 The fifth race of the 2024 ERCU Pentair Championship Series is the Stan Sayers Memorial, presented by American SaniCan is set for Saturday, June 1, 2024, at Lake Sacajawea Park in Longview. Here is all you need to know to be prepared for the fifth event of the year.
Location Lake Sacajawea Park 1800 Nichols Blvd. Longview WA 98632 Contest Director David Heilbrunn Context At 50 years, the Stan Sayres Memorial is the "world's oldest and greatest RC Scale Unlimited Race". Started in 1974 by Roger Newton and Monte Steere, the race has been contested in Seattle Model Yacht Club and in RC Unlimiteds before finding itself a home in ERCU. The only year the race was not run was 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic caused half of the ERCU racing season to be canceled. This year's race will be a renewal to ERCU as the event will be run at Lake Sacajawea Park in Longview. Please join ERCU at Lake Sacajawea Park in Longview on Saturday, June 1 and relive those golden days of yesteryear, if only in 1/10 & 1/7 scale. What to Expect:
Race Format:
Race Officials Contest Director: David Heilbrunn
Flight Schedule
Heat Draws Heat draws will be completed with the randomizer in the NAMBA Race Management System that’s used for scoring races. Every effort will be made to avoid preferred driver/spotter heat conflicts, but sometimes those cannot be avoided. The first heat draw will be conducted at approximately 9 a.m. and will be read verbally at the drivers meeting as a roll call. Succeeding heat draws will be conducted between flights. All heat draws will be printed and posted, and displayed on the TV screen, whenever possible. No re-draws of heats will be done. Starting Clock A 1-minute 30-second clock will start as soon as all drivers are in the driving area and will not be stopped for any reason other than health or safety (including stubborn waterfowl). Please plan ahead for your upcoming heats, including getting your own spotter, and be ready when the chase boat comes back. A trailer boat shall not cross the start line less than five seconds after the start gun. Rookie drivers who have not yet earned 1,200 career points must start from the trailer position. Race Day Morning It will be our intent to have the course open by 8 a.m. so that testing can commence once boats are registered for the event. Boat owners should prepare to have time for inspections and to be ready to race. The water will be open for testing until approximately 9:00 a.m. Drivers Meeting The drivers meeting is mandatory for ALL divisions and all classes and will begin at the scorer’s table within five minutes of the closing of time trials. Drivers who do not attend the drivers meeting will be scratched from the first heat regardless of whether they are pre-registered and pre-paid. Drivers arriving after the drivers meeting will not be added to the event until the draw for the second flight of heats. Stan Sayerts Memorial Defending (2023) Champions
Inspections In 2024, all new boats will be inspected before the first race they run at. We ask that you print out the 2023 Hull Inspection Form, found on the Resources tab of the club website (www.ercu-hydros.com), and complete the member information at the top of page one prior to arriving at the race site. Please also remember to bring a photo of the real boat (a photo on your phone or tablet is acceptable) that your boat models. Visiting Drivers ERCU welcomes new members to the club and visiting racers from other clubs. Rookie driver testing will be offered during the open water period as needed. The course will be closed for rookie driver tests. Visiting racers may not take home an ERCU perpetual trophy, in the event they win the race. Restrooms There are public restroom facilities reasonably close on site at Lake Sacajawea Park but we will also have a portable restroom from American SaniCan located conveniently at the pits. Electricity There is no access to electricity in the pits. It would be wise to bring a generator or other power source if you will need to charge batteries during the day. Post-Race Cleanup and Awards Presentation Club equipment cleanup and re-packing the trailer will take priority once the race is over. Once the trailer is re-packed, awards will be presented. Awards will be given to the first, second and third place finishers, first connie. All members have a responsibility to help with set up and breakdown of club equipment. As a courtesy to your fellow racers, please stick around for the awards presentation whether you’ve won one or not. Weather Forecast As of this writing, weather.com predicts mostly sunny skies and a high of 78 degrees. Registration Pre-registration for the Presidents Cup is now open. To find the pre-registration form, navigate your web browser to https://www.ercu-hydros.com/stan-sayres-memorial.html where you will find the pre-registration link in a gray box just under the race header photo. You may also pre-pay your entry fees online by following the PayPal directions at the bottom of the page. Pre-registration will close at 10 p.m., Friday, May 31. After that deadline, please register in person on site before 8:30 a.m. Saturday, May 18, 2024, Lake Waughop in Lakewood. Clouds covered the sky, but everything stayed dry throughout with just enough wind thrown in to make things interesting. Eighteen boats made the trip for the President's Cup contesting five classes with no entries on this day representing 1/7 scale classic.
