RiverDave
In it to win it
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The 2015 Ultra Regatta was the first regatta held in the last seven years! It should also be mentioned that this was the first regatta since the new owner Rusty has taken over the company! I'm not sure that anybody knew what to expect going into it, and there was quite a few doubters that the event would even take place right up until the week of the regatta itself. There was some miscommunications, problems with an answering service, and confusion at the Nautical up until just a few days before the regatta.
In a testament to the loyalty of Ultra owners though, 40 boats and 120'ish people were down right determined to get together with their boats, and have a good time no matter what. The regatta was exceptionally laid back, and in the words of Todd Taylor from Jokers Wild promotions had an "Old School Regatta Feel to it." What he was implying too, is many of the new boating events pretty much cater around the sponsors of the events, and not the participants. The Ultra Regatta (while sponsored by a few vendors including Boat Bling and RDP itself) was really about getting the people together, and good times.
I was unable to get down there on Friday night to the registration party, but Tom Leigh went down there in my stead and reported back that it was a very "social" feel with lots of people discussing their boats, and the excitement that Ultra as a company is once again making waves in the Industry.
I'd like to send a special Thanks out to Lisa McLaughlin for her efforts in the prizes department. Just a few weeks ahead of the event she went out in search of sponsors and prizes to give away at the awards banquet, and I have to say I was really impressed! The entire stage was riddled with everything from a giant flat screen TV, to box anchors, and even interstate batteries!
During the Awards ceremony (that was DJ'd by the infamous Dallas of Kokomo's FYI) Rusty got up and made a short thank you speech to all of his customers that came out to support the event and continue to support the company. John West got up and in usual JW fashion had the crowd laughing, and made a few jokes and a surprise comment that they would not be returning to the Nautical next year.
To confirm that, and to get out ahead of the curve this year Rusty has already booked and reserved his spot for the Ultra Regatta for 2016!! It will be at the LONDON BRIDGE RESORT on June 17th and 18th / 2016!! Registration and tickets will be available when we get closer to the event.
So per usual with my articles I like to always add a little side information that you guys might find interesting. In this artcle we are going to take a trip down history lane with a light touch into when Rusty bought Ultra, and where he came from, and when John West bought Ultra and why.
Rusty Romberg may not be a familiar name to many patrons of the performance boat market, but that doesn't mean he's new to the game. Rusty had owned Adrenaline Boats since 1998. What they primarily did was do overflow rigging work, or outside rigging for several big name manufacturers. Adrenaline (as with any serviced based business) offered everything to the customers specifications and how cost effective, or over the top job the manufacturer wanted. Adrenaline rigged boats for Ultra, Commander, Eliminator, Domin8tor, Force and Barracuda to name off their main customers over the years. Rusty was also known as a bit of an engine builder for higher HP applications. He is still very proud that he has some big HP 540 inch blower motors that are running to this day that he built in 2003, 2004 era.
Rusty Purchased Ultra boats in April of 2013 from John West, and has very large plans for the company into the future! His largest problem right now is finding skilled laminators & riggers in the Havasu area and is currently hiring if you are interested in a position in those fields.
Now we will rewind the clock to where John West comes from. John West banged nails (Construction) back in the early 1990's. Somewhere around 1992-1993 he walked into a small (at the time) but prominent custom builder in East County San Diego to purchase a boat. John accompanied by Leah walked into the showroom after a long day of work looking somewhat like a dirtball. He eyeballed the 19 Daytona and walked around it, getting very little notice from the salesmen. He made a few comments in an effort to engage in the conversation to no avail, and finally just asked "How much is the boat?" T
he salesmen looked up from his paperwork slightly irritated and said "Look man it's expensive... It's like 35 grand!"
John left that showroom and ended up over at Ultra talking to Jerry van Beek. In short order John West had purchased not only a boat but an Ultra Dealership in 1994. In 1995 he bought the company as a whole and was the new owner of Ultra boats. At the time he was 24-25 years old, and was probably the youngest owner of a boat company there was. Being young and aggressive paid off and the year after he bought Ultra he had already started scratch tooling projects!
John's first new build from scratch was the 22 stealth, and more or less got Rob King (pretty famous boat designer and tooler) into the industry. He also more or less got Chuck Guy (tooler that has tooled many boats including the infamous Trident, and several DCB models) into the biz with the 28 stealth when Rob had to stop on the project to go back to school. One of their most popular boats in the line up, the 27 Shadow was actually a combination effort between Rob King and Chuck Guy to bring to life.
That same 27 Stealth is currently planned to be revamped by Rusty to have a integrated swim step that goes all the way across the back of the boat, and a new integrated windshield! As said earlier, Ultra is back, and is making waves again in the Industry.
Photo's by Tom Leigh - Tommygun Images & Todd Taylor at TTI.
