some more stories and beleive it or not Frank is up here taking some pictures and video.
He already has some great shots of one of the bigger rapids and a Mexican boat going into them at over 100mph and sinking :eek:
We'll keep you posted as things happen.
Race leader currently Patty Straton in A class running an <ahem> Kiwi hull <cough cough> lol Mark Cromie from NZ is second with his twin turbo unlimited class beast and my boss 3rd also in U. I saw my boss hookin up the nitrous bottle today getting ready for the drag race to the first corner when we return to Whitecourt on Thurs. and run circuits
more to follow.....
CheersKiwi's are tough Mark Cromie with 550 CI twin Turbo in unlimited with some 1600 HP. The Guy knows how to keep them running-Patty is "A" Class I think and Runs the same way. Keep it running. Good Luck to all and stay off the rocks. Also to your boss -PS put some AlKe in your water Injector if running one and hang on.

[gr16241]

I remember Warren Shepard and his riveted outboard boat. He ran in the same class we did. He would run as close to the bank as possible so he was less apt to hit anything. I can't remeber what race it was but he knocked out tons of those rivets and was leaking water all over. Funny. Wendell Holton would show up to the Payette and Salmon races in his red convertible caddy for several years after he quit running and just party with the rest of us past racers on the bank. The crowds were huge back then because we had several boats in each class. Now it seems to have really slowed down. Way to expensive to run nowadays. You are correct - Great Memories!!

[gr16241]

Most of the aluminum boats were built by Rich Rogers company Custom Weld in Lewiston back then. Joe Scott had an Outlaw Marine boat from Canada I believe Robby Crunick was working there before he went to Eagle. Our boat was built by a local guy in Eagle, Id. and was his first and I believe last attempt at a race hull. The damn thing was fast as hell in a straight line but could not turn for shit. We actually went out of the river and over a huge log jam in the Payette. Thank god nobody got hurt - it could have been real bad. The boat was a good 50 feet from the river.

[VAMI]

I wish Canada was closer to Florida , so I could run my eagle too

[Xlration Marine]

I wish Canada was closer to Florida , so I could run my eagle too
Yea me too, that way it wouldn't be so freeking hot in Az.

[MWJSOne]

Cromie is a hell of a driver I have watched some of the races he did he makes it look like its a walk in the park almost like he is bored.

[Xerophobic]

HOLE E $#@! !!!!!
That has got to have been one of the most exciting race finishes I have ever seen!
After nearly dominating the race Mark Cromie only had to complete the final leg(6 laps of the Whitecourt circuit) to maintain his 12 minute lead. Nevil Kelly in 2nd was 2 mins ahead of 3rd place Dale whiteside. Dale took off like a raped ape clearly not giving up and using his recently tested NOS bottle on his 600" motor. Nevil had a poor start and was a few boats back. Much to the crowds amazement Mark came around the top end corner off plane and barely moving. Floated down past the grandstands and into the side channel towards the ramps. Shortly thereafter it soon became aparent Dale may actually have enough to regain the 2 mins or so he needed to pass Kelly. To complicate matters futher after several laps Mark reappeared on the course and continued to run at speed!
In the end it came down to the wire, the fat lady FINALLY sang and if you can beleive this Dale Whiteside, 2006 world champ, came from behind with some unreal driving to take Kelly by 2 seconds and pulled the full 12 minutes from Cromie! Cromie was issued a DNF pulling him out of the title for not completeing the leg in the required time (fastest boat *1.4) and so it was a moot point anyway.
Cromie, having spent nearly 17K in impellers over the week, was done in by a loader blade coming loose and destroying yet another impeller. Despite his professional crew swapping it out in less than 5 minutes, it was just not enough.
Unbelievable!
My boat , Baby bud came in 2nd in sportjet class and trust me guys when they say a marathon they say marathon.! Only 7 boats remained on the overall list and the 7th was a Sportjet from our class!
More to follow Im off to the awards banquet
Cheers

[Xerophobic]

