Quote Originally Posted by SBS933 View Post
One of our Inspectors remembers blowing past boats that were tapped out, on a ski. He said the look on the drivers faces were memorable. He used to run the Catalina deal. His name was Don Smedley, don't know if anyone heard of him.
Don't remember a Don Smedely, but today, if you are doing 80+ in the ocean between Long Beach and Catalina, on any given day, a couple months before the race, you might just get smoked by a skier.
The 2 times I observed back in the late 60s in a flat bottom, I was in worse shape than the skier when we were thru. I was trashed.

On lakes and rivers, its much crazier. You only think your boat is fast and you are hauling ass, until you get passed by a skier. When I first built my GN I was driving to Black Meadows early on Monday, doing about 80 and Ashley Lathrop blew by us like we were tied to a tree. Just a daily practice run to the dam and back before going to school.

If your boat can't cruise at 100+ and do 125, you may just get zapped by a skier.