As the sole reporter covering Fountain Powerboats’ unsuccessful V-bottom kilo record attempts Feb. 27-28 in Washington, N.C., I had a lot of unsupervised time on my hands. The Fountain team was working hard to get their Sterling Engine-powered 40-footer to run correctly and had no time to entertain an out-of-town guest. The American Power Boat Association and Offshore Powerboat Association officials, in town for more than a week, were doing whatever they could to avoid going stir crazy in a very small town, so they were scarce.
And the media folks there the weekend prior for Fountain’s wind-scrubbed record attempt? They were long gone.
During the 41 hours I spent in Washington, I saw the kilo boat make four unimpressive runs. Of course, I was disappointed for the people at Fountain and equally disappointed that I didn’t get to report, on scene, about the setting of a new kilo record. Those are the kinds of stories you live for as a reporter. In 2014, I was lucky to have had that opportunity when Outerlimits—on the same measured kilometer of Pamlico River—pulled it off. This time around, it wasn’t to be.
But you already know that.
Still, the trip to from Northern California to North Carolina was anything but a waste of time, because I was mostly left to walk around the Fountain facility on my own. (For the record, I like unsupervised time—it beats being led around and carefully watched.) And while I strolled the plant, I took a lot of pictures, all of which now bring back strong memories and emotions, with my crappy and since-replaced iPhone 6......click here to read full story.
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