1/10 scale modern and classic were combined on this occasion with just two boats in the pits representing each class. All four raced together and the points were tallied based on finish position. Mike Hughes’s Winston Eagle was head and shoulders above the field posting a perfect 1,600-point day. Jerry Dunlap’s Coors Light and David Heilbrunn’s Goodman Real Estate were Hughes’s closest competition but, in the end, it was all Winston Eagle. 1/10 scale vintage featured five boats including a very special appearance by Brian Buaas who returned to race John Earnest 1962 Dewey’s Lumberville. Competition was tight through each of the three preliminary heats between Paul Dunlap Exide and Buaas with Exide clinging to a slim 175-point lead over Lumberville heading into the winner take all final. Final heat saw Blue Chip and Evergreen Roofing blow over early leaving just Exide, Lumberville and Robbie Roberts’ new Country Boy. Dunlap did it again though with just a bit more to edge Buaas and Roberts for the victory. 1/7-scale modern had four boats prepared to shoot it out and one proved superior. Mike McIntosh’s 2023 Beacon Plumbing won all four of his heats earning the coveted 1,600 point perfect day. Denise Sjostrom’s Oy Boy! Oberto was the strongest threat to the Beacon finishing second on points and in the final heat. Terry Harmer debuted his recently acquired Chrysler Jeep and overcame early electrical issues to post a second-place finish in heat number three. 1/7 scale vintage saw five boats ready to throw down and like usual was some of the very best racing of the day. Mike McIntosh came out firing with his Island Security closing the door for the win in the first heat. John Sjostrom said not so fast and came out to take the checkered flag in both heat two and three with his 1960 Miss Thriftway. All the while, Bob VandenAkker and Dennis Caines were lurking with each taking second or third place in their preliminary heats. McIntosh however came back strong and lead the final heat from start to finish to win the final and stand atop the podium in both 1/7 scale classes on the day. Next up for the Pentair Championship Series is 2024 race number five, the Stan Sayers Memorial presented by American SaniCan. June 1 at Lake Sacajawea Park in Longview. Pre-registration is open now and we encourage everyone to get their 1/7 scale models ready and we’ll see you in Longview.  The fourth race of the 2024 ERCU Pentair Championship Series is the President’s Cup, set for Saturday, May 18, 2024, at Lake Waughop, in Lakewood. Here is all you need to know to be prepared for the fourth event of the year.
Location Lake Waughop at Fort Steilacoom Park Lakewood, WA 98498 Contest Director Mike Hughes & Brian Buaas Context The President's Cup was contested by unlimited hydroplanes between 1926 and 1977, with time out for World War II (1941-1945). After 1977, the Presidents Cup became a limited event for several years. A man named William A. Rogers is the "father" of the Presidents Cup Regatta. Rogers convinced his fellow Corinthian Yacht Club members to host the race and persuaded President Calvin Coolidge to sponsor the trophy. Most of the Presidents Cup races were contested on the Potomac River in Washington, D.C., adjacent to Hains Point, except for a few pre-war races that were run in Annapolis, Md. The first-place trophy was traditionally presented to the winner by the nation's chief executive. The president that demonstrated the keenest interest in the race was undoubtedly Franklin D. Roosevelt, whose love for aquatics is well known. FDR watched the 1938 race from the deck of the presidential yacht Potomac. Mr. Roosevelt was so thrilled by the close finish in the last heat that he sent for the drivers of the first and second-place boats (Theo Rossi of Alagi and George Seay of Miss Manteo II) so that he could congratulate them in person for their good sportsmanship and excellent driving. The original winner of the Presidents Cup was L. Gordon Hammersley in his $60,000 duraluminum Cigarette IV. The winning speed was around 55 miles per hour. Please join ERCU at Lake Waughop in Lakewood on Saturday May 18 and relive those golden days of yesteryear if only in 1/10 & 1/7 scale. What to Expect:
Race Format:
Race Officials Contest Directors: Paxton Mike Hughes & Brian Buaas
Flight Schedule
Heat Draws Heat draws will be completed with the randomizer in the NAMBA Race Management System that’s used for scoring races. Every effort will be made to avoid preferred driver/spotter heat conflicts, but sometimes those cannot be avoided. The first heat draw will be conducted at approximately 9 a.m. and will be read verbally at the drivers meeting as a roll call. Succeeding heat draws will be conducted between flights. All heat draws will be printed and posted, and displayed on the TV screen, whenever possible. No re-draws of heats will be done. Starting Clock A 1-minute 30-second clock will start as soon as all drivers are in the driving area and will not be stopped for any reason other than health or safety (including stubborn waterfowl). Please plan ahead for your upcoming heats, including getting your own spotter, and be ready when the chase boat comes back. A trailer boat shall not cross the start line less than five seconds after the start gun. Rookie drivers who have not yet earned 1,200 career points must start from the trailer position. Race Day Morning It will be our intent to have the course open by 8 a.m. so that testing can commence once boats are registered for the event. Boat owners should prepare to have time for inspections and to be ready to race. The water will be open for testing until approximately 9 a.m. Drivers Meeting The drivers meeting is mandatory for ALL divisions and all classes and will begin at the scorer’s table within five minutes of the closing of time trials. Drivers who do not attend the drivers meeting will be scratched from the first heat regardless of whether they are pre-registered and pre-paid. Drivers arriving after the drivers meeting will not be added to the event until the draw for the second flight of heats. President’s Cup Defending (2023) Champions