Back home and back to the office today, trying to catch up on things but just wanted to give you guys a few stats....
Officially:
57 boats entered tyhis years race from 5 seperate countries including New Zealand, Mexico, USA, Austrailia and Canada
It was the first time in History a Mexican raceboat has completed a Canadian worlds marathon(cheers guys!)
Dale Whiteside, Owner of Outlaw Eagle and 06 World Champion, beat the 2nd place boat by 5 seconds in the final leg of the 588 mile race!
Dale's 21 foot Eagle tunnel ran a 600" AMS motor and for the last 2 days of the race used a 250 shot of nitrous for start line advantage. In the last 6 lap heat Dale used an entire 10 lb bottle in the first 2 laps
Eagle hulls finished 1 thru 4 in the overall standings
Eagle hulls were 5 of the 6 boats left in contention for the world title
Eagle hulls placed first in all the classes except one
Eagle hulls compromised 46 of the 57 boats entered in this years race.
Mark Cromie from New Zealand lost the title due to a DNF caused my a broken loader plate being sucked into the impeller. Prior to that his boat, running a twin turbo EFI all aluminum Chev had comsumed some $15000+ worth of impellers. In the final deciding heat, after lap 2, his team swapped impellers in 4 minutes 5 seconds but still failed to finish the 6 laps in the time required giving them a single DNF, eliminating them from the overall title. Devastating to say the least! The onboard telemetry system indicated on one leg during the race the boat hit 132 mph :eek:
The "new" Canadian FX class, not yet recognised by the UIM(thus not included in overall world title) was the largest class at the race with 15 entries. Every boat in this class finished the 588 mile race running a bone stock ZZ4 engine. One boat had a single head fail but it was replaced and that boat also finished. One boat received an overall DQ for an unrelated issue. No longer can the viability of the 355 HP ZZ4 engine be denied in whitewater jetboats as this course was anything but easy. FX class winner Richard Grant in Thunderstruck indicated at one point his boat hitting 88 mph
There is nothing like seeing the FX class heats race down the main stright to enter into the man made back channel only a few boats wide. For an idea of what I mean here see this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-3QDAIPmAY
Mexico's Gil Garcia entered a rapid on the Smokey River leg at over 100 mph and the boat flipped and sank. The boat has yet to be recovered. The next boat thru the rapid, Neville Kelly of New Zealand, stopped to assist the Mexican crew in the water in a phenominal display of sportmanship so common in this type of racing.
Bob G's boat lept from the the water on a straight away in Peace River during the circuit races and partially flipped and spun directly in front of the beer gardens. No injuries but the boat was badly damaged and did not continue.
All in all a phenominal race, you guys really need to witness one of these first hand and next year is your chance, its in your backyard!
Cheers
2nd Place Neville Kelly (by 5 seconds) ,two time world champ Dale Whiteside and his navigator Dana Hartley(before the fact.....)
http://www.outlaweagle.com/forum/files/copy_of_wc_race07_042_114.jpg

[Xerophobic]

You really gotta hear this story first hand to get the full impact but Andres Wilson from Mexico had the classic story of the race.
After blowing their engine about a mile from the finish line on day 6 Andres and his driver sat depressed on the riverbank awaiting the sweep boat and subsequent tow when they noticed what they thought was trash floating down the river beside the boat. Much to their disbelive the "trash" turned out to be a 6 pack of beer with 4 full sealed beers in it!
"Wilson" as he is known in the race circles exclaimed "there IS a god afterall, we have beer!!!!!"
Aparently they did not even need to leave their seats to snag the BEvERages from the river
HAHA talk about never again.....

[Pops@Aggressor]

Thank You so much for the coverage- I ate up all of it. What a great race. Also I don't know about this years winner, but I can tell you in that unlimited class $ have no limited also. One year one of the racers sent me a vidio of the race in New Zealand and all the footage was shot by a helicopter which followed him for the entire race. A Helicopter, Pilot, Camaraman, Fuel. In that film the Boat had taken the wrong waterpassage and as he came up to the end of the passage, you could see the River just over a rock enbankment. Thats when I found out just what the heck you guy's can do to our pumps and Impellers. He just heads straight for the rock enbankment and slams into to it full speed and jumps back into the river to continue. Thanks again. Dave @ Aggressor Jets.

[Pops@Aggressor]

Thank You so much for the coverage- I ate up all of it. What a great race. Also I don't know about this years winner, but I can tell you in that unlimited class $ have no limited also. One year one of the racers sent me a vidio of the race in New Zealand and all the footage was shot by a helicopter which followed him for the entire race. A Helicopter, Pilot, Camaraman, Fuel. In that film the Boat had taken the wrong waterpassage and as he came up to the end of the passage, you could see the River just over a rock enbankment. Thats when I found out just what the heck you guy's can do to our pumps and Impellers. He just heads straight for the rock enbankment and slams into to it full speed and jumps back into the river to continue. Thanks again. Dave @ Aggressor Jets.

