Scenes from the 2012 Dennis Holt Memorial Regatta

The Madison Regatta is fast approaching as events surrounding the Madison Regatta Festival are starting to begin around the community.  In terms of racing, the Dennis Holt Memorial Regatta for RC and model boats serves as a nice kickoff for Regatta week.  I made my way to Kruger Lake on Jefferson Proving Grounds today, although I didn't stay long due to other commitments and the fact that it was almost unbearably hot today and there wasn't much shade around the lake.  Anyway I was able to get a few nice pictures and here they are:

A replica of the early 1970's Notre Dame boat.  This boat competed in the 1/8th scale class

A replica of the Miss Timex, which of course was owned by famed Miss Madison Driver Jim McCormick.  This boat competed in the Thunderboat class, although it struggled to get up to speed.

The Whip Ass, and no there has never been an Unlimited to race under this name.  This particular class of RC boats actually uses weedeater engines

Another Thunderboat Class Boat.  The St. Pauli Girl.  There never has been an Unlimited to be sponsored by St. Pauli Girl, but I wish there would be, as it's one of my favorite beers

As can be seen on this pic, all RC boat races at this event were ran in a clockwise format. One interesting thing about RC boat is they don't have the same overlap rules as exist in the Unlimited class.  Coming off the first turn, boats will often bump each other or cross each other's path in order to grab the inside lane.  In this picture, you can see the boat swing wide in the turn then dive to the inside coming out of the turn, which I personally enjoyed seeing because it's a move I've done often in playing Mario Kart.

Some action from the RTR (Ready to Race) class.  This class is intended as a "beginner" class, as people can buy these boats online, and they will, as the name suggest, be ready to race the moment they are pulled out of the box.  One thing I found interesting is that the paint schemes of this class ranged from one solid color to boats that could almost pass as scale replicas of some Unlimiteds.  Although it is meant as a beginner class, many of the competitors also had boats entered in other classes of racing.

Some more RTR action

Tunnel boat action.  Much like their larger manned counterparts, Radio Controlled Tunnel Boats are smooth riders who are extremely quick through the turns.  The red boat was running away with this heat, but then blew over on the front stretch of the last lap

This is an interesting class of boats.  The Unlimited Hydroplane they most closely resemble is the failed Pay N Pak "outrigger" hydroplane.  The boats are very quick but also very volatile.  During this heat two boats saw their nose dig into the water and the boat turned over.

All in all, the local RC Boat Club put on another great show.  The crowd was a little down this year, but that is to be expected with how hot it was and perhaps because the NASCAR race at Kentucky Speedway (about an hour from Madison) was also this weekend.  I wasn't able  to get any pics of the 1/8th scale or Thunderboat classes, but they had some great races and the Thunderboat class saw a spectacular blowover with a boat getting a good seven feet off the water.  Thanks to the people who helped put this race on and also thanks to the participants of this event, who were more than glad to show off and answer questions about their hard work.  Regatta week is here!