Rose Festival RC Regatta

Hometown Hobbies Rose Festival RC Regatta, presented by Portland Parks & TechJet Imaging

Gary Hansen sweeps Rose Festival RC Regatta


Thanks to sponsor DA Graphics, many kids were made happy during a drawing to give away RC boats.	Another happy face.

The rush to sign up for the boat drawing for lucky kids who attended the Rose Festival RC Regatta. More than 40 kids signed up for the drawing. We're told that there were a few kids running their new boats at Westmoreland Park on Sunday — the day after the ERCU race.	ERCU drivers control their boats in the vintage first connie.

Ron Hartley's $ Bill takes a hop in the vintage first connie.	Bob VandenAkker witnesses boats coming down to the start before starting his judging duties in the right turn.

Ron Daum's Wildroot Charlie (left foreground) and Dan & Brian Gilmore's Thriftway Too battled lap after lap for the win in the vintage first connie...	...and this is the way it ended, just after the finish. Believe it or not, the Wildroot Charlie won the heat, despite what the photo shows..

For all of Ron Hartley's Rose Festival RC Regatta photos, click here.

Race Recap

PORTLAND – The Hometown Hobbies Rose Festival RC Regatta presented by Portland Parks & TechJet Imaging was a big deal to ERCU – bringing hydroplanes to the Rose Festival. Schumacher Racing Team and DA Graphics were also important sponsors of the race, providing the opportunity for kids to take home boats of their own, and valuable support to the event's Rose Festival sanction.

It turned out it was a big deal to Southeast Portland, too.

More than 75 spectators turned out in the great weather at Westmoreland Park’s Casting Pond to watch the first Rose Festival event in Southeast Portland since 2002.

For Gary Hansen, it’s a race that will always be remembered.

Hansen secured the first two victories of his model racing career and gave him a big smile at the end of the day.

“Now I have to call Mark and tell him that I’ve won the same number of races he has,” Gary said after the race, referring to his son who’s won a vintage race and a modern race.

Gary started the modern final as the trailer boat after winning the first connie with his 1974 Miss Cott’s Beverage. But he had to work for it.

After Mike Campbell and Mike Gossler both jumped the gun, Mick Shutt led the first two laps with his 1976 Miss Vernor’s, followed by Bill Smiley’s Charlie’s Girl, Nelson Holmberg’s Red Man Too, Jesse Shehan’s Spirit of Dayton Walther and the Miss Cott’s Beverage, which were both trailers.

When Holmberg’s rudder was kicked up in the left turn, and missed a buoy as a result, the Red Man Too was out of the race and Country Boy flipped and was lost from competition as well. On the third lap, Vernor’s cut a buoy, and by then, Cott’s Beverage was on his tail anyway and moving up quickly.

By the time it was all over, Cott’s was first, followed by Gossler’s 1978 Circus Circus in second, Smiley’s Charlie’s Girl third, Shehan fourth, and Shutt fifth.

For the first time in quite some time, the modern class had enough boats running to stage a second connie, which was won by Ron Hartley with the 1977 Squire. Second place went to Bill Shearer in the 1978 Miss Madison. DNFs were handed out to Craig Bradshaw’s Winston Eagle and Steve Twardus’s 1971 Country Boy.

While Hansen won the first connie, second went to “Birthday Boy” Rick Lentz with his 1974 U-95 and third was Brian Gilmore in the Gilmore’s Special. Craig Mullen in the 1971 Pay ‘n Pak, did not finish.

The fun didn’t end there for Hansen, though.

In the vintage final, he was running third late in the heat and on the final lap, took advantage of simultaneous ‘electrical gremlins’ aboard the Harrah’s Club and Outrigger Pay ‘n Pak just before the finish line.

Hansen took advantage and finished first before Mike and Jeff Campbell got restarted and crossed the line in second and third, respectively. Mike Gossler finished fourth as the substitute driver of the Pay ‘n Pak Hooktail, followed by Ron Daum in the Wildroot Charlie and Roger Newton in the Checkerboard Comet, 1968 Miss Bardahl. Bob VandenAkker did not finish with the 1963 Notre Dame.

The vintage first connie was a battle of battles, as Daum held off a hard-charging Brian Gilmore in the 1960 Thriftway Too to take the win. Gilmore was second, followed by Hartley in the $ Bill, VandenAkker with the Miss Lapeer, Gerry Borden in the Parco’s O-Ring Miss, and Mullen in the Hawaii Kai III.

In the vintage second connie, Mullen piloted his new 1971 Hallmark Homes (Red) to a win, followed by Bradshaw’s 1958 Coral Reef, and Lentz’s 1958 Miss Bardahl. Gossler did not start with the 1963 Miss U.S. V.

Huge gratitude goes out to everyone who traveled to Portland for the race, and especially those who stayed late to give a hand in all of the clean up. As usually, we proudly left the park just as clean as we’d found it. Special thanks go to Dan & Brian Gilmore who pulled the trailer, Mick Shutt, Jesse Shehan, Craig Bradshaw the Gilmores and the Campbells, who were there early to help with set up. Jeff Campbell, Rick Lentz and Judy Fenton for their work at the scorers table, keeping things going nicely. Another very special thank you goes out to Dawn Holmberg and Cheryl Lall for their help in registering kids for the DA Graphics boat giveaway drawing.

Apologies to anyone who was left out for their contributions, everything that everyone did was greatly appreciated, but this reporter's memory isn't necessarily the greatest.