CALYPSO
Racing Team

MOSES LAKE

April 23 - 25, 2010

By Steve Parker

(Clicking on any of the pictures* on this page will open a new window with the full size photo)

What an incredible weekend for me, my family, and the entire Calypso Racing Team! Throughout the weekend, we had over 25 family members come to see the boat that my Dad drove 40 years ago, and always talked about with such fond memories.

Of course, a ton of work has been done on the Calypso to prepare for this event, but also alot of other things have been done as well. We had to make an information board (required for Vintage boats), make sure I had a driver's suit, helmet and life jacket. Don (Kelson) had a drivers suit and life jacket he had, that was given to him by Bud Burns. I had the drivers suit cleaned and it fits pretty good. He also has a couple of helmets, one of which fit me as well. Finally, we decided we needed crew shirts. We came up with a design, trying to keep in line with the original Calypso patterns and colors. Each shirt has a small Calypso E-291 logo with the crewmembers name below, on the left front. The back has a version of the original Calypso patch that the crew wore on their jackets back in the late '60's. The shirts turned out great! We had crew shirts made for Don and Jerry Kelson, Jeff Schneider and his dad Frank, each of my siblings, my wife, and myself.

We arrived Friday mid-day to choppy water and high winds. Several current hydroplanes tested on Friday, mostly just the UL's - no Vintage boats - the winds were just too strong. Late in the afternoon all further testing was cancelled.

I had to be at the driver's meeting (my first "Official" driver's meeting!) at 8:30 AM in the pits.  the drive from the hotel to the race site took a little longer than i thought, so I just barely made the meeting in time.  During the meeting, I couldn't help but notice the wind had not died down from the previous day and the water was just as choppy - whitecaps included.  It was determined that we'd have to wait it out and as soon as the winds died down, they'd start raving.

As the morning went on, my family started showing up little by little.  A couple of them had already seen the Calypso at the shop, in one phase of restoration or another, but for most, it was the first time they'd seen it.  Each of them   .

And all of Saturday's racing was cancelled by mid-day due to the high winds.  Fortunately, Sunday morning showed sunshine, calm waters, and a very mild breeze - perfect for racing.

Of course, a ton of work hs been done on the Calypso to prepare for this event, but also alot of other things have been done as well. We had to make an information board (required for Vintage boats), make sure I had a driver's suit, helmet and life jacket. Don (Kelson) had a driver's suit and life jacket he had given to him by Bud Burns. I had the driver's suit cleaned and it fit's pretty good. He also has a couple of helmets, one of which fit me. as well. Finally, we decided we needed crew shirts. We came up with a design, trying to keep in line with the original Calypso patterns, and including each drew members name. They turned out great!

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