JCam Loc: MD Eastern Shore

Sometimes the contest dates for pictures just don't match my picture taking opportunities

These pictures were taken over the just passed Memorial Day weekend on the Choptank River at the Cambridge (MD) Power Boat Classic Regatta; I have already posted a couple of photos taken that day; these are two more. Both were shot with my Canon 60D using a Tamron 70-300mm zoom set at about 250mm; shutter priority speed was 1/4000, ISO 1000, and the f/stop at 6.7. The picture of the three boats almost abreast was at about 3-400 yards; the one of the single boat at about 150 yds.

Both photos have been cropped and some PP done using PSE14 Dehaze, with Lighting, Contrast & blue tint tweaked. I've found the Dehaze when used on the water increases the blues but works beautifully to enhance the colors. IMG_5055-1 originally had a fourth boat on the far right & slightly behind the red boat; removing it & changing the ratio allowed for a closer crop. To me the thing that makes this photo unique is catching the three boats almost side by side rounding the mark with two of the boats having their props out of the water at the same instant.

Jay Pat Loc: Round Rock, Texas, USA

That, looks wild and crazy!!
Pat

JCam Loc: MD Eastern Shore

Jay, It is, and a lot of fun to watch and photograph. It was a little choppy that day and the wind was picking up so the small hydroplanes seemed to be holding back a little, but the Jersey Speed Skiffs were the last class to race, are designed to take the chop, and were going flat out in the 80 MPH range. Back in the 1920's when the class was developing they used four cylinder engines and 30 MPH was really moving. Now the class limits them to 280 or 304 cu. in, engines, alcohol or gas fuel, but no superchargers are allowed. In tight turns, I have seen them roll up onto their sides, straighten up and keep racing; that is a sight to behold!

Jim

Jay Pat Loc: Round Rock, Texas, USA

Wow!!
Pat

Treepusher Loc: Kingston, Massachusetts

Nice job! Lots of action and well caught!

FL Streetrodder

While living in the Adirondacks we would make an annual trip up to Valleyfield, Quebec to attend the Regatta. The Jersey Skiffs were always fun to watch. By the way, they originated back in the days of Prohibition and would sneak out of the inlets and rivers after dark to meet larger boats offshore and bring back loads of bootleg liquor. During the day they would often get together to see who had the fastest boat to outrun the "revenuers". Sorta like the origins of NASCAR! In addition to the Skiffs at Valleyfield, they ran all classes of Hydros right up to the Grand Prix boats and Flatbottoms in the Can Am Super Stock class and "K" Boats (Flatbottoms running supercharged big blocks on Nitro!). I'll try to dig up some old photos shot on film and post them in the near future.

JCam Loc: MD Eastern Shore

The following is extracted from "Shrewsbury River Memoirs" published in the late '50's, compiled from local boat club and newspaper records and written by Byron Briggs (my uncle) and Warren Ayres. Both men are now dead, but were well known around the river and had spent their entire lives in the area.

The Speed Skiff was first designed and built by Harold Seeman, a boat builder in Long Branch, NJ in 1916. The original boats were outboard powered and were known as the "Seaman Outboard--Jersey Speed Skiff; the first organized race was in Wissinoming, PA in 1919. He, Mr. Seaman, began building inboard powered boats in 1922; the first was powered by a Grey 91 attained speeds of 30 MPH and sometimes a bit more.

[Ed comment] While I don't doubt that some Speed Skiffs may have run an occasional small quantity of "bootleg hooch", almost anything that was fast and carry enough cargo did; the skiffs were not designed to carry more than two operators at speed; several cases of liquor would add serious weight & slow them down. The more popular bootlegger boats were custom designed and built for the job using hulls of 40-60' OAL and powered by twin Liberty aircraft engines (WW I surplus). They could out run any of the newer Coast Guard boats while carrying considerably more "cargo" than the lightly built Speed Skiffs. Having to go twelve miles or more offshore, to where the bootleg cargo boats were, would have been quite an undertaking for the speed skiffs, especially in sloppy weather or being pursued, and maybe shot at, by the CG.

sailorsmom Loc: Souderton, PA

Good action shots, JCam!

JCam Loc: MD Eastern Shore

Thank you, Sailorsmom, I'm glad you enjoyed them. As I find time to do more PP, I'll post some more.

Photographing these power boat races and those of some of the older traditional sailboats--Skipjacks and Log Canoes--are two of my favorite venues.