BEST LOOKING BOAT AWARD: Ozzie Castellnau, "The Wizard of Oz", 38 Cigarette Top-Gun...He's back!
BEST LOOKING CREW AWARD: JOHN RUGGIERI, (yeah...the guy with 3 Queens...)
SEAMANSHIP AWARD V-BOTTOMS: Tom Abraham's 45 Cigarette...yeah, he's still very, very fast!
SEAMANSHIP AWARD CATS: Sal Sciandra and Sons' TOP TOMATO RACE TEAM, "AWESOME": 40 Skater Cat with Merc 1075 HP's and Speedie 6's...and looks even more awesome on its tilt-trailer!
SPIRIT OF THE NPBA: Carmine Derosa in his 37 OUTERLIMITS with Merc Power. He ran hard, broke it, fixed it, ran harder...then really broke it! It is that "never quit" attitude that earned him the Prestigious and highly respected "SPIRIT OF THE NATIONAL POWERBOAT ASSOCIATION" Award ...a wonderful quality that we all seem to share in this organization.
On another note, I did see Tommy Fancher's "OUTERLIMITS" come into Oyster Bay with the Black Supercharged Sunsation of Alan Ober, co-piloted by Charlie Melchner, Jr of Mahopac Marine, "nipping" at Tommy's transom with Ozzie in his Cigarette in "3rd place". GOOD FUN!
Jimmy "Mac" was inducted into the NPBA HALL OF FAME!..the well respected legend from Long Island. Johnny O'Loughlin wowed the crowd in his new 42 MTI Cat, "Justice is Coming"...what a showstopper! The Aitken Brothers, sons of the famed Peter Aitken/"BLACK DUCK RACING TEAM" showed up in their 28 Active Thunder...and let everybody else start 1st and played "catch up"...until we hit the bar after the run.