[Xerophobic]

You're welcome Dave, when the video of the race is ready in a few months I will keep you guys all posted. It should be a blast with lots of helicopter footage and interveiws in the pits, this race was very well covered indeed.
The abuse these boats take would be hard for the average lake boater to comprehend. A typical day would involve anywhere from 35 to 130 miles of legs most of which would be driven at WOT or near to it. I doubt a single racer made the 15 legs without making a navigational error and ending up somewhere he shouldn;t be. Sometimes that means you're on the bank, other it means as you say the only option is across a gravel bar or island to get back to the main channel, either way hard on both the boat and the body.
A few of the legs consisted of particularly long stretches of whitewater and rapids. The Smokey leg on Day 3 took its toll for sure with one boat sunk and several spinouts and boats left mid course on the banks awaiting a tow. Many boats damaged or lost their bow canards on that leg and one of the brand new 19' lightweight tunnels we just build bent the underside of the bow bad enough it also distorted the top deck(not surprisingly that boat finished not only that leg but also the return leg and the rest of the race)
This clearly must be the most punishing sport on engines that I am aware of with the length of time we expect engines to last in questionable water at WOT. More than a few very fast boats were taken out of contention due to the 15 minute penalty assessed for changing a motor.
Wish I had more info on the numerous blade failures in Cromie's boat, prehaps would tell more of a story of what goes on in a whitewater boats pump.
Cheers

[Xerophobic]

The 2007 World Jet Boat Marathon
Media Release
July 9, 2007
Exhilarating finish to the 2007 World Jet Boat Marathon: 2006 Champion defends his title
Dale Whiteside, of Penhold Alberta, successfully defended his World Jet Boat Marathon title in what can only be called an adrenaline packed, down to the wire finish.
Entering Saturdays final leg of the 588 mile Great Canadian Jet Boat Marathon, Dale and navigator Dana Hartley, sat in 3rd position behind New Zealander’s Neville Kelly and leader Mark Cromie. Mark, leading for a majority of the race, seemed unstoppable with a strong 12+ minute lead over 2nd place Kelly who was 2+ minutes ahead of Dale. Much to the spectator’s amazement in the final leg Mark pulled off after the 2nd lap with some form of mechanical failure starting a bizarre chain of events which would see Dale overtake the 2nd place boat and eventually, once the dust had settled, capture his 2nd world title. Cromie was issued a DNF (did not finish) eliminating him from the overall hunt after breaking an impeller in his 1400 HP jet boat. His crew scrambled to replace the broken part in an amazing 5 minutes getting the boat back on the course. Most unfortunately for Mark he failed to complete the 6 laps in the time allotted. UIM rules state a boat must complete every leg to be qualified for the world title. Dale’s efforts from the drop of the final start flag must be commended as only his determination and driving skill would see him overtake the then 2nd place boat by a mere five seconds. Dale’s boat ran a 600 cubic inch V8 making over 850 HP and was occasionally boosted on the final 2 days using nitrous oxide giving it upwards of 250 additional HP.
Other winners included:
Dale Whiteside of Penhold Alberta placed first in the Unlimited class
Alex Robinson of Peace River Placed first in A class
Daniel Anderson of New Zealand Placed first in B class
Dave Anderson of Whitecourt placed first in C class
Richard Grant of Whitecourt placed first in FX class
Bob Hug of Sylvan Lake placed first in SP class
Dale Whiteside is the owner of Outlaw Eagle Manufacturing in Red Deer Alberta and won the 2006 World Jet Boat Marathon in Mexico in October. His company builds an overwhelming majority of the boats raced in this type of racing with 46 of the 57 boats entered in this years Worlds being Outlaw/Eagle hulls. Eagle boats placed first in 5 of the 6 race classes and were 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4rth overall in the 8 day, 588 mile race which took place in Peace River, Grande Prairie and Whitecourt Alberta, Canada June 28th through July 8. This year’s race saw competitors from New Zealand, Mexico, the United States, Australia and Canada. Outlaw Eagle Manufacturing was the primary sponsor of this year’s race and its boats have now won 15 of the last 18 World titles in 4 countries.
For more information please contact Sharlyn Carter or James Laughlin at Outlaw Eagle Manufacturing
403-347-4565 or sharlync@outlaweagle.com or jamesl@outlaweagle.com
More photo’s/information available on request

[Xerophobic]

Revised poster!
(anyone who wishes a copy of the origional - minus this years winner - please PM me your mailing address)
http://www.***boat.com/image_center/data/500/PosterFINAL-07sm.JPG
Cheers