Its 9am. August 13, 2016. The air temperature is a humid 101 degrees, the water temperature a very comfortable 78 degrees. Up and down the river near Aha Quinn Ca, engines can be heard firing and heading for the "sand bar", just a quick ride up river. I watch as the parade of small boats with big inch engines pass, thinking to myself it's going to be a great day.
Up at the sand bar the mix of Jet Boats, V Drives, family cruisers, pontoons and PWC is impressive. There are plenty of 18' and 19' gullwing style boats laid up by just about every manufacture you could imagine. The scent of race fuel in the air, the roar of horsepower, the hiss of a nitrous purge and good laughs at the crack of beer are all sensory accompaniment for this day.
These Blythe locals are really getting the older crowd good and loose with their pink, penis tipped beer bong. I snapped a photo at their request, gave them my RDP koozie and sent them on their way.
Its noon or so and the crowd has really begun to thicken. Parking is piling up 4-5 wide at some points and it definitely seems like it is time for people to begin making some passes. I just heard the SoCal Jet Boat crew were at the sand bar the previous day, running heads up river races to finalize their version of the Top 10 and I am ready to see some action myself. I'm told the new pole sitter on that list is running an 18' gullwing with a big N/A Ford that has been pretty much untouchable. While I don't know if that particular boat is going to run today, anyone looking for some good old river racing isn't going to be disappointed. There are single boats making passes and boats pairing off all day long. I even saw a couple three wide passes.
The 21 tunnels are well represented with at least 4 making a showing.
After winning the GN National Class in Long Beach the previous weekend, Heath Hibert decided to come pedal the 369 boat a few times around the sand bar. This boat is an eye catcher and really hauls the mail.
I decided to wade my way through the crowd of boats, stopping with admiration every so often. This gullwing called me over with the pearl orange finish and the big Pontiac power.
I don't have to look far to find both over the top and understated builds of all kinds. These two V Drives represent both sides well, I think.
The pizza dude was killing some time in his Spectra. He said 30 minutes or less was still the rule. Even in this heavy hull I'm sure that won't be a problem.
This true tunnel hull, I?m told an actual Ted Jones layup, is one I had hoped to get a glimpse of underway, but no luck. A true beauty.
It has taken me a good 45 minutes to make it around the shore line. With so much going on and so many boats on the move, I managed a count of 183 boats!
The 10th Annual Performance Regatta. If you missed it, we hope to see you out there next year!
For additional photos and to see what the members are saying about the regatta please check out this thread in our forums! Performance Regatta Thread
Photos and Words by : Jason Miller (Constant840)
