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"Dinghy Racer"
The SoCal Potter group hosted a four day Long Beach to Catalina Island Cruise beginning on June 21st The whole story of the cruise which included two Montgomery 15's is one of the many events hosted each year by Captain Howie who also webmasters the excellent So Cal Potter site - click ( here )
There are two substantially different dinghys in these photos. The one in the upper left is a West Marine 6 foot Mini Dinghy and is the preferred craft for shuttling gear and keeping ones self dry. The other one. lower left, is a Coleman race boat that flies. This album is only a small part of the cruise and features our own Norm Bundek. Norm pulled a bait and switch and took home the trophy! Well sort of... here's the story from Norm:
"The first annual Potter (International Marine - IM) dinghy race was held on the second day of their annual Catalina Two Harbors cruise. The cruise was attended by 14 Potters (15's and 19's) and two Montgomery 15's. At our fillet migon (supplied by IM) BBQ the first night, James Miller (Potter owner) suggested that we have a dinghy race Saturday morning. It would become an annual Potter tradition. Bill Beddow of IM said they would provide a plaque to put in their lobby with the winner's name. I said that was a good idea because I would win it. The group gave me a hard time because for the first two days I was using a West Marine 6' Mini dinghy to get from the mooring to the dingy dock. Upper left photo shows why they thought I was full of sea water.
On the morning of the race, I went to breakfast in the West Marine dinghy which everyone saw. I went back to the boat and came back with my Coleman sit-on-top kayak. I was the first person on the beach ready for the race. Upper right is a picture of me seeing the reaction of those on the beach with my kayak. I decided to add a little more air to stiffen the kayak. I also put on my shorty wet suit minutes before the race started to intimidate them. They vowed that they would not let me win!
The next row of photos shows the start of the race and my winning paddling form. I won by a large margin due to the Coleman kayak's design and skilled handling (something caused it to win). I know the group was surprised. This is a great kayak to carry in the Monty. It only weighs 18 lbs and fits easily under the cockpit. It is a wet ride however.
The best part was being awarded first place. The race creator and main contributor presents me with a yellow plastic Garibaldi (fish) which will be put on a plaque with the winners name. Bill Beddlow of IM looks on. They may be having second thoughts about having the plaque in their lobby since the race was won by a Monty owner. I heard something about it being hung in the parking lot! The SoCal Potter group and IM are a great group of people who have a lot of fun.
Fuh-Shing Pan was the other Monty owner on the trip. I think he threw the race however. He had a really slick kayak. He said he felt bad about his speed so he only used 1/2 of his kayak paddle. This meant he used it like a canoe".
Story and Photos By Norm Bundek
There are two substantially different dinghys in these photos. The one in the upper left is a West Marine 6 foot Mini Dinghy and is the preferred craft for shuttling gear and keeping ones self dry. The other one. lower left, is a Coleman race boat that flies. This album is only a small part of the cruise and features our own Norm Bundek. Norm pulled a bait and switch and took home the trophy! Well sort of... here's the story from Norm:
"The first annual Potter (International Marine - IM) dinghy race was held on the second day of their annual Catalina Two Harbors cruise. The cruise was attended by 14 Potters (15's and 19's) and two Montgomery 15's. At our fillet migon (supplied by IM) BBQ the first night, James Miller (Potter owner) suggested that we have a dinghy race Saturday morning. It would become an annual Potter tradition. Bill Beddow of IM said they would provide a plaque to put in their lobby with the winner's name. I said that was a good idea because I would win it. The group gave me a hard time because for the first two days I was using a West Marine 6' Mini dinghy to get from the mooring to the dingy dock. Upper left photo shows why they thought I was full of sea water.
On the morning of the race, I went to breakfast in the West Marine dinghy which everyone saw. I went back to the boat and came back with my Coleman sit-on-top kayak. I was the first person on the beach ready for the race. Upper right is a picture of me seeing the reaction of those on the beach with my kayak. I decided to add a little more air to stiffen the kayak. I also put on my shorty wet suit minutes before the race started to intimidate them. They vowed that they would not let me win!
The next row of photos shows the start of the race and my winning paddling form. I won by a large margin due to the Coleman kayak's design and skilled handling (something caused it to win). I know the group was surprised. This is a great kayak to carry in the Monty. It only weighs 18 lbs and fits easily under the cockpit. It is a wet ride however.
The best part was being awarded first place. The race creator and main contributor presents me with a yellow plastic Garibaldi (fish) which will be put on a plaque with the winners name. Bill Beddlow of IM looks on. They may be having second thoughts about having the plaque in their lobby since the race was won by a Monty owner. I heard something about it being hung in the parking lot! The SoCal Potter group and IM are a great group of people who have a lot of fun.
Fuh-Shing Pan was the other Monty owner on the trip. I think he threw the race however. He had a really slick kayak. He said he felt bad about his speed so he only used 1/2 of his kayak paddle. This meant he used it like a canoe".
Story and Photos By Norm Bundek
Click on photo to enlarge
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