Inspections In 2024, all new boats will be inspected before the first race they run at. We ask that you print out the 2023 Hull Inspection Form, found on the Resources tab of the club website (www.ercu-hydros.com), and complete the member information at the top of page one prior to arriving at the race site. Please also remember to bring a photo of the real boat (a photo on your phone or tablet is acceptable) that your boat models. Visiting Drivers ERCU welcomes new members to the club and visiting racers from other clubs. Rookie driver testing will be offered during the open water period as needed. The course will be closed for rookie driver tests. Visiting racers may not take home an ERCU perpetual trophy in the event they win the race. Restrooms There are public restroom facilities reasonably close on site at Lake Waughop Park. Electricity There is no access to electricity in the pits. It would be wise to bring a generator or other power source if you will need to charge batteries during the day. Post-Race Cleanup and Awards Presentation Club equipment cleanup and re-packing the trailer will take priority once the race is over. Once the trailer is repacked, awards will be presented. Awards will be given to the first, second and third place finishers, first connie. All members have a responsibility to help with set up and breakdown of club equipment. As a courtesy to your fellow racers, please stick around for the awards presentation whether you’ve won one or not. Weather Forecast As of this writing, weather.com predicts mostly sunny skies and a high of 68 degrees. Registration Pre-Registration for the Presidents Cup is now open. To find the pre-registration form, navigate your web browser to https://www.ercu-hydros.com/presidents-cup.html, where you will find the pre-registration link in a blue box just under the race site map. You may also pre-pay your entry fees online by following the PayPal directions at the bottom of the page. Pre-registration will close at 10 p.m., Friday, May 17. After that deadline, please register in person on site before 8:30 a.m.  Dateline Ellensburg, ERCU race number three, May 4, 2024, Governors Cup. The weather forecast was for rain and wind and the meteorologist didn’t get it wrong. Let's just say, if your pop-up canopy had any tiny pin holes, leaks or tears you were reminded of it. The wind on the other hand, never thankfully materialized.
ERCU's first ever race east of the mountains persevered and was deemed a great success witnessing the largest field of the year so far, with 30 boats in the pits. Three drivers were visiting, and the stacked field included the return of two H1 Unlimited pilots. ERCU thanks Jason Colean, Stan Marr, Michael Walcker, Brian Perkins and Jamie Nilsen for joining us and racing in this year's Governor's Cup. Geoffry Grembowski took home the top trophy from the 1/10 classic class. You can just call Geoffry, “steady Eddie” as he quietly drives a borrowed boat to final heat championship and an impressive 1,300 points on the day. "The guy just wins, he wins a lot," said Paxton Reunanen whose boat Geoffry was borrowing for the day. Walcker and Rick Evans scored the second and third place finishes in the class. And how about Reunanen, who won the 1/10 modern winner take all final yesterday marking his third straight 1/10 modern class victory out of three races this season. And none of these victories were easy as Paxton has beaten serious competition from Mike Hughes (Winston Eagle), Nelson Holmberg (Bucket List), David Heilbrunn (Goodman Real Estate) and David Newton (Budweiser) among many others. "You don’t just go out there and take each of the first three races of the season without some amazing equipment and serious skill, he is really, really fast." said Race Coordinator David Heilbrunn. Newton and Heilbrunn joined Reunanen, albeit a little lower on the 1/10 modern podium. Jim McKeon topped the 1/7 scale vintage field to claim his spot atop the 1/7 vintage podium. Somewhat lackluster in the early rounds, Big Jim showed up for the final heat and was all business getting around Dennis Caines for first place at the finish line. This was only Jim's second ERCU 1/7 scale vintage championship victory and everybody was elated to share the moment with him, it was really special. In the 1/7 modern/classic combined class Craig Mullen drove Denise Sjostrom’s Miss U.S. once again to the winning circle. Ron Hartley, on hand for his first race this season recovered from a collision in the third heat to return for the final and score a second-place finish. Denise Sjostrom took third place with her Oh Boy! Oberto. Also making his 2024 season debut, David Newton was (no surprise) in midseason form locking up another 1/10 vintage class victory with his 1957 Hawaii Kai III in wild and carnage-filled winner take all final. Jim Latimer and Grembowski joined David on the vintage podium. Next up for ERCU is race number four, the President's Cup at Waughop Lake in Lakewood on May 18.
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