Deck2Deck.us: Fantasy Unlimited Hydroplane Racing

Deck2Deck recently contacted hydro super-fan Lon Erickson regarding his passion and his tireless promotion of the sport. Lon is also a Deck2Deck Player by the name of OCHD Racing Inc.

Please share with us some of your background, such as where you were born and raised, work life and where you live now.

I was born in Southern Oregon but moved to Renton, WA. at age 1-1/2 and grew up across Lake Washington in Bellevue, WA. Worked in the Retail industry for many years. I have worked in executive recruiting, operations management, and facilities development throughout the Northwest and Alaska. After living in Western Washington, Alaska, Eastern Washington, I have now returned to Bellevue.

How/why did you become a fan of the sport and/or what drew you to the sport?

My first exposure to the sport was through my parents. My dad had attended the Seattle races back in the 50’s while he was in college. As soon as our family moved to the Seattle area in 1958, we began going to the testing sessions and attending the Seattle races. So I guess you could say I was born with a “hydro gene” or genetically predisposed to be attracted to the sport! Our family, along with some friends & relatives started going to the Seattle races in the late ’50’s and early ’60’s. We always sat in the same place, up on a hill overlooking the start finish line and right next to the TV cameras. That’s back when all 3 Seattle stations covered the races and qualifying during the week. I think what drew me to the sport was the speed, the roostertails, and seeing boats racing so close together and going so fast. There is nothing at all that compares to a couple of unlimiteds running over smooth water, kicking up long roostertails, and heading into a turn…..absolutely nothing!!
I was fortunate as a kid to be able to go down to the pits during the days of qualifying, get pit passes (a relative did some work for the Budweiser team and had some connections), we collected buttons, got autographs, and met the drivers, owners, and crews. And of course, we had our neighborhood wooden hydro races, towing our “custom” hydros behind our bikes in the weeks before and after the local races.

What is your fondest memory related to the sport?

There just isn’t one. Several things stand out, I can remember hanging out on race day with my brother, while all the parents watched the race from the “family spot” on the hill. We would climb down the hill and go stand in the water at the start/finish line to watch heats of racing. Another would have to be the “duel” at Sand Point in 1974 between the Pay n Pak & the Bud, also the same year the U-95 Turbine debuted & Miss U.S. burned. More recently I guess the 2010 Seafair final heat with Steve David in the Oberto and Dave Villwock in the Spirit of Qatar boat would be a great memory. But as important as the racing is to the sport, one of the best things for me is the people that I have met along the way, whether it was when I was just a little kid staring up at Bill Muncey signing an autograph for me, buying/trading buttons with collectors, hanging out at a boat shop and just talking hydros with some of the guys, going to a banquet and chatting with people like Steve David, Scott Raney, or Nate Brown, volunteering & sharing with fans giving pit tours, and then getting to be a small part of all this on race day. There’s nothing like it….

Lon, in my eyes, you are one of the biggest fans of the sport that walks this earth. You have a true passion and dedication to the sport. You write for the Unlimited News Journal, Lead Pit Tours in Tri-Cities and Seattle, are in involved with ROTT and HARM, among other things. Tell us a little bit about your various activities that you are currently involved in with respect to hydroplane racing.

Well, thanks. I am a huge fan but I know of some other pretty passionate ones out there along with myself. A lot of us suffer from OCHD (Obsessive Compulsive Hydroplane Disorder). The Unlimited NewsJournal is something that I have been a subscriber on and off for many years. As things have evolved I felt there were some things I could contribute to it so I reached out and got more involved with the UNJ. I enjoy the behind the scenes information, and feel other fans are interested also, so I started out doing race team reporting. Very similar to what lead to getting involved with pit tours in Seattle and Tri-Cities, I wanted to help explain to kids, adults and anyone who would listen, as much about the boats and the sport, hoping that it will lead to helping to grow the fanbase and the sport. R.O.T.T. (Royal Order of The Turbine) is a group of people involved in the sport in many different ways, all getting together at the Tri-Cities race and during off-season in Seattle. It started 20+ years ago by a bunch of Seattle fans who traveled to Tri-Cities, found themselves wanting to get together on an evening before race day, and it grew from there. We recognize people that have contributed to the sport, hold fund raising auctions to support HARM, and it has grown from there. I have been a member and volunteer with HARM going back to around the mid 1990’s, helping in various ways with the museum store, events, and photography. Even though I have met a lot of people as fans and involved in the sport by living here in the Northwest, one of the best things has also been getting to know others around the world on-line and through the media. I’ve had the opportunity to meet people like Jim Sharkey who publishes the “Hydro’s Who’s Who” and assist him with promoting that book. Facilitated fundraising for the 2010 Gold Cup through the Hydropage forum and partnered on a committee to create the Vic Nelawake Spirit Award to recognize volunteers that help promote and keep the sport alive. For me, it’s about doing whatever I can to create exposure and bring new fans to a sport that I enjoy.

For those that have not heard of the Unlimited NewsJournal, tell us a bit more about it, and how to subscribe.

The Unlimited NewsJournal (UNJ) is a monthly publication, started in 1973 in the greater Seattle area by a club, Unlimiteds Unanimous. It is an enthusiast’s club interested in promoting and documenting the sport of unlimited hydroplane racing. Over the years it has had many different members, contributors, and people involved in producing the publication and has also seen many changes. The concept of the UNJ is to provide a variety of news, photos, and information about the sport. Ranging from race reports, statistics, race team news, predictions, season recaps, historical pieces, and any variety of unique hydro-related stories that you just won’t find in other places. Right now is an exciting time for the Unlimited NewsJournal for several reasons, we continue to have new contributors come on board and are in the process of taking the NewsJournal on-line with our own website. The website will continue to have a monthly issue update, while also being able to offer timely news, color features, and even more content. Going forward and moving to the internet, there will no longer be a subscription type membership rate. We will rely on members, donations, sponsors, and advertising to support the costs of running the website. The content and participation is all provided by hydro enthusiasts that volunteer their time. Free registration through the website allows us to grow the exposure and also include those who are able to join us in activities like shop visits, race viewing, special speakers, and other hydro fan related activities. For more information and to view the new website, check out www.unlimitednewsjournal.net.

To be continued…