This year's 67th running of the Madison,
Indiana's Governor Cup held last weekend took on a vastly different look, as
the Madison Regatta, like many sporting entity's, found itself in financial
difficulties - due to Mother Nature wreaking havoc upon the past few year's
events.
Funny how I've never put 2+2 together, and
realized that this very same Madison City's where the iconic, past Miss
Madison/Oh Boy Oberto! was from.
Whilst No Fenders Shutterbug CARPETS' just
informed me 'bout the movie titled Madison, that was released in 2005, about
the town's then fairly uncompetitive U-6 Miss Madison pulling an upset by
winning the 1971 APBA Gold Cup at its home event!
And in the never ending sea 'O synchronicity
that sprays me constantly, the Indianapolis Star's
Sports Columnist Greg Doyel just so happened to produce a very fine piece about
the Madison Regatta a day after I began digging into this No Fenders post's
material.
And what caught my ear, since I listened to
the story via my NFB Newsline for The Blind telephone service, was Doyel's
mentioning of the late Phil Cole's feign to force the two Detroit boat racers
into participating in a points race in 1954, when current race promoter Dan
Cole's father enlisted the services of "wild Bill" Cantrell, to
provide two more Unlimited Hulls in order to make the event a four boat affair.
As I've scribbled labouriously here in
Nofendersville previously about Bill Cantrell, who is just one of the eight
Unlimited Hydroplane Drivers to have raced in the Indianapolis 500 - in my two
part tome that begins with another legendous' Driver who made Seattle famous in
the boat racing world named Lou Fageol, who was Cantrell's team owner at the
Brickyard circa 1948.
As my only Questione regarding this four boat
Heat race is, surely it doesn't count towards this season's National High
Points championship, right? As the field was somewhat stacked with three top
Hulls: The U-1 Miss HomeStreet Bank/Miss Madison, obviously the Hometown favourite.
The U-9 Auxier
Marketing presents Delta/Realtrac from Enumclaw, WA.
The U-27 Wiggins Racing entry from Alabama, and the "Sleeper Hull,"
the U-11 J&B
Hydraulics and Repair from Edmonds, WA.
As both the U-11 & U-27 were making their
respective comebacks from major Off-season repairs, with the U-27 seeing the
talented Cal Phibs sustained heavy damage
in a Blow-over accident ironically at Madison last year, causing the
boat to miss the remainder of the season...
